Restorative Justice Circles One Month Reflection. What are you most nervous about as a facilitator? What are some challenges you have faced? What has worked well? What has surprised you?
Circles are going well, We shared how our summers went and have checked in about our week every week. My biggest issue continues to be "respecting the talking piece"! My 8th grade girls love to laugh and make jokes and comments while other people are talking. I guess in a way sharing a joke like that builds community too but it is very frustrating to try and enforce the circle structure. I ended up giving 2 U's on the first report card because they wouldn't stop interrupting each other with jokes during circles and I finally just made giving the U's a threat. We review the "respect the talking piece" rule every time before the circle - anyone have any ideas of what to do to keep them quiet and respectful while others are sharing? Has anyone else experienced this butting in with a joke when someone is talking? To be fair to them, they HAVE been quiet and respectful when we've discussed sensitive issues but so far this year We haven't gotten into any heavy topics yet.
I can completely relate with the interruptions. It seems a challenge for some to stay focused for that period of time, but I am sure with practice it will get better our students.
Thus far my concerns continue to be focus with certain students. Giving full attention to their fellow students proves to be a challenge for a few, but I am sure the more we practice the easier it will get for them. For the periods of time when we were all focused and listening, I saw connections being made and our advisory community growing stronger, and those periods were a pleasant surprise.
I have sixth grade boys and I am going to start to preface the round questions and give them journaling time so they can have greater thinking time and be able to share more during circle. So I am definitely working to improve and noticed that I am comfortable having these conversations as a whole class and having the circle format was a bit challenging because I do enjoy the debates and discussion that arise to the questions I give them. I may try different questions and again supplement with whole class discussion plus circle.
I was nervous, or am nervous about the students losing interest, so we are slowly working up to more serious matters. Boys are harder to open up, and so mixing up fun topics with a hint of seriousness is helping out so far.
I agree with Mr. Ramos. I have a mixed advisory. So far they seem to be hyping on it but I am afraid that soon they will lose interest. I was/am skeptical of it but I am drinking the Kool-Aid.
I have been working with 8th grade boys in Mr. Morrison's advisory for circle. We have been keeping the topics pretty low in the trust level, until students are more comfortable with the guidelines and expectations. The boys ask for circle weekly and get excited when it is their turn to share out! We have split the student into two smaller groups, and those students are staying with their facilitator each week.
Restorative Justice circles have been going pretty well. The students are getting used to the structure of the circle, and are getting a little bit more comfortable with sharing, but hopefully as time goes on and as we build that trust even more, students are willing to share out more so we can build an even stronger connection between the students.
Thank you for having the courage to try. I think you are smart in taking your time. It is not easy to build community in your class so I appreciate your approach.
For our first circle as a class, I feel it went really well. Because I made sure to discuss the guidelines and rules, I feel the students were more prepared for the long waits between turns along with practicing their listening skills. Although some students were nervous, I feel that as they see their classmates share more and more, that will hopefully make them feel comfortable to share in time.
I was fortunate that Ms. Hernandez facilitated a circle with my advisory. It went well and was pleased how well some of my girls did and surprised at what they shared. Super fun and enlightening. We will be doing them every two weeks.
I was happy that my girls were able to successfully help move my tables in the classroom to do circle in a timely manner. I was worried about space in my classroom but it worked wel!
I also started with community building questions for our first circle. I had a few girls that passed but I also felt like the more we kept going around the more the girls were taking a turn to speak.
I am looking forward to getting more deeper into our emotions.
As a facilitator, I just want the girls to feel like they are more connected, aware and mindful of each other. Am I nervous that I wont ask the right questions to make that happen. But I am realizing that the effects of circle time will evolve over time. =)
I was nervous too. The first day I just concentrated on the protocol and mechanics. I've a 7th grade boys advisory and my main concerned was making sure all were in the zone and respected turns. I worked out much better than I expected. Like Mr. Ramos, I also found boys to be harder to open up, but it's slowly changing day by day.
Reminder, the book "Touching Spirit Bear" has a Restorative Justice circle theme. We have enough copies for all advisories to have a class set. See Ms. Gaytan to pick them up :) This is a great text to read in conjunction with having RJ circles.
Circles are good. I am having the challenge of too many students "passing". It is also challenging to set up the circle with 30+ students in the class. I have been surprised on how well some students have shared from the heart.
The first time we did circle, about half of my students wanted to pass the first round. After that, more and more started to open up and share. At the end, most of them said it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. We will keep reviewing the rules and see if the students get better about respecting the talking piece
I have done circle one time last week when Ms. Juarez came in to help out. I would be a little nervous opening up too much...I have all my 6th grade girls in my history classes but we have also mentioned that what we say in circle stays in circle.
