INTRODUCTION
Circles are a tradition from communities of the past where people joined in a circle to understand one another, share perspectives, solve problems or possibly make peace. Even today, healthy families will find time to switch off the TV and join together with a hot drink to talk honestly about how things are.
The Danger for Young People
The break-down of long established community institutions and traditions have fractured many of the mechanisms that young people innately used to learn the ways of adulthood. Combined with historically high rates of family break-up, the structures that young people have used to build a healthy relationship with the world are disappearing. Young people who would once have had exposure to a wide cross-section of opinion and experience from a variety of age-groups are increasingly finding company with a narrow niche of people – often no older or wiser than themselves. The delinquent sub-cultures such as youth gangs are evidence that isolated young people are both a danger to themselves and others.
Young People and Schools
Educators would wish that schools be regarded by the community as places of refuge and security for young people – but this is not always so. In small primary schools where all members of the school community know one another, students may feel connected but in large secondary schools, the sense of isolation and disconnection can be felt strongly by teenagers. In other words, a large secondary school can reinforce the fear that young people have about their failure to belong in an impersonal world.
Firstly, even if these groups are overseen by a good-hearted individual, unless a specific process is followed that maximises relationships and understandings between members of the tutor group/form class, the worth of these groups are marginalised. Secondly, the average student’s day consists of many opportunities for harm within the subject class setting. Unless a process is used that integrates with their subject class routines, possibilities for resolving issues with the members of those classes is effectively denied to that student.
Accordingly, the Circle process can ideally be used in both tutor group/form class and
subject class contexts to build a sense of community, belonging and shared understanding.
subject class contexts to build a sense of community, belonging and shared understanding.
Circles and the NZ Curriculum
Thankfully, the needs of the new (2007) curriculum to recognise broader aspects of personal
development for young people than earlier documents have been met. The new national
curriculum paper pays considerable attention to aspects of the young
person’s education experience outside of the Eight Essential Learning Areas. Most importantly for the mental and social health of students are the Key Competencies.
development for young people than earlier documents have been met. The new national
curriculum paper pays considerable attention to aspects of the young
person’s education experience outside of the Eight Essential Learning Areas. Most importantly for the mental and social health of students are the Key Competencies.
People use these competencies to live, learn, work, and contribute as active members of their communities. More complex than skills, the competencies
draw also on knowledge, attitudes, and values in ways that lead to action. They are not separate or stand-alone. They are the key to learning in every learning area. The New Zealand Curriculum identifies five key competencies:
1. managing self
2. relating to others
3. participating and contributing
4. thinking
5. using language, symbols, and texts.
Circles, Restorative Practices and Class Conferences
There is rapidly building interest worldwide in the education sector in the benefits that Restorative Practices (RP) appears to be offering schools. As research and practice develops yearly, it is clear that RP are not intended to be used as a ‘programme’, but as a philosophy for the school community to build its culture and processes around. One exciting element of RPs in use in NZ schools and elsewhere has been the ‘class conference’. A class conference is a gathering of all the people involved with a particular class with an express interest in voicing concerns surrounding the class and moving towards solutions.
Personally, I believe that class conferences can be a powerful intervention for one of the most problematic situations facing any school – the class that is not functioning as a harmonious, respectful learning unit, But also after much reflection, I have begun to look at troublesome classes in a new way. I now understand more clearly that the bad behaviour is not the problem but the symptom of a problem. This is not revolutionary thinking but it has changed my orientation towards dealing with it.
Having started Circles in several classes that were once very much a ‘problem’, it became immediately clear that the students were operating from a very low sense of trust with each other. The bickering, put-downs, inattention to work, belligerence towards teachers were in many ways an expression of that mistrust. Once, we had begun to build trust with Circle exercises, many elements of class behaviour began to show significant improvement and continue to do so.Does this mean that class conferences are redundant? No, not at all but it means that staff have choices about how we approach the problem. If we wish to have relatively swift responses to problem behaviour, then a class conference may be the best option. If however the time can be taken to devoting more time to building trusting relationships within the class, the Circle approach may pay greater long-term dividends to the class and school. I advise for schools to trial both and make their own decisions.
Circles – Reactive or Preventative?
How are other Countries using Circles ?
Perhaps the clearest example of what is possible may be the United Kingdom where many primary and secondary are beginning to embrace the Circle concept as a powerful resource option within their curriculum. Personal and Social Health Education (PSHE) is a mandatory curriculum strand which best equates to NZ’s Health and Physical Education element. Within PSHE, Circles are among approaches that teachers have found real success and satisfaction with. Appendix I gives an opinion of the Circle process from a British education site. http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/teachingandlearning/library/circletime/
The Benefit of Circles in Student’s Social and Personal Development
Perhaps the best way for people to understand the potential benefits is to quote from some of the UK experts, Jenny Mosley and Marilyn Tew.
