Author Notes -
Restorative justice is a theory of justice that emphasizes repairing the harm caused by criminal or bad behavior with the goal of healing the community rather than punishing the perpetrator. Strangely enough, Restorative Justice tends to work better the worse the crime is, and is less effective for smaller infractions.
Restorative justice practices can take many forms. In the classroom, it is often implemented in a structure that is good for handling a lot of speakers - the restorative circle, where affected parties meet to acknowledge the harm they caused and experienced, and address each other's needs.
Community circles are a proactive piece of restorative justice as it can be implemented within the classroom. Community circles are a chance to build strong relationships within the community so that there's something to repair when harm is eventually done.
Community Circle Norms and Guidelines
Speak with Respect
Listen with Respect
Speak your truth
Respect the Talking Piece
Honor privacy
Be present
Chapter 1 - Community Circle
The morning could not have gone better for Chloé Bourgeois. She had a new outfit that flaunted her form and matched her bee themed jewelry perfectly. The house staff had been incredibly complimentary of her assemble, the chef had made her favorite breakfast, and Sabrina had greeted her with her favorite coffee upon her arrival, which she had enough time to savor because her driver had hit all the green lights on the way to school.
Then she walked into the classroom and every muscle in her body went rigid.
The normal rows of desks had been disassembled and reorganized into a circle of chairs around a decorative centerpiece cluttered in silly and cute knick knacks laid in an artistic spiral on a colorful throw blanket. Chloé almost turned around and bolted immediately.
"Good morning, Chloé! Sabrina!" Ms. Bustier greeted, her voice warm and welcoming. "Feel free to take a seat anywhere in the circle."
The blonde sighed. It was too late. She had already been spotted. Her shoulders fell and she stomped over to a seat.
"Isn't it great, Chloé?" Sabrina gushed enthusiastically as she took the seat to Chloé's right. "We don't have to do work today!"
"Fantastic," Chloé grumbled bitterly, inspecting her own nails in an attempt to distract herself.
Sabrina was technically correct. They didn't have to do any academic work whenever Ms. Bustier organized a community circle, but Chloé hated community circles. She would have preferred the academic work, honestly.
Not that she could really articulate why she hated them. She just did.
"Oooh!" Mylene squealed from the doorway. "A community circle! These are my favorite days!"
Chloé glanced at the clock already counting down the minutes until the end of the period even though it hadn't started yet.
The whole class filed in gradually. Marinette chose a seat on the exact opposite side of the circle, and Alya, Nino, and finally Adrien filled in the seats around her when they arrived. Marinette handed out croissants to her friends, which the other three accepted with delighted grins.
Chloé's eyes remained on Adrien, wondering for the millionth time how he had made friends so easily. She had always assumed he would struggle when he came to public school, and that meant he would have to hang out with her. Chloé had been beyond excited, but things hadn't gone the way she predicted. And now, he felt further away than ever. Adrien didn't need Chloé anymore. And sometimes, with the way he stiffened when she grabbed his arm or frowned when she was critiquing someone's fashion choices, she wondered if he even liked her anymore.
Had he ever liked her at all?
When the bell rang, Ms. Bustier held up the usual set of six norms and guidelines for appropriate behavior during a community circle. Chloé didn't bother to read them.
"Please remind the people on either side of you what each of these norms means," her teacher directed.
Sabrina turned towards her, but Chloé turned stubbornly to the right, towards Max who was conveniently turned towards Nathaniel who sat on his other side, so Chloé wouldn't have to talk to anyone. Sabrina was quick to take the hint, and joined Rose's and Juleka's conversation instead.
Chloé glanced at the numbered list. Speak your truth. It was the third item of Ms. Bustier's Guidelines and Norms.
Chloé scoffed and turned back to her nails with disdain. As if any of these plebians could understand her truth!
"Are there any questions about what any of these mean?" Ms. Bustier asked, and glanced around the circle. No one said anything. Chloé rolled her eyes. This was the fifth time the class had gone through one of these. They all knew how they worked.
"Does anyone feel something needs to be added in order for you to feel safe sharing?" And again, Ms. Bustier waited, but no one responded.
"Alright. Then I would ask everyone to give a thumbs up if you agree to uphold these norms."
There was a slight rustling as everyone moved at the same time to give the hand signal.
