Schools are supposed to be places of learning and development. Many schools have become war zones instead.

The USA is well known for its gun related and school violence. In January of this year alone, there were 8 school shootings! The deadliest school massacre in history at Sandy Hook elementary school was heartbreaking.

If this hasn’t been a sufficient wake-up call, I don’t know what else it would take. So how do we effectively reduce school violence and create safe learning environments?

I am concerned about calls and legislative proposals for increased police presence, armed guards, metal detectors and zero tolerance policies. This is not a direction that will take us to safe schools. Declaring war doesn’t end war. It escalates the violence and leads to all kinds of problematic ripple effects.

Minorities know this all too well. Youth of colour and their allies are mobilizing across the USA. They held a rally this week at the U.S. Capitol and marched to the White House to call on Congress and the Obama administration to reject policies that criminalize students. They demand youth of color be included in the conversation on violence prevention and school safety.

A coalition of organizations led by youth of color released a national statement and launched
“You Can’t Build Peace with a Piece”.

This national youth-led campaign brings awareness to the impact of school policies on minority youth and calls for positive responses to gun violence. They urge government to focus on proven measures like Restorative Justice, Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS), social and emotional learning, and the hiring and training of counselors, social workers and community intervention workers.

They know what they are talking about:

“As youth growing up on some of America’s deadliest streets, we are all too familiar with gun violence and its impacts. Too many of us have been shot and shot at. We have buried our friends and our family members. Nearly all of us have been to more funerals than graduations. No one wants the violence to stop more than we do.

But, we have also seen how attempts to build public safety with security systems, armed police and prisons have failed. We want college prep, not prison prep.”

What has been the result of decades of a war on drugs, war on crime, zero tolerance policies and massive spending on prisons while simultaneously cutting school budgets?

“students now experience a vicious school-to-jail track… We have been handcuffed and humiliated in front of other students and staff for ‘offenses’ as small as being late to school; detained in police interrogation rooms at our school; expelled from school for carrying nail clippers, markers or baseball caps; and arrested – even in elementary schools – for fights that used to be solved in the principal’s office. With our backpacks searched and our lockers and cars tossed, at the end of a billy club or the butt of a gun, knees down-hands up, or face down on cold concrete or burning asphalt – we have experienced the true face of ‘public safety’. These policies haven’t protected us, helped us to graduate or taught us anything about preventing violence. They have taught us to fear a badge, to hate school and to give up on our education. We understand too well that guns in anyone’s hands are not the solution.”

I commend the youth’s courage to speak out and to focus on positive oriented solutions. Their 11 recommendations are substantiated with great data and additional support. It is sad that we even have to ask not to militarize schools.

I invite you to read their statement and their facebook page. Check out participating organizations, including Dignity in Schools Campaign, Alliance for Educational Justice, Youth Justice Coalition and Advancement Project.

There’s also an upcoming webinar: “Stemming the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Applying Restorative Justice Principles to School Discipline Practices”, Wed March 20, 2013.

Time to get educated and to change things.

A new year is upon us. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, we have just entered the year of the Snake. As I write this, Losar – Tibetan New Year – begins.

Tibetans are not celebrating the holiday like their Chinese counterparts. Leaders, including the elected head of Tibet’s government-in-exile, Lobsang Sangay, once again called on Tibetans worldwide to mark Losar with just customary rituals instead of festivities.

February 13 this year marks the 100^th anniversary of the Tibetan declaration of independence, yet they are far from independent and free today.

I am saddened by the ongoing suffering and crisis in Tibet. Since 2009, nearly 100 people have set themselves on fire in protest of China’s political repression and cultural assimilation. Four young people have died in January and a month prior, 16 year old Wanchen Kyi shouted “Long live His Holiness the Dalai Lama, long live Tibetan people” as she set herself alight. Survivors of self-immolation protests have been detained by Chinese security; their whereabouts are unknown.

Severe conditions, like the Chinese occupation of Tibet, test our commitment and approaches to social change. My heart goes out to those who put their own bodies on the line and all their loved ones left behind. Will their deaths be in vain? At the very least, we must become aware of the situation and see their choices as a potent wake-up call.

There are many echoes of calls from around the world for us to awaken to greater consciousness. How can we bring about change, especially in the face of brutality, without resorting to violence and oppression ourselves? I am impressed that the Tibetan people, leaders and supporters continually commit to nonviolence.

I do know that love is stronger than hate. I find myself seeking inspiration over and over again from leaders like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu who led South Africa out of apartheid. And Martin Luther King who said:

“I’ve seen too much hate to want to hate myself, and every time I see it, I say to myself, hate is too great a burden to bear… We will meet your physical force with soul force… We will not only win freedom for ourselves; we will appeal to your heart and conscience that we will win you in the process, and our victory will be a double victory.”

