Access to publication

Some followers of this blog have asked about how to get a copy of this publication:

Creating Schools of Peace and Nonviolence in a Time of War and Violence
Tom Cavanagh
Online Publication Date: 01 January 2009

To cite this Article: Cavanagh, T. (2009).Creating Schools of Peace and Nonviolence in a Time of War and Violence. Journal of School Violence (8)1, 64 — 80.

To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/15388220802067912
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15388220802067912

New book

Some of my colleagues from Colorado State University, where I did my doctoral studies, and the Peace Education special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Education Research Association (AERA) co-authored a book that was recently released. The title and the press release are below.

147 Tips For Teaching Peace and Reconciliation
by William M. Timpson, Edward J. Brantmeier, Nathalie Kees, Tom Cavanagh,
Claire McGlynn, and Elavie Ndura-Ouédraogo

Violence and prejudice are regrettably commonplace in the world around us. Our
responses to acts of violence are critical. They can help to either perpetuate the
chain reaction of reprisal or reverse it. As educators who wish to further peaceful
alternatives, we must reach out with compassion and respect for others. And we
must do so in real, practical ways.
William Timpson and his fellow contributors from around the world begin this new
book from Atwood Publishing with the concept that violence and division are not
inherent, but have forcibly occupied our history books and our everyday ways of
thinking, leaving us a one-sided story that threatens to repeat itself endlessly.
From this beginning, 147 Tips For Teaching Peace and Reconciliation asserts that
peace must be actively taught, and outlines effective and practical ways to do so.
Each of the authors draws from a deep well of personal experience advancing reconciliation
in divided societies. This enables them to balance academic theory with
real-world practice as they present a diverse array of tips — priceless for teaching
peace to your students, discovering peace in your personal life, and promoting peace
in your community.
TOPICS INCLUDE:

• Rethinking the War and Dominance Paradigms
• Challenging the Language of Conflict
• Building a Positive Climate of Trust

Peace and reconciliation have universal value. Teaching them, however, cannot be a
passive or a neutral activity. Whether you plan to integrate peace education into a
pre-existing class, teach a new class on peace, or bring peace and reconciliation to
your community, 147 Tips for Teaching Peace and Reconciliation will give you valuable
direction to help you accomplish your goals.
For futher information or to request a copy to review for publication, contact:
Linda Babler, Atwood Publishing, PO Box 3185, Madison, WI 53704; 888.242.7101;
lindab@atwoodpublishing.com.

Humility and conflict

For most of my life I have struggled with the meaning being humble. Then I learned that the opposite of humility is a sense of entitlement. That discovery clarified my understanding of humility.

Recently I learned from a colleague who works in the field of restorative justice that a source of conflict is a sense of entitlement. Upon hearing that, my mind clicked. Of course, when I have a sense of entitlement, the result often is conflict - conflict between my expectations and yours.

So the lesson for me is to work at taking a position of humility. As an American, who grew up as a privileged White male, this is a difficult position to take. However, the peace this stance creates within myself and with others is well worth the difficulty.

State of Restorative Practices in American Schools

I am grateful to two wonderful colleagues whom I have visited with recently for these understandings.

Currently restorative practices in schools are often marginalized to end-of-the-line interventions. Apparently schools are not willing to change the culture, the status quo. In that event, I believe we must focus on helping the students who are the focus of our interventions to find a place where they can learn in an atmosphere that values:

• Supporting these students to build and maintain peaceful and caring relationships and
• Helping these students to flourish.

I urge restorative practices practitioners to avoid placing or being an accomplice to placing these students back into an environment where they are doomed to fail.

My research reveals that American schools tend to view restorative practices as a response to wrongdoing and conflict, rather than a basis for transformation of the school culture. Schools are strongly resistant to change. They would rather make minor adjustments to the status quo and term it reform. The Culture of Care in Schools that I help schools engage in calls for profound change.

New Publication

I am honored to have my latest publication appear in the Journal for Peace and Justice Studies, alongside respected scholars and practitioners in the field. I encourage you to consider purchasing a copy of this edition of the journal. I believe the articles provide a current look into our work and thinking about restorative justice.

Announcing a SPECIAL ISSUE of the
Journal for Peace and Justice Studies
on
Restorative Justice

Featuring
JOYCE ZAVARICH
Revisioning Justice: The Justice Context for Understanding and
Operationalizing Restorative Justice
HOWARD ZEHR
The Intersection of Restorative Justice with Trauma Healing, Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding
GORDON BAZEMORE
Getting and Keeping It Real: Less than Perfect Restorative Justice Intervention and the Value of Small Connections
TOM CAVANAGH
Creating a New Discourse of Peace in Schools: Restorative Justice in Education
TERRY O’CONNELL
The Origins of Restorative Conferencing
LAURA MIRSKY
Restorative Justice Practices of Native American Practitioners of the Southwestern United States
ABBEY J. PORTER
Restorative Conferencing in Thailand: A Resounding Success with Juvenile Crime

To Order this Single Issue
Name:__________________________________________________________________
Organizaiton:____________________________________________________________
Address:________________________________________________________________
City:_________________________________ State:_________ Zip:_________________
Vol. 18, No. 1-2 _____
Back Issues are $15 per volume.
Total number of issues:____ Total Amount: $________
U.S. FUNDS ONLY PLEASE
Please make all checks payable to The Journal for Peace and Justice Studies.
Return to: Managing Editor
The Journal for Peace and Justice Studies
Center for Peace & Justice Education
Villanova University, Sullivan Hall
800 Lancaster Avenue Villanova, PA 19085-1699 Thank you for your order!

Responding to conflicts and problems nonviolently

In today's newspaper a write speculates as the reasons why so many mass killings are occurring. The writer largely blames problems related to the current financial crisis. I have wrestled with the same questions while conducting research over the past five years and have come to a different conclusion.
I do not claim that what I offer is the answer; rather, perhaps a contributing factor. I have found that when problems and conflicts arise in our schools teachers ignore them, respond with punishment, or send the person(s) involved off to an expert to solve the problem. These problems are seen to be disruptions to the learning rather than learning opportunities.
If these problems and conflicts are transformed into learning opportunities, then the capacity of teachers and students can be enhanced to respond nonviolently. If teachers and students behave as passive participants in the problems and conflicts, they they will not know how to respond nonviolently to these events when they occur later in life.
Restorative justice theory offers us a way to understand this new response to problems and conflict. Restorative practices offer us skills to use when responding to problems and conflict nonviolently.

Invitation to talk about lessons learned in New Zealand

I would like to personally invite you to attend a talk I am giving at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder, Colorado, on Monday, March 16th, at 6:00 p.m., titled:

Creating a Culture of Care in Schools:
Lessons Learned About Using Restorative Practices in New Zealand Schools

The talk will be based on the chapter I wrote for a book to be published next year titled: International Perspectives on Restorative Justice in Education.

Included in the talk will be an emphasis on what I learned from my relationships with Maori - what they call whakawhanaungatanga.