Some challenges are that some of my Advisory students are new to this so some don't know what to say or begin giggling too much when someone says something funny.
The positive is that we began circle so we are going in the right direction and look forward to continue circle in my Advisory.
I am most nervous about the getting the students to take it take it serious, but I also don't know the best way to structure it. I have a lot of students and have a lot of desks and tables. I want to find a way that saves the most time and gets the students in a reflective space so that they do take it seriously.
I have done circle with advisory twice. They were not perfect, but the 2nd was better than the 1st, thankfully. What I find challenging is keeping them quiet during the circle session. When someone is sharing a story, they are quiet, but it has been challenging to get them quiet enough for the stories to start. I hope circle with advisory keeps improving, and I will keep trying new things to keep them respectful and engaged during the session.
I have conducted 3 circle with my 8th grade boys advisory. The first circle was a mess. 37 students in the same circle was just too many. The last two circles I was lucky enough to have Ms. Hernandez come help me. We split the boys into 2 circles and it has been much better. The boys are getting better with each circle with respecting the talking piece, listening and speaking with respect. I actually have been really surprised at how quickly they started sharing personal stories. I have been a little nervous with how much/personal to share on the other hand. But I am sure with time my uneasiness will settle. Major props to MS. HERNANDEZ!!! She has been helping me develop questions and topics for our circle, and without her I would not be experiencing as much success as I have been.
One of the most difficult parts was getting the students to be quiet. I have 8th grade boys, and they like to talk. So, using the circles gives them a chance to talk. But again, the most difficult part was getting them to listen to each other. It's taking some time, but with some more practice, they will get it.
It makes me feel nervous when my advisory girls get off task and take the question as a joke. I'm nervous to bring up serious topics with the girls because they have gone through such traumatic moments, but I tried to let the girls know that it's important to vent about their issues and struggles. I used the question, what is a struggle you have overcome, and a girl started joking after someone shared something very intimate. It kind of broke up the serious atmosphere, but it went back to normal once someone else shared something intimate. On the positive side, the girls did connect more with each other and to me because of the restorative justice circles.
So far things have been going well. My advisory students have been respectful for the most part. I was thinking about a suggestion box, where the students can put in topics that they want to talk about. I'm a little bit nervous thinking about some of the topics they might pick. I just want things to be appropriate.
My Advisory just had our first Circle yesterday and it went really well for our first time. This year I have the Advisory which used to be in Ms. Miller's class and so going into this year I knew we would all be going through a transition in terms of of the space and also the teacher. They experienced a great deal of instability last year and I want to honor that as much as possible, in terms of understanding and respecting that it will be a process for us to evolve together as a new Advisory. My goal for our first circle was to be able to sit together in our physical circle and get through the guidelines. I was moved when they all came into the MPR and immediately sat down. I take small victories and I took that one, because I know sometimes it's just a victory to get them to sit in a circle. We went through the guidelines and did one game activity. I walk into circles with the long term vision in mind, that it is a process and we will develo pour relationships in time. This requires patience on my part, but I really lok forward to buildling with my Advisory kids. -Ms. Terada
I was nervous students would be resistant to share or would share very superficially. A challenge I have faced is pacing the circle so that every student has time to share. The talking piece worked really well because it limited the students from talking over each other. I was surprised how once it got rolling, students didn't want it to stop.
My advisory is also a Korean class and finding the time to fit in rj circles has been a challenge. I have had discussions with my students on a regular basis and I'm impressed at the maturity of some of my sixth grade girls. I am looking forward to starting rj circles with this group.
With 6th graders the idea of a Restorative Justice circle sounds great. Giving attention and respect to the person with the talking piece can be a small challenge for the group.
Some challenges I have faced are students who do not feel comfortable talking keep passing the talking piece. Hoping this will change with time. Another challenge is students feeling the need to interrupt or ask questions to the speaker. Trying to work on that. Spirit fingers has worked somewhat well, hoping that with time and practice they will get better at it.
One thing that has surprised me is students sharing things that I would not have known otherwise. As well, as one student asking when we were going to have circle again.
It actually went really well, a little slow at the beginning. My girls were a little shy to share. It was surprising to see some girls that I did not expect to share more of their personal stories. As a facilitator I was nervous of girls not being receptive to idea of circle or not being respectful.
Circles are going well, We shared how our summers went and have checked in about our week every week. My biggest issue continues to be "respecting the talking piece"! My 8th grade girls love to laugh and make jokes and comments while other people are talking. I guess in a way sharing a joke like that builds community too but it is very frustrating to try and enforce the circle structure. I ended up giving 2 U's on the first report card because they wouldn't stop interrupting each other with jokes during circles and I finally just made giving the U's a threat. We review the "respect the talking piece" rule every time before the circle - anyone have any ideas of what to do to keep them quiet and respectful while others are sharing? Has anyone else experienced this butting in with a joke when someone is talking? To be fair to them, they HAVE been quiet and respectful when we've discussed sensitive issues but so far this year We haven't gotten into any heavy topics yet.
