Everyday Restorative Justice

<p><b>This much-needed book provides a practical framework for implementing school-wide restorative justice practices to enhance students’ social emotional readiness.</b><br><br>Amidst today’s uncertainty and social unrest, this book offers teachers and students hope in the underlying principles of restorative justice that challenge us to be our best selves. Through <b>curricular sequences, lesson plans, case studies, and narrative examples</b>, Chaterji maps the terrain for learning and practicing empathy, studying models of repair and accountability, and creating conditions for trust and vulnerability.<br><br>While much of restorative justice in schools is responsive to incidents that have already occurred, <b>this book argues for robust prevention</b> and culture-building through students’ personal and conceptual exploration of pain, loss, oppression, and other emotionally charged topics.<br><br>Chaterji carries lessons from restorative justice in high-level harm, such as victim-offender dialogue, to the classroom through exercises that foster tenderness, self-reflection, and skillful attention on how to “make it right.” The text includes <b>classroom-tested strategies and activities that the author developed over 15 years </b>working in schools, youth programs, prisons, probation and juvenile detention facilities.<br><br><b>Book Features:</b><br></p><ul><li>Vivid case studies, anecdotes, and practitioner's notes from extensive restorative justice work in schools and prisons.</li><li>Robust collection of supplemental materials, including activity descriptions, worksheets for classroom use, lesson plans, and curricular sequences (reproducible documents in an online appendix).</li><li>Spanish language materials for teaching concepts in restorative justice, including circle-keeping scripts, sample agendas, and activity descriptions.</li><li>A teacher-centered approach to implementing restorative justice through concrete lessons, thematic areas, and activities that foster greater trust, connection, and healing.</li><li>A connection to SEL core competencies of responsible decision-making, self-awareness, social awareness, relationship skills, and self-management.</li></ul>