Many of us have come to realize, as King explained, that hatred paralyzes, confuses and darkens life; while love releases, harmonizes and illuminates it.

Will we choose love and greater consciousness? As Gandhi acknowledged, “Whether humanity will consciously follow the law of love, I do not know. But that need not disturb me. The law will work just as the law of gravitation works, whether we accept it or not…. Only our explorations have not gone far enough and so it is not possible for everyone to see all its workings.”

We are in the dawn of a new era. I appreciate how Morales, President of Bolivia, explained at the UN General Assembly that according to the Mayan calendar, December 21^st, 2012 marked:

“…the end of the Macha and the beginning of the Pacha, it is the end of selfishness and the beginning of brotherhood, it is the end of individualism and the beginning of collectivism… The scientists know very well that this marks the end of an anthropocentric life and the beginning of a bio-centric life.
It is the end of hatred and the beginning of love, the end of lies and beginning of truth. It is the end of sadness and the beginning of joy; it is the end of division and the beginning of unity. This is a theme to be developed… to constantly look for economic and social equality among all human persons. This is the time to bring dignity to all inhabitants.”

Yes, now is the time my fellow companions on mother earth.

Wow, 2012 is coming to a close. What an incredible year it’s been. Thanks for your interest in my work!

For my last blog of this year, I share 3 reminders through 3 fabulous short video clips.

# 1.  Practice non-judgment (note: it’s ok to laugh, indeed a bonus reminder is to laugh every day!):

#2. Notice all the incredible goodness and kindness in the world, and choose even more of that. Look at the proof captured by security cameras around the world:

#3. And know that it is the small things that each and every one of us can do that can make such a difference. For example:

As Richard Buckminster Fuller said:
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”

Wishing you, your loved ones and your community a beautiful holiday season. May 2013 bring much peace, joy, new possibilities and communion.

Canada led the way in annually celebrating Restorative Justice Week; this year’s theme was “Diverse Needs; Unique Responses”.

I agree with Dr. Theo Gavrielides that we need to now make this International Restorative Justice Week! So let’s proclaim it as such; his UK-based organization, IARS, did!

I had the privilege of hosting Theo Gavrielides who was a key note speaker for a number of restorative events in Vancouver. Check out Theo’s reflections of the jam packed week.

The events were inspiring and thought-provoking. For example, four panelists shared insights at City Conversations, SFU Public Square: Dr Theo Gavrielides, Dr. Brenda Morrison, retired judge Barry Stuart, and Alison MacPhail.

Alison, who helped write the provincial justice review by Geoff Cowper, said we would be “hard pressed to find anyone that would say the criminal justice system is working well”.

Barry Stuart discovered that most of what our courts deal with is better suited for communities to resolve, noting that “courts are terrible at sentencing”. He argued that courts should instead be dealing with issues that have a huge impact – white collar, corporate and environmental crime. Having a multi-billion dollar system that is based on punishment, which is ineffective, “is ridiculous”.

I agree with Barry and Theo who stressed that we need change, but not driven by the need to save money. That would be short-sighted and limited. We need a bigger and more sustainable vision. Restorative justice is part of that vision and is, as Theo reminded us, a community-born and community-led ethos.

One of the challenges is that we’ve created a 911 mentality, where outside professionals try to solve our problems. As Nils Christie prophetically wrote, conflict is property and the state has taken it away from the community. Brenda Morrison let us know that this starts young, in our schools, where we send those who misbehave out of our class community and down the hall to the authorities. This models the justice system. We’ve thus created a generation of passive bystanders.

There is no one answer, or one process fits all. I share some concerns of many colleagues, including Theo and Mark Umbreit, of the “McDonalization of Restorative Justice”. We can’t roll out a generic, pre-packaged approach and expect to get the results we desire.

The community has an integral role to play. This is illustrated by the wonderful work being done by community-based restorative programs around the world. Like the North Shore Restorative Justice Society.

I had the honour of facilitating a circle dialogue at their AGM with Theo as their guest speaker. He explained that restorative justice is back on the government agenda for three main reasons: the economic crisis, extensive evidence of its effectiveness, and the fact that communities are speaking up.

Our speaking up comes in various forms, like the Occupy movement and riots. It also comes through dialogue like the one we had at the North Shore RJ event. The diversity of participants and richness of sharing was inspiring – a young man didn’t follow the path of his friends into gangs and a lawyer found restorative justice to be “common sense”.

One of the volunteers wondered why government wants to control restorative justice? She felt they must be afraid of it, which only speaks to the power of restorative justice! This is cause for concern, but also for celebration.