"Ivan, do you agree to these norms?" The teacher prompted.
Ivan lifted his thumb up higher in response.
"Chloé?"
Chloé sighed before she gave a half-hearted thumbs up. She had learned the hard way that if she didn't agree, she would just get locked into a conversation about what she felt she needed to be safe within the group. And it's not like she could say she didn't like it when other people shared personal things. She didn't know why she didn't like it. She just knew hearing the details of their drab boring lives made her… uncomfortable.
No, uncomfortable was too mild a word. Chloé literally felt like she couldn't breathe at times. And in those moments, she wanted nothing more than to clamp her hands over her ears, and flee.
At least Ms. Bustier never forced Chloé to share if she didn't want to. That was the only reason she hadn't thrown a fit with administration about these community circles.
Having gathered consensus from everyone, her teacher had started the circle by reading a poem. Ms. Bustier referred to these as mood pieces. Today's poem was something about looking past the surface or something. Honestly, Chloé didn't really know. She wasn't listening.
"We'll start with a check in question. What has been a rose and thorn of your month? Is there anyone who would like to go first?"
Alix raised her hand.
Ms. Bustier smiled warmly and gestured an open hand toward the centerpiece. "Please select a talking piece."
Alix darted from her seat and considered the arrangement of knick knacks at the center of the room, and chose a little stuffed bear before returning to her seat.
"My rose would be that I've won three out of four bets against Kim," she announced with a smirk, drawing an amused chuckle from the class, before passing the bear to Mylene on her right.
Mylene spoke so quietly that Chloé couldn't hear what she was saying, not that she was actually trying to listen. In fact, it would be better for everyone if she didn't hear any of it.
When the soft brown stuffed bear came to her, Chloé passed it to Sabrina without a word. Chloé always passed.
"My thorn would be that I lost three out of four bets with Alix," Kim drawled out, earning another laugh from the class.
Chloé sighed and glanced up at the clock again. Forty-two minutes remained.
"My rose would be that I got to go on a date with Ondine. She's divine," Kim continued.
"Hardly," Chloé mumbled under her breath.
"Chloé, would you take a step outside for a moment?" Ms. Bustier asked calmly.
Chloé stomped outside the classroom, but honestly, when the door closed after her exit, her body loosened in relief to have escaped the awkward circle. It was far better to sit outside with her legs dangling over the edge of the balcony and the paved courtyard below. Out here, it was quiet. She didn't have to listen to anyone else babble on about their mundane achievements and struggles.
Unfortunately, her teacher joined her not three minutes later and the teenager scrambled to her feet. "Chloé, do you know why I asked you to step outside?"
Chloé nodded, her fingers fiddling with her belt. "The comment I made after Kim shared his rose."
Ms. Bustier nodded. "And do you think your comment upheld the norm of speaking with respect?"
Chloé gritted her teeth. "No," she admitted, her gaze lost over the railing.
"What about listening with respect?"
Chloé glanced up at her disapproving teacher, and looked back down into her hands. Bustier was the one teacher she wanted to think well of her. Ms. Bustier was the only teacher that seemed to care about her at all. "No…"
"You agreed to uphold these norms, did you not?"
Chloé bristled. It wasn't like she had much of a choice. "I did," she bit out.
"Chloé," her teacher said more softly. "I know these activities are not your favorite days."
Startled blue eyes flew up into the gentle face of her teacher. "You do?!"
Ms Bustier coughed, with a closed fist covering her mouth. Her green eyes sparkled with amusement, and Chloé suspected her teacher was trying not to laugh.
"You make it very clear. But I want you to know I think you could get a lot out of them if you actually let yourself engage in them. You might learn something about yourself."
Chloé turned away again. She didn't want to learn more about herself.
What if she didn't like what she found?
"I cannot force you of course. You don't have to share if you don't want to, but I do need you to uphold these norms during the activity. Do you understand?"
Chloé nodded. "I understand."
The red-headed teacher poked her head back into the classroom. "Kim, can you join us for a moment?"
A few seconds later, the broad shouldered jock with his stupid haircut came through the door and stood just a pace away.
"Kim, Chloé's comment was directed at you. What do you need in order to feel okay with her coming back in?"
He turned his gaze towards her, and he grinned. There was nothing friendly about the expression. He was planning something.
