A teacher who had gone to one of our workshops in February asked me recently where she can get more training, more learning. This was my response to her:
"It's great that you want to learn more. I hear the passion and enthusiasm in that desire. At the same time, it is my sense thatfor the stage you are in - you already have everything you need within you. I believe that what you need now is to be brave and practice - to try out some of the things you learned.You will have some awkward circles and some failed attempts at listening underneath. It will be ok. You will not break it. You know a lot. Go forth and play with it."
When I came back from my first 40-hour learning event with Dominic Barter, I practiced facilitating circles between just two people (my kids) for 4 monthsbefore I reached out for more formal learning. That is where my skills were and what I needed to do. Slowly, I added another person (my husband) to my facilitation - and then more people - and more formal and informal learning - until I was able to facilitate bigger and more intense circles and apply the skills with more ease.
The voice inside us that tells us we just need one more workshop - one more training - one more article - before we can dive in - is often the voice of fear and insecurity.
If you have been working with me all year and reading some of the newsletters (or catching them in blog or Instagram form) - you have learned A LOT about restorative practices this year. I have summarized 16 of them below.
There are two good months left of school to re-connect with students and colleagues, family and old friends - to listen underneath, and to end the year on a restorative note.
Everything you need to be more restorative is already within you. Go forth and practice!