We need to be wary of government controls and top down solutions, like some currently proposed in the UK. We need instead to clarify our roles and to create partnerships, where the contributions of government, community, professionals, practitioners, and the users of services are honoured. I liked how one community volunteer said, “justice is so visceral, it has to come from us”.

It is all about relationships and our interdependence. Restorative justice recognizes the “social liaison” that bonds us, as Theo said in his last public talk of the week: the Liz Elliott Memorial Lecture. Theo challenged us by revisiting notions of pain and punishment.

We don’t all agree, which is ok. Conflict is normal and can be healthy. We have the same goals though and we have to continue to dialogue and grapple with how best to fulfill them. Remembering that we’re all in this together. One home planet, one common humanity.

This is indeed an exciting time of change.

What question could you ask that would contribute to a new reality?

I’ve come to appreciate the power of questions. This was brought home yet again when I watched Velcrow Ripper’s newest film Occupy Love. Documenting global movements – including Arab Spring, Occupy, climate justice – Velcrow asked: how could this crisis become a love story? The result is a beautiful and brilliant exposé of the love that is fueling the creation of a new reality. It is a love story.

Producer Ian MacKenzie discovered that “love is a form of active interdependence. Love is a verb it’s something you actually have to express. And it comes out in your behaviours, how you build a community”.

Many leaders have spoken of the power of love. Like Martin Luther King who said: “At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love”. Franklin Roosevelt recognized that “the value of love will always be stronger than the value of hate”.

We need to question this insane reality of judgment, hate and violence. It is time to step into greater consciousness and choose to co-create a different reality. What would happen if we truly let loose our full caring and love for one another, including strangers?

I think Charles Eisenstein, interviewed in Velcrow’s documentary, is correct: “We sense that ‘normal’ isn’t coming back, that we are being born into a new normal”.

So what could be our new normal?

Just allow yourself to imagine for one moment what is possible.  John Lennon said it best: “Imagine there’s… nothing to kill or die for… No need for greed or hunger… all the people living life in peace… you may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope some day you’ll join us. And the world will live as one.”

I agree with Ian: “together we can figure this out… if we can figure out how to engage together in a community and to be inclusive of a multiplicity of perspectives, we can then apply this process towards any of the problems that we’re facing…they’re all connected”.

Circle processes are a huge contribution – they invite the wisdom of each participant, give space for diversity, build community and transform our problems. And it doesn’t matter what problem we bring to Circle. Ian’s right, they are all connected. We just need to start somewhere.

Let’s heed the invitation of Gary Douglas and Access Consciousness: Instead of fighting against or defending reality, it’s far more potent to ask a question like what else is possible and then generate and create something we desire and that works for us. All of us. The Kingdom of We.

And the key is ironically simple, although not necessarily always easy – we just need to be our full, authentic self. Who we truly be. Dain Heer wrote a great book: “Being You, Changing the World”.

Are you willing to ask questions, be you and change the world?

I’ve come to appreciate how important it is to connect with other colleagues and to also do self-care.

We tend to be so busy and there seems to be no time. It’s part of the problem of this do-do-do reality. It’s time to BE first and foremost, to make ourselves a priority and to also spend some quality time with like-minded people. Sometimes we need to refuel and rejuvenate.

That’s just what happened at a restorative justice retreat. 19 people representing 10 organizations from our region spent the weekend together at camp! We chose a beautiful setting, with boat access so it felt like we really got away. There was an even number of men and women, and a wide age range.

This was a grass-roots and self organized initiative. It began with an idea: two people who run Victoria Restorative Justice thought it would be great to get together with other practitioners and build more community. Turns out a lot of us agreed.

Our regional collaborative took it up as a project and two practitioners from North Shore Restorative Justice, Alana Abramson and Teresa Canning, volunteered to organize and facilitate the weekend. Each of us paid $150 to cover all costs, which included lodging and meals.

Our retreat was structured using the Alternatives to Violence Program (AVP). We sat in circle and did a lot of different activities, mostly geared toward self reflection and getting to know one another.

We didn’t focus much on restorative justice directly, except one session where we shared our challenges and ideas for overcoming them. A need for funding, more criminal justice buy-in, education and consistent messaging were some of the themes discussed.

There were some tears and a whole lot of laughter all weekend.

The results were a wonderful combination of gaining more self awareness, personal rejuvenation, forming deeper relationships, and building our local restorative justice community. Tremendous gratitude was shared in our closing circle.

We plan to do another retreat next year and realized we have started a legacy, for ourselves and for others who join this field.

I think about all the projects and programs around the world that started with one or two people having an idea and a conversation. And a small group having the courage to take a leap into the unknown and making it a reality.

Margaret Mead is right: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Thank you to my colleagues, near and far, for being and inspiring the change we wish to see in the world.