Don't you dare! She mouthed at him. If he said he wanted an apology she was going to get sent to the principal's office and threaten to call her father. Damocles was way easier to intimidate than Bustier. And Chloé would not apologize.
"It's fine, Ms. Bustier," Kim said easily, his smile never fading. "We are all used to Chloé at this point. She can come back in."
At first Chloé was surprised, but then she realized the dumb jock knew exactly what he was doing. He was making her come back to the fucking circle. Bastard!
Their teacher indicated they should head back inside the room with an open arm. Chloé went first, her hands clenched into fists, Kim followed behind, with Bustier in the rear.
Chloé slid into her seat quickly and continued to try and ignore everyone around her.
Ms. Bustier cleared her throat loudly to gain everyone's attention. "Alright class, for our activity today you will need a piece of paper and a marker. There are several colors for both paper and pens for you to choose from at the center of the circle. After you have your materials, you are going to trace your hand onto the paper."
Chloé scoffed. Trace their hand? What was this? Kindergarten?
"Outside of your hand, write the things people see or assume about you. On the fingers, write down what you wish they saw instead. On the palm, write down what you hide from the world. Directions are on the board if you need a reminder. Go ahead and begin."
Chloé didn't move when the class scurried into action towards the centerpiece, which stored the materials for the activity, but Sabrina brought her back a piece of yellow paper, and a black marker. Chloé smirked. At least Sabrina brought her the right colors.
Chloé took an inordinate amount of time tracing her hand. Sabrina and Max had already filled in the outside of their papers, and had started working on filling in the fingers when Chloé finished tracing her hand.
On the outside of her drawn hand, she wrote 'Queen', 'Stylish', and 'Powerful'. It was only three words. A glance to her left and right showed that Sabrina and Max had written half a dozen more adjectives or features on the outer section of their papers.
Chloé didn't care. She didn't need more words to define her. And she definitely didn't bother filling in the fingers. She didn't care how people saw her. And even if she did, she wasn't going to admit that to anyone, let alone write it down on a piece of paper for all her peers to see. So instead, she tapped her marker on her table without any pattern or rhythm glancing at the clock every few seconds. Twenty nine minutes to go. She suppressed a groan. Could time go any slower?
"Alright!" Ms Bustier called. "Raise your hand if you need more time."
Chloé flipped over her page to hide that it was incomplete.
When no one raised their hand, Ms. Bustier continued. "We're going to count off in order to randomize our discussion groups. After we've done that, please find the other two people in the room that have the same number as you."
Chloé was assigned a three, which put her in the same group as Mylene and Alix. But as luck would have it, Sabrina ended up with Ivan and Adrien. It took all of five seconds to convince Ivan that he could be with Mylene if he just swapped numbers with her.
No one said anything about her manipulation of the random assignments, and Ms. Bustier was circling around on the other side of the room, so Chloé doubted that the teacher would notice before they were all deep in discussion.
Sabrina jumped right in, holding up her purple piece of paper with her hand traced neatly in green with a dozen words written out on various parts of the page. Her friend pointed to the outside of the traced hand first. "People often say that I'm bubbly, helpful, a good listener, and people often remark on my red hair. I've also been told that I'm useless and I'm a fashion disaster," Sabrina explained excitedly.
Chloé did not react outwardly to Sabrina's words even as her gut twisted uneasily. The blonde girl glanced down at her nails. It had really been too long since the Chloé had bought Sabrina a gift. Her friend might like a new handbag or an organizer for all her headbands. Sabrina definitely deserved to be spoiled on occasion.
"But really," Sabrina continued her eyebrows rising into her forehead with excitement. "I wish people would see that I'm intelligent and that I work hard."
"You're also very loyal," Adrien interjected with a soft patient smile. "You give unconditional support to your friends. That's something I really admire about you, Sabrina."
Chloé's eyes jumped to his face. How could he just say all that so easily? Really, it wasn't fair.
Sabrina's cheeks turned pink, and her hands clutched either side of her face in embarrassment. "Why thank you for saying so, Adrien!"
Chloé sighed. Really, she shouldn't have been surprised when Adrien made friends so easily. He was naive and socially awkward, definitely. But… well, he was also always so… earnest.
Even with her.
