Restorative Language

All About Restorative Language (Click On the Underlined Words for More Information...)

At the core of restorative practices is a belief that schools should be focused on relationship building between students, teachers, parents, administration, and all other members of the school community. Restorative language gives all parties involved words and structures to use for the purpose of effectively fostering those relationships. Affective statements, “feeling words”, and questions to guide restorative circles and dialogue are linguistic tools that The Monroe Family has adopted in order to put focus on relationship building and repairing harm when needed.

Affective statements are a non-judgmental way of speaking that allows students and staff members to express how they are impacted by someone’s actions and what their needs going forward are. Sometimes known as an “I statement”, affective statements encourage individuals to consider how their actions affect other members of their community. It can also be useful for students to have access to a list of “feelings words” to articulate how exactly they feel. Often, affective statements are followed by a request for changed behavior. All members of the school community can (and should) use affective language!

One of the most essential parts of restorative language and communication is the use of questions to guide dialogue and circles. Particularly when a group gathers to discuss harm that has occurred and to restore a sense of community, Monroe utilizes restorative questions to facilitate that discussion. The use of these questions allows all parties involved to reflect and begin the process of repairing whatever harm has occurred.

The following are resources for educators and students to use to put restorative language into practice. In addition, the underlined words in the text above contain more resources.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kv-352P7T9-UhVHvLe0hTFUTpXYOiVlb?usp=sharing