ReplyDeleteI can completely relate with the interruptions. It seems a challenge for some to stay focused for that period of time, but I am sure with practice it will get better our students.
DeleteThus far my concerns continue to be focus with certain students. Giving full attention to their fellow students proves to be a challenge for a few, but I am sure the more we practice the easier it will get for them. For the periods of time when we were all focused and listening, I saw connections being made and our advisory community growing stronger, and those periods were a pleasant surprise.
ReplyDeleteI have sixth grade boys and I am going to start to preface the round questions and give them journaling time so they can have greater thinking time and be able to share more during circle.
ReplyDeleteSo I am definitely working to improve and noticed that I am comfortable having these conversations as a whole class and having the circle format was a bit challenging because I do enjoy the debates and discussion that arise to the questions I give them. I may try different questions and again supplement with whole class discussion plus circle.
I was nervous, or am nervous about the students losing interest, so we are slowly working up to more serious matters. Boys are harder to open up, and so mixing up fun topics with a hint of seriousness is helping out so far.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mr. Ramos. I have a mixed advisory. So far they seem to be hyping on it but I am afraid that soon they will lose interest. I was/am skeptical of it but I am drinking the Kool-Aid.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest challenges I find have to do with students sharing something meaningful, and having them speak in complete sentences.
ReplyDeleteI have been working with 8th grade boys in Mr. Morrison's advisory for circle. We have been keeping the topics pretty low in the trust level, until students are more comfortable with the guidelines and expectations. The boys ask for circle weekly and get excited when it is their turn to share out! We have split the student into two smaller groups, and those students are staying with their facilitator each week.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great strategy to make your circles more manageable, calm, focused, and routinized.
DeleteI also very much appreciate Morrison including me in his classroom community! He and the advisory boys have been very welcoming :)
DeleteRestorative Justice circles have been going pretty well. The students are getting used to the structure of the circle, and are getting a little bit more comfortable with sharing, but hopefully as time goes on and as we build that trust even more, students are willing to share out more so we can build an even stronger connection between the students.
ReplyDeleteThank you for having the courage to try. I think you are smart in taking your time. It is not easy to build community in your class so I appreciate your approach.
DeleteFor our first circle as a class, I feel it went really well. Because I made sure to discuss the guidelines and rules, I feel the students were more prepared for the long waits between turns along with practicing their listening skills. Although some students were nervous, I feel that as they see their classmates share more and more, that will hopefully make them feel comfortable to share in time.
ReplyDeleteI was fortunate that Ms. Hernandez facilitated a circle with my advisory. It went well and was pleased how well some of my girls did and surprised at what they shared. Super fun and enlightening. We will be doing them every two weeks.
ReplyDeleteI was happy that my girls were able to successfully help move my tables in the classroom to do circle in a timely manner. I was worried about space in my classroom but it worked wel!
ReplyDeleteI also started with community building questions for our first circle. I had a few girls that passed but I also felt like the more we kept going around the more the girls were taking a turn to speak.
I am looking forward to getting more deeper into our emotions.
As a facilitator, I just want the girls to feel like they are more connected, aware and mindful of each other. Am I nervous that I wont ask the right questions to make that happen. But I am realizing that the effects of circle time will evolve over time. =)
I was nervous too. The first day I just concentrated on the protocol and mechanics. I've a 7th grade boys advisory and my main concerned was making sure all were in the zone and respected turns. I worked out much better than I expected. Like Mr. Ramos, I also found boys to be harder to open up, but it's slowly changing day by day.
ReplyDeleteReminder, the book "Touching Spirit Bear" has a Restorative Justice circle theme. We have enough copies for all advisories to have a class set. See Ms. Gaytan to pick them up :) This is a great text to read in conjunction with having RJ circles.
ReplyDeleteYes! This is my go to book to show examples on how the circle is being used.
DeleteAwesome, Mrs. Gamez!!!
DeleteCircles are good. I am having the challenge of too many students "passing". It is also challenging to set up the circle with 30+ students in the class. I have been surprised on how well some students have shared from the heart.
ReplyDeleteLet the counseling team know if you need help...we can always help you split your circle into two groups.
DeleteThe first time we did circle, about half of my students wanted to pass the first round. After that, more and more started to open up and share. At the end, most of them said it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be. We will keep reviewing the rules and see if the students get better about respecting the talking piece
ReplyDeleteI have done circle one time last week when Ms. Juarez came in to help out. I would be a little nervous opening up too much...I have all my 6th grade girls in my history classes but we have also mentioned that what we say in circle stays in circle.
