What is a new reality?
What does it look and feel like? How would we govern ourselves, work together, teach our children, resolve conflict or repair harm in the new reality?
Building a New Reality (BANR) founder Ted Wachtel has spent decades researching possibilities, building workable program models, and writing about these questions.
Consequently, Ted has written a growing library of books that provide an overview of what the world would look like if we implemented restorative practices at the heart of what we do. Think of each book as a deeper examination of the six facets with restorative practices at its center. Together, they provide a roadmap to see where we are and a framework for participatory learning, decision-making and action.
Welcome to the new reality.
Overview
Dreaming of a New Reality: How restorative practices reduce crime and violence, improve relationships and strengthen civil society (Second edition) – From restorative justice to restorative schools and workplaces, rarely does a proposed solution to challenging problems come with such a compelling track record—persuasive evidence that restorative practices heal victims, prevent bullying, curb conflict and boost satisfaction and productivity. This book provides compelling stories and statistics that demonstrate the promise of the exciting social movement of Restorative Practices. Spanish Translation
Governance
True Representation: How Citizens’ Assemblies and Sortition Will Save Democracy – Most people believe that voting is democracy, and that an election is the only way to choose people for public office. But they are mistaken. We can legally and constitutionally redefine how governance is done.
True Representation advocates for the creation of “citizens’ assemblies” – with participants chosen by random lottery rather than appointed or elected – to provide citizens with more voice and more choice, in exchange for taking more responsibility. This book is a guide for bringing about true, democratic representation in governance for all citizens.
Learning
Beyond the Schoolhouse: Learning For A New Reality – A visionary work when first written in 1977, as an angry young teacher’s response to the ineffectiveness and injustice of traditional schools as he experienced them, Beyond the Schoolhouse has only become more relevant in the decades since. Wachtel advocates alternatives to the traditional “assembly line” school model that still characterizes education in almost all of today’s public, private, parochial, and charter schools. The ongoing behavioral and academic challenges in public schools and the growth of the homeschooling movement suggest an urgent need for reform in the way we educate our children.
Justice
Real Justice – From Wagga Wagga, Australia, to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a revolution is taking place in how police, courts, schools, and workplaces respond to wrongdoing. Instead of just doling out punishment to offenders, we are changing our criminal justice and disciplinary systems to address the harm done to victims and the community.
Based in ancient tribal practices, “real justice” involves victims, offenders and their families and friends in a face-to-face process called “restorative justice conferencing.” This book offers a moving and powerful account of the growth and development of restorative justice conferencing in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, through true stories of victims and offenders in real life encounters.
Enterprise
A Kinder, Gentler Capitalism: Enterprise in the New Reality – Decades of “voodoo economics” and adherence to a failed economic policy have created a cascade effect, dropping many Americans out of the middle class and leaving far too many desperately mired in poverty. Meanwhile, one percent of the richest Americans own 43 percent of the nation’s wealth.
As an entrepreneur and avowed capitalist, Ted Wachtel offers A Kinder, Gentler Capitalism as a love letter to true, free-market capitalism. In fewer than 100 pages, he clearly explains the factors that have led to the current economic reality and provides a grounded, practical pathway to change.