"Chloé?" Sabrina called softly.
Chloé's gaze jumped up to both of her partners staring at her expectantly. "What?" she demanded impatiently.
Neither Sabrina nor Adrien flinched at her tone. She loved them for that.
"Did you want to go next?" Adrien clarified, pointing at the folded paper in her left hand.
Chloé glanced down at the folded paper. "Ah, no. That's okay!" she exclaimed, giving Adrien a bright smile. "Why don't you go first, Adri-kins?"
He nodded. "Sure Chloé. Whatever you want." He opened his green paper to his hand traced in black. Chloé rolled her eyes at the Chat Noir color scheme. He had even drawn a little cat emoji on one of the fingers.
Not very subtle, Adri-kins.
Sure, Chloé dressed up in Queen Bee colors all the time, but Chloé had never bothered trying to keep her identity a secret. Adrien was so obvious sometimes though. She didn't understand how no one had figured him out yet.
"People say that I'm attractive, rich, and incredibly fortunate. Apparently, I'm quite the catch." His tone was light, but Chloé knew better. He hated that people saw him that way. Hated that he was objectified and pursued by those that had never met him.
"I wish people realized that I'm just a regular kid."
See, that, Chloé did not understand at all. She had no desire to be normal. She was far above normal. And so was Adrien.
"And I wish people knew that I was funny," he continued.
Chloé burst out laughing.
"What?" he demanded, his voice sullen and petulant.
She just shook her head. "You might try to be funny, Adri-kins. You don't often succeed."
He pouted. It was adorable. "I just made you laugh, didn't I?"
"Keep telling yourself that," she commented dryly. But she smiled at him just the same. He smiled back.
"As for hiding from the world?" he continued, an arm behind his neck. "I would have to say loneliness."
Chloé's smile evaporated.
"I feel like even when I make a connection with someone, I have to hide half of who I am. No one seems to even want to see all of it," he confided.
Chloé's gut twisted painfully. She had always assumed that he had abandoned her when he had come to school and made new friends. But she never really let him be himself either. She had mocked his corny jokes and self conscious habits. And she had done nothing but scorn Chat Noir before she realized who he was.
Her arms crossed over her stomach, squeezing her own form tightly.
God, Chloé hated community circles! Why couldn't they be writing an essay right now or something?
She didn't want to feel this way! Or feel anything at all, if she got to choose!
"Chloé?" Sabrina's concerned voice cut into her thoughts. "Are you okay?"
Chloé made herself smile. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be anything other than stellar?" she bit out.
Adrien arched a golden eyebrow at her tone, but didn't comment. "It's your turn," he told her instead, once again gesturing to her yellow paper.
She bit her lip. She really didn't want to share it. There wasn't anything to share.
"Raise your hand if your group needs more time," Bustier's voice rang out throughout the room.
Sabrina and Adrien both started to move, but she shook her head emphatically at them, and their hands dropped back to their sides.
"Alright then, if you would please return to your seats for the closing."
The class burst into movement again. "It was nice chatting with you both," Adrien said with his usual patient smile.
Chloé nodded in acknowledgement.
"You too, Adrien!" Sabrina gushed.
Chloé turned to go back to her seat only to bump shoulders with Marinette. Chloé sneered at the other girl, feeling even more animosity towards her long time school rival than usual. Adrien said that he had never been able to share all of himself with anyone. That included Ladybug.
Marinette's blue eyes narrowed into an icy glare of her own. "Don't think I don't know that you cheated to be in Adrien's group!" she hissed.
It was more to be with Sabrina. Adrien was just a bonus, but there was no way she was going to explain that to Marinette. "You're only upset because you didn't think of it first," Chloé bit back.
"Alix, Kim, Marinette, Juleka, Chloé! Would you please rejoin us in the circle?"
Chloé turned on her heels without a glance at the others, and settled back into her seat, her arms folded across her chest. There was only nine minutes left of class! One more question, and Chloé would be free. It couldn't come soon enough.
Ms Bustier smiled warmly at the whole class from her own seat within the circle. "I want to thank you all for participating today and for being brave enough to be vulnerable with each other today. I have one final closing question for you all before you depart. What is something you've been struggling with this month? Take twenty seconds to think about it," she directed and allowed the room to fall into silence.
