Restorative Practices: Interview with my son

 

Repairing and Forgiveness by Aliana Garcia, 7th Grader at Garfield STEM and Community School. She explains, "This picture represents harm and forgiveness. You have to repair what has happened... Sometimes kids lose friends and sometimes they just need to talk."

I had the chance to interview an important person yesterday.

He happens to be my son.

Bah’Hozhooni is an 8^th grader who is beginning to see his abilities as a leader and his responsibilities to others. Garfield STEM and Community School, nestled in the North Valley, is an incubator for young leaders. The school has made a strong shift to restorative practices in the last years, with a focus “repairing relationships and building stronger communities by prioritizing dialogue and harm repair, rather than punishment, in conflict resolution.”

In doing so, Garfield has gone from a school with notoriously high rates of expelled and suspended students to a school where such actions are almost non-existent. But it is not a top-down approach. Garfield empowers Bah’Hozhooni and his peers to become a part of the restorative culture and practices. They allow students to pick peers who they feel are trustable and these students become “Circle Keepers” who lead restorative circles for their peers. Ms. Erin Chavez leads Circle Keepers trainings on a weekly basis after school.  

Recently, the Circle Keepers got the chance to set up an art exhibit at the UNM School of Education, presenting to future teachers about their work and leading restorative circles. My son and his peers are now college professors!

Here was my interview with the professor:

Q: Tell us about the Circle Keeper program at Garfield Middle School and why you said "yes" to being a part of this group.

Bah'Hoozhoni: The circle keeper program is a group of trusted students that help the school internally. We go over restorative justice and practices, as well as suicide prevention. I didn’t really say yes, but I got put into the advisory class and decided to try it out. 

Q: What things are Circle Keepers trained in?

B: Circle keepers are trained and certified in suicide prevention and restorative practices

Q: What do you think are the biggest ways Circle Keepers and Restorative Practices improve your school?

B: Circle Keepers and Restorative Practices help make the school feel more safe and friendly. We also help improve the overall wellbeing of the students’ minds.

Q: I know you have mentioned the school-to-prison pipeline. What is this and how is your school working to meet this challenge?

B: The school-to-prison pipeline is when students get in trouble and are usually met with a consequence. Usually this consequence is being suspended which can cause students to feel not valuable. This then can cause them to be related in the criminal justice system, especially boys, of color or with disabilities. We as Circle Keepers are trying to keep them away from being suspended and feeling like they are worth something. 

Q: Last question: How do you want to continue using what you have learned as you enter high school?

B: Of course, I would love to continue this great work Ms. Chavez has put into our group and given the knowledge I know, it’s very possible I will see this at my high school next year.

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My son, I am proud of you. I am excited to see how you bring your Circle Keeper knowledge to your next school and into your next years.

To Garfield’s teachers and administration, thank you for giving students a new lens for seeing how they can live in and repair the world.

To all my readers, get over to Hokona Hall on UNM's main campus to see the art exhibit of the amazing Garfield artists. It is up until the end of May.

Togetherness by Lalaine Chavez and Daymian Lovato. They describe, "In the artwork you can see the globe with people on it and on the land patches there are affirmations. The earth is being held by hands with hearts in the background. We chose this topic because we wanted to show how self-love and togetherness are important...self-love is important for your mental health. Our hope for all students and educators is that they will be more aware of people's feelings and help each other out when needed.

Living with Peace by Bah'Hozhooni Fleg and Lucas Sarabia. They explain, "In the artwork you can see nature and beautiful art. There is negative stuff like guns and drugs. They go down to a beautiful waterfall and get turned into peace, love and a flower. Along the border are also the 6 R's of restorative practices. At our school, we have experienced the 6 R's as Circle Keepers as we need to be responsible and respect our peers.