Author: lindseycpointer
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Rotary Global Grant Blog March 2019
After submitting my dissertation at the end of February, March kicked off with a trip to Melbourne to visit one of my closest childhood friends. It was wonderful to relax and laugh with a good friend after the final push to complete my thesis. And Melbourne is such a great city! Since returning to Wellington,…
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Rotary Global Grant Blog February 2019
The biggest and most exciting news this month is I submitted my dissertation!! It feels wonderful and exciting to have completed such a significant piece of work on a topic that is so important to me. This journey has been challenging at points, but ultimately so rewarding. I am so grateful for how my understanding…
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Rotary Global Grant Blog January 2019
2019 is off to a great start! My dissertation is due at the end of February, so I have been working hard writing and revising. It is really exciting to see the final version coming together! I feel so grateful looking back at the last three years of work to have had the time and…
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Rotary Global Grant Blog November 2018
I can’t believe how quickly this year has gone! November really flew by with most of my time devoted to completing a full draft of my dissertation, which has now been submitted to my supervisors for feedback. It feels great to have hit this milestone! While it was difficult to be away from family on…
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Restorative practices in residence halls at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
An article I wrote about the use of Restorative Practices in the Residence Halls at Victoria University was just published in Conflict Resolution Quarterly. You can find the full article here.
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Rotary Global Grant Blog October 2018
Happy Halloween! As the leaves change colors and the weather gets cooler in Colorado, we are experiencing the first signs of spring here in New Zealand, though still with a fair share of rainy, cold days! I kicked off the month by attending a Thesis Bootcamp. Designed for students in the final phase of their…
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Limitless by Sarah Jensen and Mary Brimmer
This is a great video by two Skidmore students, Sarah Jensen and Mary Brimmer. They follow two students from David Karp’s Restorative Practices class who facilitate community building circles in a local high school. A powerful example of the impact of circle practice!
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Rotary Global Grant Blog September 2018
Lots of great opportunities to learn and share Restorative Practices this month! The primary focus for me in September has been writing and revising my dissertation. I have a full draft due on October 8th, so am working away! Wish me luck! I have also had some great opportunities for engaged practice this month. My…
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If a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, How Can We Illustrate Restorative Justice?
The challenge of describing restorative justice and how the philosophy and approach differs from the conventional justice system is one that practitioners and scholars have grappled with since the beginning of the movement. The retributive approach to justice is so culturally ingrained that it can be difficult to fully communicate the restorative paradigm and the…
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How Can Circles Benefit Spiritual Communities?
About a month ago, a local church approached our team about how they could implement restorative practices in their community. They are a very diverse church with many English language learners who have recently moved to New Zealand from other countries. Especially because of these language and cultural barriers, it can be difficult for all…
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Rotary Global Grant Blog August 2018
For the first part of August, I was home in Colorado visiting my family. It was great to have a chance to soak up some Colorado summer and to visit my loved ones. While I was home, I also got the chance to visit the Rotary Clubs of Fort Collins and Loveland, to thank…
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Beyond the Carrot and the Stick
What is the best way to promote good, pro-social behavior? Is it rewarding good behavior or punishing bad behavior? The carrot or the stick? This question has been asked across a wide range of contexts from the criminal justice system to schools to workplaces to international relations. Those in authority in each context have tried…
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Sustained Restorative Dialogue – Understanding and Preventing Sexual Harm on Campus
Over the past two years, Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) has taken significant steps towards becoming a Restorative University. This has involved the use of restorative processes both in a reactive way, as a response to misconduct or incidents of harm, and a proactive way, in order to build community, enhance belonging and mutual responsibility,…
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Rotary Global Grant Blog July 2018
July has been another exciting and full month! A lot of my time this month has been devoted to dissertation revisions. I recently completed a full draft of my dissertation (minus the concluding chapter) and received feedback from my advisors on the three chapters that are most significant to my argument. I remember reading about…
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Restorative Practices Can Teach Students How to Handle Difficult Conversations
I recently had a conversation with a few friends about the advice we had received growing up from adults (mostly parents and teachers) when another kid picked on us. The wisdom and guidance we had received varied widely and included among others, “hit him back,” “ignore him” “she is just jealous,” “laugh it off,” “tell…
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Rotary Global Grant Blog June 2018
June was a very exciting month for me! Earlier this year, my proposal to present my PhD research at the European Forum for Restorative Justice Conference was accepted and I received funding from my university to attend. Once I knew I was going, I submitted another proposal to deliver a workshop on Teaching Restorative Practices…
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How Can We Heal Collective Trauma?