Chloé slid her yellow flats against the leg of her chair absently. She didn't bother thinking of a response to the question as she wasn't going to share. It was a terrible question anyway.
"Is there anyone who would like to go first?" Ms. Bustier's resonant voice called out.
Chloé cursed under her breath when Max, still at her right, raised his hand to go first.
At the teacher's direction, he moved to the center of the room, and selected an item - a replica of Ladybug's yoyo, before returning to his seat.
"I've been struggling with a bug in Markov's code. I can't sleep because I can't stop thinking of potential solutions, but so far nothing has worked."
He handed the talking piece to her. Chloé practically threw the cheap plastic toy at Sabrina as if it was a piece of hot coal that would burn her. Chloé was not about to share her struggles. She would not give anyone in this room the satisfaction or a weapon to use against her.
"Our geometry homework has been really long and complicated," Sabrina shared. Several of their classmates nodded in agreement.
Chloé's shoulders relaxed, releasing tension she hadn't realized was there. If they were all just going to whine about hard math problems, Chloé could handle it.
"I've been struggling to identify my sexual identity."
Chloé's gaze jerked up at the vulnerable pronouncement. Alix didn't even blush as she passed the yoyo to Kim.
The jock fiddled with the toy for a second, not speaking. Just flipping it over and over again in his hands. "I…" he swallowed and started again. "My mother is sick," he confessed. "And I'm not sure she's going to get better."
And it was all too much. Chloé's skin crawled like a colony of ants had taken up residence. She rubbed frantically at her arms, losing the battle to sit still. This was why Chloé hated circles.
She tried not to listen as the spotted talking piece was passed around the room. It went through Rose, Juleka, Ivan, Mylene, and Nathaniel. Chloé was able to tune it all out.
"I've been feeling… overwhelmed," Marinette admitted even as she spun the yoyo in her hands. "I have so many responsibilities, and I'm terrified that I won't be able to live up to them all on my own. And I'm scared it will be someone else that pays the price."
The silence roared in Chloé's ears. How she wanted to dismiss Marinette's fears as being an over dramatic teenager. But she couldn't.
Chloé knew exactly what Marinette was talking about.
On god damn it all, Chloé actually felt bad for her. For the weight on her shoulders.
She didn't want to feel this way! Certainly, not about Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And definitely not about Ladybug.
Chloé was still angry with Ladybug.
Marinette passed the red and black yoyo to Adrien who took it with a smile before turning back to the circle.
He also stared at the talking piece for a second before sharing. "So many people in my life claim to care about me. But then," he trailed off and glanced up to the ceiling then back down to the centerpiece in the center of the floor. "But I don't think they actually respect or trust me. They just expect blind obedience. And I… I don't know if I can do that forever."
And Chloé had no trouble hearing him. None at all even though he was clear across the room, even though he spoke barely louder than a whisper. It was like a prayer.
One that not even Ladybug could recognize.
So it was up to Chloé. She would have to fix this herself.
Somehow.
…
A/N:
I have implemented five community circles in my classroom each year over the last four years.
The first one in any given year is awkward and the kids giggle a lot. By the end of the year, they are life changing. The stories students have shared have been powerful by themselves, but that's not the most amazing part. The most amazing part is how students start to treat each other differently - with more patience and compassion - after they hear these stories. It turns out if they learn why someone is irritating, they don't get irritated with them nearly as often. When you know someone's story, you don't fear them. You admire them because everyone has an amazing story. I can't share specific examples because to tell you anything more would be to violate their privacy. But I'm telling you, LIFE CHANGING!
That being said, I would caution you against ever participating in a community or restorative circle without a trained facilitator. My very first "restorative" circle was before I had participated in my own training, and definitely resulted in more harm than good. The facilitator meant well in trying to implement something that was supposed to be more healing than punitive, but when she was implicated in causing harm by the students who were there to reflect, she became defensive and angry. And then of course the students just emulated the model before them.
On a more personal note, I'm very stressed out these days. I have been writing to cope, but I've been extremely undisciplined in which projects I work on. Like I seriously have seven different stories that I've been flitting back and forth between depending on my mood. I currently have a five chapter outline for this work, but I have absolutely no idea when I will update this. So… this is just a warning that I will be very slow. Hope you enjoy.
Thanks for reading. Reviews are love!