Today’s post is part 3 of a series on implementing restorative practices in schools.
Support ‘human dignity’
Ann H. Lê, Ed.D., is a published author and speaker across a variety of educational fields, including special education, discipline, behavior, and restorative practices. She is the former Deputy Director of Special Education and currently works as a special education advocate and educational consultant.
The situation in our society today is very different from five years ago, and the impact of COVID-19 has worsened not only the education sector, but also the overall well-being of adults and children. Schools and families have experienced increasingly severe and intensifying mental health, social-emotional and behavioral consequences for children and adults. Simply put, the changes in behavior that educators see in schools are not just limited to young students, they also apply to ourselves as adults, and this affects how we respond to student behavior.
As educators, our responsibility is to help young scholars develop the skills they need to become effective citizens and contributors to their communities. This goes beyond academia. We have a moral obligation to mentor and shape them so they can distinguish between right and wrong and analyze choices to make morally sound decisions. Therefore, if we only impose punitive or retaliatory measures in response to the poor decisions they make without closely examining the root causes of these behavioral outbursts, we are essentially depriving them of the opportunity to understand their poor decisions and the impact of those decisions. That's it. They, their colleagues, and their communities.
We must practice and advocate for a mindset shift that views “bad behavior” as a missing skill (skill-based deficit) that needs to be learned, rather than a deliberate personal choice. We can acknowledge that all humans respond to a given situation with whatever skills and knowledge they have in their tool belt, and that this may vary from individual to individual depending on the degree of opportunity.
Expulsions and suspensions hinder young students' academic progress and undermine their sense of belonging in school. Restorative practice is humanistic. Restorative practices enable students and caring adults to use intentional, inclusive, and respectful ways to think about, communicate, and deal with behavioral problems. When used in school settings, restorative practices support relationship development and restoration, emphasize student autonomy, and downplay harsh punishment in favor of dialogue to resolve conflicts. This growth and development will benefit young scholars beyond their K-12 education careers.
Restorative practices in schools include:
· Use emotional (or I) statements – simple statements that inform someone of the impact their actions (positive or negative) have on other individuals. It is an alternative to opinions that are implicitly critical and can lead to confrontation, debate, and further conflict.
· Active listening – Shifts the listener's focus from what's going on in their head to the speaker's needs. It shows that the person speaking is valuable and that what they express is important.
· Community Building (or Re-entry) Circles – Build empathy among students and reduce negative aggressive behavior that may be present in the classroom.
· Setting Classroom Contracts or Norms – Student-centered values are created as a community that leads to increased buy-in.
· Incorporate daily morning meetings – develop relationships with students, assess their social and emotional thinking, and determine the direction and focus of the school day.
· Use goal setting with your students – students take ownership of areas they want to improve (academically and socially) and set realistic, achievable goals for themselves.
· Curiosity Questions – Genuine questions asked to learn more about an individual’s situation and help resolve conflicts beyond the surface of the issue.
· Restorative Chat – used when students are not meeting established norms in the classroom and focuses on the following five questions: What happened? What were you thinking at the time? What have you been thinking since then? Who (and in what ways) has been affected by your work? What do you think needs to be done to make things right?
· Goal Meetings – Teachers can ensure students are on track to achieve their goals, and students learn how to self-examine and refocus as needed.
Restorative practices are a step forward in teaching all students, from elementary school through middle school to high school, how to resolve conflicts amicably, take ownership of their actions, and practice empathy, perspective taking, and forgiveness. Restorative practices support the science of human dignity.
‘Individuals learn from harmful behavior’
Sebrina Lindsay-Law, Ed.D., is an educator and diversity consultant. Contact her via her email: sebrina@evle.org.:
At our school, some students were vandalizing the school bathroom. The adults understood that it would take a collective community to solve the problem of students vandalizing bathrooms. This was my up-close experience with restorative practice in action.
As an educator, I can see the limitations of learning all the theory on your own. Without the ability to apply them, the impact of change was limited. Staff and students held a series of restoration circles to discuss damaged school toilets. We looked at our systems and practices and made some commitments as individuals and as a team. The basis used to improve school systems and practices was restorative practices.
Restorative practices is a term used in educational settings and is similar to restorative justice. It is used in numerous cities and judicial systems to address interactions or exchanges that affect individuals, communities, and other environments. Restorative practices are principles of accountability intended to strengthen interactions with educators, families, and peers established on mutual respect and care. Provides the resources and standards needed to build relationships and rapport with educators, families, and colleagues. Minimize, prevent and acknowledge harmful behavior. Holds all individuals accountable for their role in various interactions and exchanges.
Another way restorative practices were implemented for me was through formal restorative practices conferences. I had the opportunity to become a recovery practice facilitator. It was invaluable to see families, students, and educators truly come together to improve our school community one word, action, and belief at a time.
I learned three valuable lessons about restorative practices from both cases. First, a restorative environment allows everyone to grow, learn, and value themselves and others. This does not mean that individuals must be perfect, but that we must understand and value each other.
Second, the design, implementation, and improvement of restorative practices must be responsive to the community. Practical theory must be clearly communicated through intensive professional learning, communication and application.
Finally, if implemented well, all individuals learn from harmful behaviors and seek more assertiveness and positivity toward themselves and their community members. Action must begin with equitable and inclusive mindsets and values for ourselves and the larger community.
‘Teach pro-social skills’
Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey are professors of educational leadership at San Diego State University and teacher leaders at the High School of Health Sciences.
Restorative practices are a set of tools that educators can use to help students understand the impact of their actions. These practices can be combined with other systems, such as PBIS and multi-level support systems, as part of a comprehensive approach to addressing problematic student behavior. The goal is for students to learn from the mistakes they make rather than simply suffer the consequences of their actions. Of course, there are consequences to our actions. But learning that your actions have caused damage and how to repair that damage can lead to long-term changes in your behavior.
The foundation of restorative practices is respect and creating an atmosphere where respect is practiced. Restorative schools also need to value and foster relationships. If a student believes the teacher does not like them or has a very strained relationship with the teacher, restorative practices are more difficult to initiate. It's not impossible, as the student likely has a positive relationship with someone at school who can help the student see the impact of his or her actions.
Schools of restorative practice usually emphasize proactively. Investments are therefore primarily relationships and forums for addressing “garden diversity” issues. Restorative schools have a number of common features, including class meetings, impromptu conversations, and clubs where students can hear from others about the impact their behavior, positive or negative, has on others. As this practice becomes common, students learn to express their feelings and reactions out loud.
When situations are more severe, more formal practices are typically instituted, such as restorative dialogue and victim-offender dialogue. Without experience sharing their feelings and reactions, these more formal practices are unlikely to be effective because the entire experience is unfamiliar to students. These more formal practices typically require staff to have more experience with restorative practices and to invest with students in advance of resolution meetings.
Importantly, restorative practice is a philosophy that requires educators to believe that their role is not only to teach content, but also to teach prosocial skills. As with all learning, students are bound to make mistakes and require re-teaching and additional learning. This does not mean that consequences are prohibitive when it comes to problematic behavior, but it does ensure that students learn about the harm that behavior causes and how to repair that harm.
Thanks to Ann, Sebrina, Douglas, and Nancy for sharing their thoughts.
This week's questions are:
What are restorative practices and what do they look like in schools?
In part 1Marie Moreno, Chandra Shaw, Angela M. Ward, and David Upegui shared their experiences.
Part 2Ivette Stern, Caroline Selby, Gholdy Muhammad, Nadine Ebri and Tatiana Chaterji spoke about their experiences.
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