Restorative justice has become a widely used term in education and youth advocacy, but how often is it truly understood? Too often, it is reduced to a checklist, a series of scripted conversations, or an alternative to discipline—without addressing the deeper work it requires. This workshop challenges the misconceptions surrounding restorative justice and exposes the hidden barriers that prevent it from being effective.
Training Objectives
Participants will examine:
- The difference between true accountability and a punitive mindset disguised as restoration
- Why authority without relationships leads to resistance, not respect
- How compliance-based systems undermine the very foundation of restorative justice
- The role of implicit bias and cultural competency in making, or breaking, these practices
- Why adult self-work is a necessary first step before expecting youth to change
Restorative justice is not about control, compliance, or surface-level solutions. It is about transformation. And transformation cannot happen without a willingness to rethink, unlearn, and rebuild.
This is not just a regular workshop—it is an invitation to step beyond the buzzword and into the real work.