Commentary On Moms For Liberty’s Restorative Justice 101
Image Credit: momsforlibertywc.org
By Patty Canter [Special to The Tennessee Conservative] –
The January 24th meeting of Mom’s for Liberty was another outstanding program, this time to warn about Restorative Justice that is being used in the public schools.
There were two speakers who explained the Restorative Justice program, which was instituted during President Obama’s tenure and provides a social justice ideology for disciplinary problems. The speakers at the meeting were Ryan Petty and Max Eden, an Education Policy Expert.
Ryan Petty, father of Elena Petty, talked about the Parkland School shooting that happened five years ago in Florida where seventeen students were killed, including his daughter. Restorative Justice was used in the schools which resulted in this tragic situation, a system that had treated a former student with “kid gloves” for his recurring insolence and bad behavior over many years. Max Eden brought in other relates facts as well.
Parkland School is in an area, like the city of Franklin, and was being touted as one of the best schools in the country, similar to Williamson County Schools. No one ever thought a shooting would occur in their area—yet a subversive program had been instituted which resulted in a time bomb ready to explode.
During the meeting, it was explained how Restorative Justice works. One aspect is how statistics are often skewed to make things look like they are better than what they are. For instance, instead of a child getting in trouble with the police for the first misdemeanor, it was changed to three.
The definition of three misdemeanors was changed also. Three misdemeanors had to happen in one category before the police would be called. For example, one category might be a student hitting another student. Three like it would have to happen in that category.
If a student hit a teacher, that was another category and three would have to happen in it. Another category might be destruction of school property.
So, in effect, a student could commit two in one category, two in another and three in another, totaling seven, before it was considered three misdemeanors and a cause to call the police. Is this the new math?
Robin Steenman, Chapter Chair, then followed with how this program is failing in the Williamson County Schools, giving examples of multiple and serious problems with students that are not being addressed by the schools. Her explanation of some of the events that have happened can be found at momsforlibertywc.org, click on Resources, click on Restorative Justice and watch the video.
Unfortunately, we have a Restorative Practitioner in Williamson County Schools. His name is Josiah Holland, who is Director of the Alternative Learning Center of WCS. We also have a Superintendent of Schools, Jason Golden, who endorses Restorative Justice. Yes, we have Restorative Justice in Williamson County Schools, just like Parkland. It is part of the Social Justice school discipline policies.
Since this article is a commentary, there is another aspect that needs to be examined. What has happened in the home?
There was a day when children were not violent in schools. Parents used principles of the Bible so children behaved in the home like they were to behave elsewhere. We need to get back to doing it God’s way. A pastor, J. Richard Fugate, has put all the scriptures of the Bible concerning discipline and chastisement together in a book explaining Biblical concepts in What the Bible Says about Child Training. It gives confidence to parents in raising children. It is God’s love for us in that He wants to help us as he knows what needs to be done. The helpful book, based on the Bible, can be purchased at Amazon.com.
Colossians 3:20a “Children, obey your parents in all things.”
