Have You Fallen Out Of Love With RP? Take the Quiz

​Wondering If Restorative Practice is The One for you? Take the following Quiz and find out for sure by adding up all the Yes answers.


Q. 1  Do you remember the six RP questions (without having to go to your wallet or purse for a sneaky peak at the card)? Yes or No

Q. 2 Have you used a restorative question in the last two weeks (look at the card here to remind you because chances are you have)? Yes or No

Q. 3 Have you lead a circle in the past month? (You don't need to have used a talking piece here, just a time when you gave everyone a chance to speak) Yes or No

Q. 4 In the last week, have you thought through in advance something unpleasant you had to say to someone, because you knew how important that relationship was to you? Yes or No

Q. 5 Do you follow any RP websites, facebook or twitter streams other than this blog (otherwise it's too easy)? Yes or No

Q. 6 Do you believe that an RP approach is best for approaching everyone (and when I say everyone, that even means the guy whose car cuts in front of you in traffic)? Yes or No

Q. 7 Are you aware that you can express anger in a restorative way to someone who cuts in front of you in traffic (NB Do not go back and change your answer from No to Yes in Q. 6 if you were not previously aware of this)? Yes or No

Q. 8  Do you believe that suspending pre-school kids (it happens believe it or not) is wrong and we need to find a better way? Yes or No

Q. 9 Do you believe that suspending primary and secondary students is wrong and we need to find a better way (a tougher one I know)? Yes or No

Q. 10 Have you praised someone using restorative language in the last week (RP is not just for Conflict)? Yes or No


Count up your Yes answers and see how your love affair with RP is going using the following state of the art, internationally validated, scientific scoring system.

Score

9-10   Good news. You are still in love with RP. You are most likely a regular readers of this blog (and every other blog on RP) and a die-hard practitioner. This quiz clearly wasn't even aimed at you, but thanks for taking it anyway. Keep doing what are doing and telling everyone you meet about RP. Also, read on because you might find some of the other stuff useful for supporting others along the way

6-8   Well done, you're still on the right track. You probably have got the one-day training, read a book or two and make some very good RP interventions now and again. It's possible, however, that you sometimes find you are doing it on your own and need a boost or injection of motivation. Check out some Youtube clips of stuff that's not even necessarily RP (as a suggestion try Brene Brown, Chris Voss or Simon Sinek). It doesn't really matter too much. RP is nothing new and elements of it can be seen in everything else. You just need a spark now and again to keep the fire alive.

4-5  There's definitely something missing and something needs to change. You probably got the one-day training, but were likely the only one from the team to get it. Your manager is excited at developing it further but you've just found it too hard on your own. You even bought the book Non-Violent Communication from eBay, but you feel guilty for not starting it and now it's stuffed in the sock drawer. Don't fret. Guilt, or Shame, can be overcome by talking to someone, anyone. The minute you do this you will remember what brought you to RP in the first place. If you can connect with someone and get that little bit of support you need, you will get the ball rolling again.

1-3 This relationship is stalled at the starting post. You were most likely forced to go to the one-day training, rather than requesting it. You've seen a hundred such-like "fads" come and go where you work and are waiting for this to go the same way as the others. You've nothing against RP as such, but just doubt it's all that. At the same time, you have a realisation that what you are doing is still not working either. It's ok. For what it's worth RP is not perfect either. And, furthermore, it doesn't have to be. It just needs to be better than what you are doing already. Try researching for some of the evidence that's out there to support it (there's tons). That might convince you there's something worth persuing. And, by all means, keep those who purport to be restorative in check by questioning them all the time.

Thanks for taking the test and don't forget to keep the romance alive.

That's Restorative Practice

Author

​My name is Joe Power and I am the RP development officer for Limerick. I thought I would write about my experiences in developing my own understanding of RP, as well as in trying to spread it across Limerick. The reason for this is that I find that both my own and other people's experiences are remarkably similar and there could well be some opportunity for others to benefit from these thoughts (or ramblings!!). Anyway I hope you gain something from it.

I am available to come to any school/youth club/organisation to talk about RP, demonstrate Restorative Circles or give advice on how you too can implement some of the practices. Also please e-mail any thoughts/comments/stories you might have to me at respracdevoff@gmail.com. Thank you.