What's The Point?

Council is a unique community-building practice used at Changeist for students and Team Leaders to share reflections in small, intimate groups. It's an actionable example of an adapted restorative justice technique. Based on the routines of indigenous communities, students and Team Leaders practice setting intentions and speaking and listening from their heart.

Field Notes

@Jenny Liu Zhang:

• Participants sit in a circle. One facilitator places a "centering piece"—a container or receptacle.
• Each participant has a trinket, rock, or other small item to use as a "dedication piece." For now, they hold onto it.
• The facilitator chooses a third item to be the "talking piece" and places it next to the centering piece.
• For 5 minutes, the facilitator asks a calming check-in question. The example is, "if you were the weather right now, what kind of weather would you be?"
• After each person shares, the facilitator starts Council by listing 5 intentions. While listing, the facilitator pauses after each intention to invite participants to share out what each intention means for them in that moment.
  1. Listen from the heart
  2. Speak from the heart
  3. Be spontaneous
  4. Be lean
  5. Respect the talking piece
• Once the intentions are agreed upon, the facilitator invites each person to make a dedication to the space, starting with them and then in a clockwise circle. After each person makes a specific and authentic dedication, they put their dedication piece into the centering piece.
  • A dedication can be something like, "I dedicate this Council to my team who supported me even though I had a tough week."
• After dedications, the facilitator poses a discussion topic or question for the group. The facilitator takes and introduces the talking piece, then explain how they will pass it to their left. If a participant has the talking piece, they may share their meditations, feelings, and thoughts about the topic or question (while being mindful of the 5 intentions). They may also choose to say nothing and simply hold the talking piece for a moment, then continue passing it to their left.
  • This discussion is the core of Council.
• The discussion begins and continues for one full circle. Then, the facilitator introduces the "brave round," where they will pass the talking piece around one more time for last thoughts, or the opportunity to share more.
• The discussion can continue for multiple discussion topics or questions. The facilitator adapts to the Council by shifting topics and changing the course of conversation to match the moment.
• After discussion, the facilitator ends council with a unified activity, like a synchronized clap, by humming a tone that everyone can match, or counting down.

Bullet Summary