The coda … the real work of restorative justice

This is the epilogue to a qualitative case study which used critical ethnography to understand an alternative high school’s implementation of schoolwide restorative justice. While it serves as an epilogue to my yearlong partnership and embeddedness within this school community, it is not the conclusion of this school’s engagement with restorative justice or my learning as a restorative justice practitioner, educator, and researcher. I ascribe to restorative justice as a way of being, a lens to interrogate my relationships (Vaandering, 2014), and an ongoing practice. Tensions inevitably arise in the restorative process, straining interpersonal relationships. Deep reflection is necessary to address these tensions. This coda illuminates the challenges of a genuine restorative process with an example from my personal experience which highlights learnings gained. These learnings continue to inform the way I walk through the world as a restorative justice practitioner.