What do we mean by community-based & restorative justice? Community and restorative justice is rooted in community values and works to restore all parties, rather than just punishing an offender. Community justice focuses on being transparent in its operation, easily accessible to all, and working to mend relationships throughout the community, to heal the community … [Read more...] about Community-Based Restorative Justice Systems
prejudice
Connecting the Dots (2)
PBS recently republished a column by Rusul Airubail titled 'Why educators still need to talk about 9/11 — and Islamophobia'. I think this applies equally to adults and is actually very closely related to current experiences of racism and violence. It is still critical to provide safe spaces for children and adults to discuss the wave of Islamophobia that swept the US, with … [Read more...] about Connecting the Dots (2)
The Making of Inheritance
Cambiz Amir-Khosravi While planning a trip to Florida in 2011 to see my ailing mother-in-law, I realized that the Department of Motor Vehicles had misspelled my last name. Instead of Khosravi, they spelled it Khosrui. It might be a minor issue to most people but having a Middle Eastern name in today’s xenophobic climate I naturally became paranoid. Having heard of … [Read more...] about The Making of Inheritance
Boston & ‘the Muslim exception’ to the Bill of Rights
A lot has been written about the Boston bombings, the Tsarnaev brothers, and the way the case was handled. I don't want to add to that, but here are links to some of the more insightful articles, along with a brief excerpt from each: Lockdown, USA: Lessons From the Boston Marathon Manhunt, by Henry Giroux The collective expressions of relief, compassion, and adulation were … [Read more...] about Boston & ‘the Muslim exception’ to the Bill of Rights
The Road Not Taken
(With apologies to Robert Frost and his poem by the same title) When I saw the headline 'Attitudes on Arabs, terrorism shifting' in today's Morning Call, I expected to read that people here in the Lehigh Valley were finally getting over their prejudices and stereotypes about Arabs & Muslims. Instead, I learned that even as other fears have decreased, ‘wariness of … [Read more...] about The Road Not Taken
Education and Sustainability
Do schools and our current educational system function in sustainable ways—and do they prepare students to live sustainable lives? Hundreds of years ago, the people knew waht this meant, but many of us seem to have forgotten. One of the Great Laws of the Iroquois was ‘In every deliberation we must consider the impact on the seventh generation.’ In 2000, Penn State issued a … [Read more...] about Education and Sustainability