How to Build a New Reality:
A Self-Directed Master Class
We are called to be architects of the future, not its victims.
— R. Buckminster Fuller
Ted Wachtel, founder of the International Institute for Restorative Practices (IIRP) Graduate School and CSF Buxmont model restorative practice programs for troubled youth, invites us on a journey of discovery, exploring exciting possibilities for a new reality.
This self-directed Master Class goes beyond the use of restorative practices in schools, youth programs and criminal justice to a possible future in which we apply restorative principles to everything we do — bringing democracy to everyday life.
Lessons:
1. Why We Need a New Reality (13 mins)
2. Dawning of a New Politics (14 mins)
3. Beyond the Schoolhouse (12 mins)
4. Real Justice (17 mins)
5. Family Power (14 mins)
6. Restorative Justice in Everyday Life (13 mins)
7. Safer Saner Schools (16 mins)
8. Restorative Communities (15 mins)
9. A Kinder Gentler Capitalism (19 mins)
10. The Wisdom of Crowds (13 mins)
11. True Representation (19 mins)
12. Revolution by Conversation (8 mins)
Join us for a related live event
Our next live event is the True Representation Learning Lab which happens the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 12 PM Noon Eastern Time. Learn more and register for March 13 >>
1. Why We Need a New Reality
Audio version:
Related learning resources:
2. Dawning of a New Politics
Audio version:
Related learning resources:
Watch Brett Hennig’s brilliant Ted Talk, “What if we replaced politicians with randomly selected people?” (9 mins)
3. Beyond the Schoolhouse
Audio version:
Related learning resources:
Watch Ken Danford’s Ted Talk that may lead you to question the value of compulsory schooling. (19 mins)
Read Ted’s book Beyond the Schoolhouse: Learning for a New Reality
4. Real Justice
Audio version:
Related learning resources:
“Burning Bridges” documents the arson of a historic covered bridge and the restorative conference held in its wake. (35 mins)
“Introduction to Conferencing” offers a clear overview of the origins, theory and practice of restorative conferencing. (18 mins)
5. Family Power
Audio version:
Related learning resources:
In “Family Voices,” children, parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents share their feelings and insights about the family group process. (18 mins)
Read Family Power: Engaging and Collaborating with Families by Beth Smull and Josh and Ted Wachtel (available as ebook or used paperback)
6. Restorative Justice in Everyday Life
Audio version:
Related learning resources:
“The Worst School I’ve Ever Been To” (50-mins) follows three students for an entire school year at CSF Buxmont alternative school programs, demonstrating the workings of an evidence-based restorative school program. “Tim’s Year” (16 mins) features excerpts of just one student; “Tim’s Reflections” (4 mins) highlight his appreciation as an adult of his experience at CSF Buxmont.
Watch a more recent film of about a student in a CSF Buxmont counseling program.
7. Safer Saner Schools
Audio version:
Related learning resources:
“Beyond Zero Tolerance” (24 mins) talks to students, teachers and administrators about their experience with restorative practices in schools in the U.S., Netherlands and the U.K.
“The Transformation of West Philadelphia High School: A Story of Hope” (9 mins) recounts how this school finally got off Pennsylvania’s “Persistently Dangerous Schools List” using restorative practices.
8. Restorative Communities
Audio version:
Related learning resources:
It was the diversity of implementation that made the Detroit Rising docuseries so unique!
— Elizabeth Eckley Winder, Ph.D., Pennsylvania College of Technology
“Detroit Rising: How the Motor City Becomes a Restorative City” (7 mins)
“And Justice for All: Detroit’s Frontline Court Workers Find Solace in Circles” (7 mins)
“Instilling Hope: How Hope Academy Uses Restorative Practices to Put Children First” (10 mins)
“Building a Heart-Centered School in the Real World” (11 mins)
“Leading with a Restorative Heart: A Servant-Leader Gets Down to Business” (9 mins)
Read Restorative Communities: From Conflict to Conversation by Kerra Bolton
9. A Kinder Gentler Capitalism
Audio version:
Related learning resources:
America’s largest tomato processor has no bosses. Watch “I, Tomato: Morning Star’s Radical Approach to Management.” (6 mins)
Frederick Laloux defines the stages of developing a restorative work community. Watch “Agile and Lean Adoption: Using the Laloux Cultural Model” (9 mins)
Read Ted’s book A Kinder Gentler Capitalism: Enterprise in a New Reality
10. The Wisdom of Crowds
Audio version:
Related learning resources:
Read James Surowiecki’s The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Businesses, Economies, and Nations
James Fishkin brought together a representative sample of 523 Americans to deliberate issues. Watch “America in One Room” to see what happened. (6 mins)
11. True Representation
Audio version:
Related learning resources:
“When Citizens Assemble” (17 mins) gives voice to the experience of participants in the remarkable Irish Citizens’ Assembly that led to the legalization of abortion rights in the country.
A California city convened a Citizens’ Assembly to determine how to use an old fairgounds and raceway in the center of the city. Watch “Healthy Democracy in Petaluma 2022.” (9 mins)
