When senior Taylor Smith first heard about the Restorative Justice program, he went in skeptical yet hopeful. “To be honest, I didn’t think that it was going to have this much progress but I didn’t think that it was going to be a failure either,” Smith said. After he experienced it first hand he has become a believer, who openly encourages students and teachers to use it. He has even become an ambassador for the program as it expands to the elementary and middle schools that feed into Akins.

Our interview follows:

Akins Eagles Eye: Before RJ, How were your interactions with your teachers?

Taylor Smith: I didn’t communicate with my teachers enough to [tell them] “Look, I don’t like what you’re doing… I used to just think you couldn’t really talk to a teacher like that so I would just be like, “you know what [forget] it. I don’t really like them, they don’t really like me so [I’m not going] to really do anything in class. I’m going to just chill out, he’s not going to tell me what to do.” And then they had the restorative thing and asked me if I wanted to have a circle with him. And I was like “yeah, cool.” In the circle I told him, “you know, I don’t like you because you do this and that,” and I was able to tell him what he was doing wrong and on the bright side they told me what I was doing wrong and it was better because I got to realize that it wasn’t the same mindset that I thought they had you know. I thought they had you know. I thought they were just like, ‘Forget Taylor he’s just this thug dude. He don’t really care about working so I’m not going to help him out.’ That’s how I thought they used to look at me. And that not 100 percent true it’s a little trust but I think it’s better because I get to see how they see me. So I can respect them by the decisions they make. I won’t just be like man forget you bro you don’t even like me so why did you do that. So now I can understand.

AE: What were your initial thoughts about Restorative Justice?

TS: To be honest, I didn’t think that it was going to have this much progress but I didn’t think that it was going to be a failure either. When we started circles and they got to tell us who they really are and once you get to see who they are you can have a better relationship. You don’t have to think about how they might react, you know how they are going to react they told you so you know what line to cross and how to make them smile. I saw that the first day I went and it really made me think “Oh snap! We can really do something with this.” I’m trying to use that for the whole school because if we can get the whole school to do the circles then we can make a difference. The whole world can make a difference.

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AE: Did RJ change the way that you saw your teachers and peers?

TS: Yes, it did. I used to think that they looked at me a certain way because of my record. After doing circles I started seeing the real motive about things. Like I can understand why he just told me to stop talking. I understand you, I respect you enough to be quiet again when you really need me to be quiet. With my peers, they can understand me better. Everybody has two sides: the good and the bad. And a lot of people have seen my bad side so it’s like they understand me now to where I can show my good side. I’m the kid that can show love to people when they need it. I smile because I have a good side, I want people to understand that.

AE: How, exactly, did you become a restorative practitioner?

TS: My first thought was getting everybody together, it was really just black people. Then I saw things like racism, discrimination, and segregation. We need everybody. I had to get my word out. We wanted to see how people felt about different situations. It started with talking about Donald Trump. It was the day he got elected. I wanted to tell the world how I felt, but I had to do it in a more organized way. We went to elementary schools and they were asking, Should we do circles starting this young?.’ Yes, we should, because kids grow up not talking to people. If they can have a circle when they’re young, they can have those skills when they get older. The world isn’t what it’s supposed to be.

AE: Do you enjoy working with the people/students in RJ?

TS: Yes, because when I go there, there’s at least one person goofing off. People might be mad, but we need that. If we’re all serious and crying, we need that one person to make us laugh, to cut that tension. We also need that one person to get back to the seriousness. We need people with different types of personalities.

AE: What kinds of things have you done to grow the program outside of Akins?

TS: We did the circles at the elementary schools. I’m doing this thing for AISD, it’s on the topic of suspending students in Kindergarten to Second grade. My opinion is that we shouldn’t suspend students because they’re young and learning. They don’t know what is exactly right and wrong. They just know what is going to please them. You can’t blame them for that. They don’t know any better. If I can say the right (things), it will, hopefully, change the way elementary (school) are ran. I can make a difference with my words, that’s the best thing that can happen. I can’t change the world if I can’t look after my family, or my own people.

AE: Has RJ helped you academically?

TS: They actually have, they told me what I was failing, they kept me on my game. I need to graduate. I got into a lot of stuff, I need to pass every single class with a “B”. Even though I’m a little lazy in class, they’re still there to tell me they care. How I know they care is because, they wouldn’t tell me about my grades. That’s the way they’ve helped me, by telling me certain things and giving me opportunities to help my dream.

AE: Will you continue doing this after high school?

TS: I want to say, definitely, but it really depends on what I’m fighting for. I want to change the world, but I don’t want to do things that have nothing to do with what I want to change. My goal is really changing the world for black and brown people. I’m not saying we’re supposed to rule this world, but the way it is right now is not a good way. I might not change the world, but if I can spark somebody’s brain, to know what’s going on, that’s the better way. I want my actions to be for a reason, I don’t want to do things, or just to do things and make myself look good. It makes me mad every single day, what’s happening to our people. If I can open people’s eyes to know it’s not all good, we still have problems. It’s all under the cover, but all you have to is raise that blanket up.