This month, I had the incredible privilege of attending and presenting at the European Forum for Restorative Justice Conference in Tirana, Albania. The conference aims to bridge the gap between researchers, practitioners and policy-makers in the field, and in my view, it was successful in its mission. The vast majority of the plenaries and breakout…
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Rotary Global Grant Blog May 2018
May began with the opportunity to offer a Restorative Practices workshop to the Human Resources staff at Victoria University. It was great to have a chance to share the restorative approach with this group and to talk through their questions and reactions. Having the HR team on board is an important step in our effort…
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The Restorative Justice Paradigm Shift
What is “justice”? Take a few moments to think about that question. It is a word we use a lot. “Demand justice.” “Seek justice.” “Justice has been done.” But what do we really mean when we use the word “justice”? Often times, justice is understood as retributive harming: an eye for an eye. In the justice…
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Can Restorative Justice Counter Harmful Narratives of Masculinity?
Type of process: Restorative Justice Conference Conference Participants: Impacted Party (Victim) – Peter Responsibly Party (Offender) – Nathan Friend – Jake 2 Facilitators Possible Criminal Charges: Sexual Assault Referring agent: University counseling staff Factual Synopsis: Nathan sexually assaulted Peter at a party. Narrative: Peter and Nathan had been friends for a long time. They grew up together and chose…
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Is Restorative Justice effective for Sexual Assault?
Type of process: Restorative Justice Conference Conference Participants: Impacted Party (Victim) – Cindy Cindy’s Support Person- Amber Responsibly Party (Offender) – Luke Luke’s Support Person – Zane Head of Hall – Ray 2 Facilitators Possible Criminal Charges: Sexual Assault Referring agent: University Residential Life staff Factual Synopsis: Luke sexually assaulted Cindy. Narrative: The use of restorative justice for…
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EdX Interview: Restorative Practices at Victoria University of Wellington
Haley and I were interviewed for the EdX course Restorative Justice and Practice: Emergence of a Social Movement about the implementation of restorative practices at Victoria University, specifically in the Residential Halls. Check out the videos below for two clips from that interview.
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The Power of Asking “What Happened?”
I recently had a pre-conference with man in his mid-forties who had been described to me as “prickly and difficult.” He had accosted two university staff members after not getting the outcome he wanted and was still very much so dwelling in the anger of the encounter, unable to take responsibility for his own negative…
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Be Real, Love, Empathize: Insights for Facilitators from Carl Rogers
While restorative justice is not therapy, it often has therapeutic outcomes for participants. Particularly at the pre-conference stage, the facilitator’s role can feel akin to that of a therapist, helping to guide and support clients on their own journey towards healing, learning and growth. This week, I have been reading some of Carl Rogers’ work…
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Rotary Global Grant Blog April 2018
April was a great month and included my 27th birthday! I had a bit of a cold on the real day, but still had a lovely low-key celebration and spent the weekend enjoying the beauty of Castlepoint and feeling grateful for an amazing past year of life! This month, the work we are doing to build…
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Video: Mock Restorative Justice Process
Please note that both the pre-conference and the conference processes are significantly shorter than they would be in real life. In real life, each meeting is generally at least twice as long as shown, giving the opportunity to ask additional questions to dive deeper into the incident, impacts and needs. In real life, participants would also…
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“Living Restoratively” by Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington recently featured an article about the work Haley and I are doing at the university and beyond. Check it out at the link below! Living restoratively Two Victoria University researchers are using their unique skill sets to support the restorative justice efforts at the University. Read more here. “If we can get…
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Rotary Global Grant Blog March 2018
March was full of more amazing opportunities! My colleague, Haley, and I were asked to deliver a training in restorative practices for Wesley Community Action, a local non-profit. We focused on restorative skills and tools like the circle and restorative conversations that participants could use right away with their clients, colleagues, families and friends. It…
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Restorative Justice Education in Prison Reflection: Understanding the Web
In March, my partner, Sam Seiniger, and I had the opportunity to deliver two introductions to restorative justice workshops at Manawatu Prison to small groups of inmates. Both sessions produced really fascinating conversations and left us all with something to think about. One of the participants even asked if he could take an extra worksheet…
Lindsey Pointer, PhD 