ReplyDeleteSome challenges are that some of my Advisory students are new to this so some don't know what to say or begin giggling too much when someone says something funny.
The positive is that we began circle so we are going in the right direction and look forward to continue circle in my Advisory.
I am most nervous about the getting the students to take it take it serious, but I also don't know the best way to structure it. I have a lot of students and have a lot of desks and tables. I want to find a way that saves the most time and gets the students in a reflective space so that they do take it seriously.
ReplyDeleteI have done circle with advisory twice. They were not perfect, but the 2nd was better than the 1st, thankfully. What I find challenging is keeping them quiet during the circle session. When someone is sharing a story, they are quiet, but it has been challenging to get them quiet enough for the stories to start. I hope circle with advisory keeps improving, and I will keep trying new things to keep them respectful and engaged during the session.
ReplyDeleteI have conducted 3 circle with my 8th grade boys advisory. The first circle was a mess. 37 students in the same circle was just too many. The last two circles I was lucky enough to have Ms. Hernandez come help me. We split the boys into 2 circles and it has been much better. The boys are getting better with each circle with respecting the talking piece, listening and speaking with respect. I actually have been really surprised at how quickly they started sharing personal stories. I have been a little nervous with how much/personal to share on the other hand. But I am sure with time my uneasiness will settle. Major props to MS. HERNANDEZ!!! She has been helping me develop questions and topics for our circle, and without her I would not be experiencing as much success as I have been.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most difficult parts was getting the students to be quiet. I have 8th grade boys, and they like to talk. So, using the circles gives them a chance to talk. But again, the most difficult part was getting them to listen to each other. It's taking some time, but with some more practice, they will get it.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me feel nervous when my advisory girls get off task and take the question as a joke. I'm nervous to bring up serious topics with the girls because they have gone through such traumatic moments, but I tried to let the girls know that it's important to vent about their issues and struggles. I used the question, what is a struggle you have overcome, and a girl started joking after someone shared something very intimate. It kind of broke up the serious atmosphere, but it went back to normal once someone else shared something intimate. On the positive side, the girls did connect more with each other and to me because of the restorative justice circles.
ReplyDeleteSo far things have been going well. My advisory students have been respectful for the most part. I was thinking about a suggestion box, where the students can put in topics that they want to talk about. I'm a little bit nervous thinking about some of the topics they might pick. I just want things to be appropriate.
ReplyDeleteMy Advisory just had our first Circle yesterday and it went really well for our first time. This year I have the Advisory which used to be in Ms. Miller's class and so going into this year I knew we would all be going through a transition in terms of of the space and also the teacher. They experienced a great deal of instability last year and I want to honor that as much as possible, in terms of understanding and respecting that it will be a process for us to evolve together as a new Advisory. My goal for our first circle was to be able to sit together in our physical circle and get through the guidelines. I was moved when they all came into the MPR and immediately sat down. I take small victories and I took that one, because I know sometimes it's just a victory to get them to sit in a circle. We went through the guidelines and did one game activity. I walk into circles with the long term vision in mind, that it is a process and we will develo pour relationships in time. This requires patience on my part, but I really lok forward to buildling with my Advisory kids. -Ms. Terada
ReplyDeleteWell said. Small victories and small steps are what we are all about when building community.
DeleteI was nervous students would be resistant to share or would share very superficially. A challenge I have faced is pacing the circle so that every student has time to share. The talking piece worked really well because it limited the students from talking over each other. I was surprised how once it got rolling, students didn't want it to stop.
ReplyDeleteMy advisory is also a Korean class and finding the time to fit in rj circles has been a challenge. I have had discussions with my students on a regular basis and I'm impressed at the maturity of some of my sixth grade girls. I am looking forward to starting rj circles with this group.
ReplyDeleteWith 6th graders the idea of a Restorative Justice circle sounds great. Giving attention and respect to the person with the talking piece can be a small challenge for the group.
ReplyDeleteSome challenges I have faced are students who do not feel comfortable talking keep passing the talking piece. Hoping this will change with time. Another challenge is students feeling the need to interrupt or ask questions to the speaker. Trying to work on that. Spirit fingers has worked somewhat well, hoping that with time and practice they will get better at it.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that has surprised me is students sharing things that I would not have known otherwise. As well, as one student asking when we were going to have circle again.
I am kind of stressed about it because it's hard for the girls to open up. I hope as we progress the girls will be more open to doing circles.
ReplyDeleteIt actually went really well, a little slow at the beginning. My girls were a little shy to share. It was surprising to see some girls that I did not expect to share more of their personal stories. As a facilitator I was nervous of girls not being receptive to idea of circle or not being respectful.
ReplyDelete