Mosley and Tew, 1999:9
CIRCLES PROCESS - THE BASICS
Necessary Groundrules
There are several indisputable guidelines that must be followed. Simply, they are as follows:
- The designated speaker should not be interrupted in any way.
- People should signal if they wish to speak.
- If people do not wish to speak, they are entitled to ‘pass’ – they are also entitled to speak once the round has finished.
- No put-downs at all. The person speaking is not to name anyone in a negative way. The speaker is entitled to name behaviours or actions but not individuals – or hint at individuals.
- Circles should be preferably a positive environment. Accordingly, issues can hopefully be talked about with an emphasis on ‘solutions’ rather than ‘problems’.
The Debate – The Place of Games in Circles?
The choice of Circle process will depend on its application. Even within education settings, there does not appear to be a conclusive understanding about which is the best model.
The secondary school model described by Mosley and Tew appears to be a derivation of their popular and well established primary school model. The primary model has a considerable emphasis on games and other elements of fun that stand alongside the component of open talk. Mosley and Tew’s secondary school model has placed less importance on games but repeated references can be found in their literature about the need for ‘fun’, even with teenagers. That said, even gurus like Mosley acknowledge that games can be hard to sell to secondary age students.I will never argue the need for teenagers to have genuine, harmless fun but at this stage of my learning about Circles, I am treading cautiously. My argument is this: teenagers (especially teenage boys) will characteristically use humour as a means of side-stepping emotional transparency. By deliberately introducing humour into Circle, we stand the danger of giving young people another opportunity to use the same tactics of personal avoidance that they routinely use with their friends. Even if a Circle starts with a game, the Circle then has to be moved towards a deeper level of human engagement – it appears to me that the game has to be chosen carefully to perform a learning function - and then have that function explained to the students. At Rosehill College we are 'playing it safe' by using energisers mostly derived from the excellent Peer Support Programme (sponsored by Rotary) and these simple exercises seem to be able to complement the deeper learning of the more traditional Circle processes.
Allow me to explain my apparently conservative approach. Evidence suggests that teenagers are mostly still able to experience ‘fun’ – even if through somewhat illicit means. But I contend that there is a vital element of human experience that most of the 21st Century’s teenagers know little about – and that is the experience of reverence. By reverence I mean the sense of awe that a person might feel by witnessing a breathtaking sunrise or even the sense of awe that parents may feel witnessing their new-born baby. Many of the aspects of young people’s life in which reverence may once have been found have since been largely lost – the visits to church, neighbourhood connections with community leaders, etc. By restoring opportunities for young people to feel reverence, young people have a sense of something greater than themselves, a sense of humility that is healthy for a positive outlook towards life.
Successful Circles – the Importance of the Facilitator
Probably understandably, the single most important guideline for Circle is the provision and maintenance of emotional safety. Open disclosure of difficult topics and innermost experiences is difficult for all people in the best of circumstances. For a teenager to talk honestly about their lives in the midst of put-downs or with the subsequent risk of ridicule later, it is virtually impossible. So, freedom from criticism is utterly vital at all stages of the Circle – and of course in the days between Circles.
This uppermost concern for emotional safety reveals an inescapable truth – that the skill and performance of the facilitator is pivotal to the success of the process. Bluntly, there are many other aspects of the Circle process that the facilitator must be vigilant about, but if the facilitator cannot be ‘ruthless’ about providing a safe environment, every other effort is wasted. This will entail modelling a respectful stance at all times, watching and listening for any emotional threats and acting swiftly and effectively when they do occur.
In essence then, it will become clear to readers that the positive qualities seen in good teachers are extremely useful for running Circles. Does this then mean that a good teacher is necessarily a good Circle facilitator? In my opinion – No. I think that teaching skills are useful but I believe something extra is needed to make an excellent Circle facilitator. The extra qualities that I believe are also required are an understanding of the inner world that that teenagers live in and emotional literacy.
