In Canada, November 11 is Remembrance Day and November 17-24 is Restorative Justice Week. Each is set in an effort to remind people there has to be a different way--a different way to work out differences, a different way to repair harm. As I paid for the peace lily I selected at the nursery today and carried it out to the car, it dawned on me how privileged we are as educators to be nurturing relational communities in schools. Spilled blood and repairing serious harm are realities, but if we can learn to dialogue and honour each other as valued, worthy human beings, perhaps in the future we can be celebrating peace more than we will need to remember death and brokenness. "The wolf and the lamb will feed together… They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord." (Isaiah 65) 

 (by Dr. D. Vaandering, RJ Dialogue, November 2013)