Comments for Restorative Resources Blog

Comment on 160,000 kids skipped school today–an impact of bullying by Matthew Kuehlhorn

Matthew Kuehlhorn — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:40:05 +0000

Very interested to hear more about the work with this school.

Bullying affects everyone in every form. It certainly is a community and societal issue that has gone on for too long.

Comment on Restorative Resources Given North Bay Peace Builder’s Award by Dominic Barter

Dominic Barter — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:41:09 +0000

Congratulations, Amos! So pleased to see you all getting recognition for what you do and all those whose lives are touched. I’m happy to carry the inspiration this gives to those I meet. All the best, Dominic

Comment on Restorative Resources Given North Bay Peace Builder’s Award by Chuck Fisher

Chuck Fisher — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:29:18 +0000

I am loving your work, Amos

Comment on Long-term success of restorative justice by Kris Miner

Kris Miner — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:36:35 +0000

Catching up on your blog posts, thanks for reading my and passing on the resources!

Comment on $234,000 per year for juvenile lockup by Gene Kuntz

Gene Kuntz — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:43:22 +0000

Amos, As logical as your comments are sadly our culture sticks with the inaccurate view that consequences are the answer, Education is likelt rhe long term answer.

Comment on The restorative power of music by Jenny

Jenny — Tue, 12 May 2009 18:37:51 +0000

Music and art have tremendous restorative power because they can bypass the linear, rational mind and get straight to the heart of things. I used to lead a music class at a women’s shelter in Los Angeles where I had the women make up songs together about their experiences and sing popular songs they knew and loved. Usually we’d all end up in tears or laughing, but always feeling refreshed because we were able to communicate our stories without having to justify or explain them in a logical fashion. Live music, particularly when there is improvisation, can make huge changes in the unspoken dynamics of a group. There is great potential for using it in situations of conflict (which has already been tapped in many cultures). Having worked as both an artist and an attorney/mediator I can say that I’ve seen much more potential for transforming conflict and patterns of behavior when art is involved than when the standard models of conflict resolution are engaged. I believe this is because those standard models rely mostly on talking or writing as the only mode of communication, and in the form of linear “rational” idea-forms, which cannot address the whole content of the conflict. One step further into a creative method would be using poetry and storytelling as less linear forms of oral/written communication. Methods that incorporate creativity, however, immediately add an element of unpredictability, and are not easily categorized, studied, or molded into structures that can be recreated or outcomes that can be “guaranteed” in some predictive model. That requires a trust in the overall process that frightens some people: for example, the facilitators who want to be sure of their outcome (and sure that they personally are making something happen) or the clients who want a satisfaction guarantee that someone else (the facilitator) is going to “fix” their problem for them. Taken even further, it also threatens the need for specialists–if a community can get together and make music and art and tell stories to transform conflict, who needs lawyers or mediators to come in and “help” them navigate an externalized conflict resolution system? These are part of the reasons for resistance to more creative solutions, and call for a deeper examination of the belief systems that underlie our structures. I would love to see us as attorneys/mediators put ourselves out of business by teaching people to take back their own power to resolve conflict by using creativity. Imagine if we had “firms” full of artists instead of attorneys and as a society gave the artists the commensurate respect and value, and imagine those artists working within communities to connect people and transform conflict!

Comment on Circles vs. Boardroom by Ross

Ross — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:36:01 +0000

A boardroom implies defined leaders. If the person with the most responsibility in a group wants to bring circle process into the decision making then there is great possibility for more fully developed holistic and deeply powerful decisions.

We can do this with two separate gatherings. I also propose we practice and learn and share how to do it in one circle meeting, working with the existing distribution of responsibility. My idea of FUN. ross

Comment on Kindergarten Circle–Sweetness by sparkncinder

sparkncinder — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 22:15:13 +0000

Nice Amos.

Comment on Circles: Overhype = Underimplementation? by Marissa Wertheimer

Marissa Wertheimer — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 23:32:04 +0000

As a veteran of other processes: court, victim offender mediation, civil mediation, family meetings, etc. I agree that while Circles may not be the cure-all, they may be the best of any of the options we’ve come up with so far.

Comment on Circles: Overhype = Underimplementation? by Ross

Ross — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 01:03:22 +0000

Hi Amos, perhaps we should be more honest in our precircle assessment of possibility. Sometimes the best result I can imagine is for the people in conflict to let go and move on, with some grumbling. Ross