Firstly, understanding the teenager’s inner world. The facilitator needs to understand that what he or she most values in the world is possibly not the most important to teenagers. It is easy to dismiss teenage concerns about belonging as superficial or worthless – but that is the reality for many teenagers and the facilitator needs to value these concerns too while working with students. Secondly, if the facilitator is able to look inside himself/herself and express the emotional currents that lie within him/her, the students will have an invaluable role-model in the room with them. Needless to say, it takes courage on the behalf of the facilitator to share some of these more private feelings with a group of teenagers but we cannot expect the students to do something that we are not prepared to do ourselves. The Physical Environment
This is another vital aspect of the process as the environment. An unclean or even uncared-for room can have a suppressive effect on human emotions. Conversely, a bright, clean and orderly room can lift emotions and encourage expression. Accordingly, a Circle should ideally be run in a room that is pleasant to the eye. If rubbish has been left on the floor by a previous class, it will be necessary for the floor to be cleared before the Circle is contemplated.
The room should be private in the sense that no-one should be able to overhear talk from the Circle. As importantly, the Circle should be held in a room that is quiet. Students who talk about private issues within the Circle often do so in a quiet, shy voice - if there is any outside noise, their words are often lost amongst the background din.An absolute rule of Circles is that everyone should be able to see one another clearly. This is the reason why a circle formation is so important. There should not be any physical barrier separating people and for this reason all the class desks will have to be temporarily stacked in the corners of the room. It is necessary to have the rule of students placing their bags behind their seats, rather than in front of their feet as they often prefer. It is good practice to never have an empty seat – if a student should have to leave the room, the group should remove the vacant chair from the Circle and the gap ‘filled’.
Regularity of Circles
I believe that this is a more critical consideration than it first appears. I believe that for Circles to achieve what it is fully capable of in a school, it has to overtly valued. If students can clearly see that staff recognise it as a vital tool in the delivery of the new NZ Curriculum, they will engage with it more earnestly than if they thought it was a way for teaching staff to fill in odd periods. If it is clear that their Circle facilitator is has received specialist training and is operating as a skilled person, they will also engage more earnestly.
A ‘Talking Piece’
There is varied debate about the value of a talking piece (TP) but I think that Rosehill College Circle staff are sold on their effectiveness. A talking piece can be any object that is passed around the Circle that symbolically gives the holder the exclusive right to talk – all others must listen. The talking piece needs to be of a size that allows everyone in the room to view it. In other words, it is unsuitable to use a small shell or stone as a talking piece because it is easy for such an item
to be hidden out of view in a student’s hands. Authors suggest that any object such as a soft toy can be used as a talking piece but given the propensity of some teenagers to turn a serious situation into a farce, I believe that it is taking an unnecessary risk to use any object that can become the focus of a joke. Natural objects such as manicured tree branches make ideal talking pieces because they tend to transcend culture and race more than manufactured objects.
The words of advice that I give young people when first experimenting with the TP is to regard it as being a very precious object. I explain the preciousness of the TP as follows: The TP symbolises words. Words are powerful - they can create war or heal nations. Words therefore must be be chosen carefully and used wisely. Accordingly, at Rosehill College we ask that no-one ever throw, shove drop or otherwise disrespect the TP.
For the talking piece to be effective, the rules for its use need to be scrupulously observed. In other words, if the talking piece is in use by the Circle, the facilitator needs to recognise democratic process and touch the talking piece before talking him or herself. The orientation of the talking piece can be used to ‘mark’ the status of a Circle. For example, TP is upright in someone’s hands – person is talking. TP lies flat within Circle – TP is available for someone to retrieve. TP lies horizontal in front of the facilitator – paired talking, etc.
Hand Signals
In order for the basic groundrules to be followed, it is necessary to have a system where students can make simple communications without interrupting others – handsignals are an excellent tool. A hand outstretched is a clear signal for, “Can I please have the talking piece”. A signal that Rosehill College has successfully used is the upraised hand which means, “I can see or hear a put-down – either from the speaker’s words or from the actions of a non-speaker.”
Circle Timing
The timing within the day does not appear to be totally critical. Staff working with Circles at Rosehill have speculated that the 1st period of the day may be a bit more difficult as the students are still adjusting to ‘school’ mode. We have run many Circles in Period 5 without substantial concentration issues.
CIRCLES PROCESS - THE FINE DETAILS
Circle Techniques
There are several techniques that appear to be universally useful during Circles. The two most elementary techniques are as follows and can each be used in a variety of ways.
Circle Exercises
Whichever way that you structure your Circle on a particular day, have a selection of options to choose from if one activity should unpredictably ‘bomb’ for a unfathomable reason – much in the same way that a good teacher will always have a spare activity up his/her sleeve. Aim to have a good ‘pace’ to the Circle so that there is a sense of energy – but balance it with restraint when a slower speed is necessary for things such as sensitive topics (Tew, Read and Potter, 2007).
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Start with Easy Topics
The inclination of students, especially in the early weeks of a Circle’s life, can be to skip or bounce around issues. By this I mean that they will naturally wish to avoid disclosing private information about themselves to a group of students who may have historically appeared threatening. The only antidote to this is to start with topics of discussion that are quiet safe and move towards more difficult topics as the trust level grows in the group. If you feel that a Circle has ‘choked’ on a particular day, there may have been a harmful event outside of the Circle that has temporarily damaged trust. In such cases, you may have to ‘backtrack’ for a week or two and build back up to tricky topics once trust has returned.
Learn to Use Silence
All teachers have been told to wait for several seconds after having asked a question to a class and as all teachers know, it is harder to do than it sounds. Likewise, learning to accept and even use silence in a Circle is very necessary learning for all facilitators to acquire. Silence can arise in a Circle for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it can be because the facilitator has just given an instruction or request that has completely confused students. Or possibly the discussion point may be out of the depth of the target audience. In situations such as this it is the facilitator’s responsibility to rectify the situation with a clearer instruction, etc.
Involve Everyone
I am not pretending to know the answer to this one yet but it should be the goal of every facilitator to have students involved with the concept, even if not with every individual Circle. This may involve finding the pet topics of some of the quieter students and using those as the focus for upcoming Circles. Alternatively, the facilitator or another staff member could have a private chat with some of the less involved students and find out what barriers may exist to their involvement – alterations to Circle process should be considered if other students are not disadvantaged by the changes.
Be Patient
Although this may seem a given, it is worth mentioning repeatedly. In asking students to talk openly and listen attentively, we are asking some students to turn around negative social habits built up over nine or ten years. Practice and research in Circle processes suggest that even when it appears as though students do not benefit immediately from the Circles concept, they probably are assimilating valuable learning that is difficult to quantify. Learn to make judgements about the progress of Circles over a course of months rather than days or weeks.
Variation in Circles Exercises?
There appears to be contradictory opinions about this topic and you may have to come to your own conclusion before research gives us a clearer answer. One argument is that by having a predictable order of exercises, students will find security and reassurance. The other argument is that predictable order will create boredom and indifference.
Discipline in Circles
Provided that you as facilitator have attended to all the other issues described in this paper, you may have less to deal with than you may first imagine. Many of Rosehill College’s first experiences with Circles were for addressing relationship issues in ‘troublesome’ classes. Despite the tricky groups that Circles were being run with, apart from the odd exception we have had little discipline concerns to deal with.
(Mosley and Tew, 1999: 49)
Groom for Leadership
Although I am not suggesting that every class should be running democratically, Circles should be regarded as democracy in action. Accordingly, it makes sense that anyone should have the opportunity to lead the Circle, provided they have the right credentials. I believe that a wonderful time in the evolution of Circles in a school will be when a student facilitates the Circle and staff temporarily relinquish that role. This is certainly possible, provided that the keen students are given the same degree of training that staff are given.
FINAL WORDS
In days gone by it may have been the mark of professionalism for teachers to have a sense of distance and detachment from the students in their care. More transparent connections with students might have been regarded as frivolous or unnecessary.
REFERENCES
Pranis, K. (2005) The Little Book of Circle Processes: A New/Old Approach to Peacemaking. Intercourse, PA: The Little Books of Justice and Peacemaking.
Tew, M., Read, M. and Potter, H. (2007) Circles, PSHE and Citizenship. London: Paul Chapman Publishing.
Other sites which you may find of interest are:
1. http://rcrp.blogstop.com/
( a blog of a three week study tour I took of Australian schools in 2007. All the schools were recommended by Marg Thorsborne, revealing aspects of practice that are equally of relevance to NZ schools)
2. https://sites.google.com/site/hubbardaitkenfellowship2017/
(advocating for the consideration of mindfulness to build the psychological capacity of school leaders. It investigates the history and contemporary uses of mindfulness, and the research base behind current use).
3. http://undercoverteams.blogspot.com/
(this is the original 'Undercover Teams doc which discusses the antibullying approach first launched by Maines and Robinson as 'No-Blame' - this approach is reinvestigated, looking through a 'restorative lens'. Enough details are provided for you to be able to run Undercover Teams in your school).
Contact:
Bill Hubbard worked as the Head of the Student Support Department at Rosehill College, Papakura, Auckland, New Zealand.
As at 2015 Bill works in the same school in a Deputy Principal position.
https://sites.google.com/site/billhubbardnz/home
b.hubbard@rosehill-college.co.nz ph: 64 9 2950661 ext. 825