During last week's staff meeting, we just started to explore the concept of restorative practice or restorative justice. I want to start sharing some resources with you, give you some videos to watch, podcasts to listen to, articles or books to read. I want us to begin to think about and talk about this new mindset and what this could look like for our students.
Restorative justice - when we break down that first word, we have the word restore. Restore means to return someone to a former condition. It can also mean to repair. Now let's add the word justice. Justice means being fair and reasonable. The heart of restorative justice is the idea that we need to help students focus on repairing the harm that has been done and work on reconciling relationships. This is a big mindset shift from retributive justice, focusing on punishing the offender, which is what we have been using in schools for a long time.
Here is two minute clip to introduce the idea of a restorative approach:
And another two minute video clip that explains what restorative practice is:
As you saw in the above video, the foundation of restorative practice is really based on relationships and connections. We have talked about this before. It is crucial that we are working to build relationships with our students. And that we are helping them build relationships with each other. Check out this clip from an elementary PE teacher about ways she has worked on implementing restorative practices by first helping her students build relationships.
I love listening to this short clip where students are talking about and demonstrating how restorative practices have helped them build their classroom community:
As a school, we need to discuss how we can shift our mindset from retributive practices to restorative practices. I will continue to share resources. Feel free to seek out your own resources. Talk with your colleagues. Discuss this with your teams. We will keep this important dialogue going. Here is one last short clip that shows the major difference between what we have been doing to what we should be doing:
We have already begun the work of building community in our school. How can we use community and connection to improve behavior and respond to different issues that happen in class and throughout the school?
What if we stopped focusing on punishments and consequences and started focusing on repairing harm that has been done and rebuilding relationships?
Currently reading:
I purchased a lot of new picture books this summer that anyone is welcome to borrow. Since October is Bullying Prevention Month, I am thinking I will be sharing this amazing wordless book with everyone. It's called I Walk With Vanessa: A Story About a Simple Act of Kindness.
Another great picture book I read this weekend is called Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpre'. This beautiful book tells the true story of a woman who came from Puerto Rica to New York City and championed bilingual literature. I loved learning her story and learning some Spanish word and phrases that are woven throughout the book.
I am working on an application to bring a Coding Club with Girls Who Code to our school. It would be for 3rd through 5th graders. A perfect book to go along with that club is Josh Funk's new book: How to Code a Rollercoaster.
Another great non fiction picture book that I read this weekend is called Someday is Now: Clara Luper and the 1958 Oklahoma City Sit-Ins. This book tells the inspirational story of Clara Luper, a teacher who taught her students how to stand up for what was right by sitting down in a 'whites only' restaurant.
Monday - 5th Grade Sargent Center field trip, Patty Hurley @ Glenwood for CPI Training, Gr 1 & 2 EL Creative Writing/Technology Club @ 3:30, School Council Meeting @ 4:00, Bedtime Story @ 7:30
Tuesday - Fit Club @ 8:00
Wednesday - Scholastic Reps to visit Mayo @ 1:00, Gr 3-5 EL Creative Writing/Technology Club @ 3:30
Thursday - Fit Club @ 8:00, Liz out of the building for an afternoon meeting, Scholastic Book Fair setting up in the library
Friday - Liz out of the building with Early Literacy Writing Grant team, Book Fair Teacher Preview in the library during the afternoon
Great things I noticed last week:
- Walked by some 4th graders in the pod doing some math activities with one of our best volunteers!
- Listened in on a webinar about starting a Girls Who Code Club after school for our 3rd-5th graders. If anyone is interested in working with me on this, let me know!
- Thanks to the Holden Fire Department for coming to do fire safety talks with every grade.
- Loved all of the signs of appreciation around the school for our custodians!
- And it was a pretty awesome end to the week when I got to hold a baby goat during a special 1st grade/5th grade buddy session.
This was the video that some teachers watched during our staff meeting:
This is a podcast that discusses restorative justice: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/restorative-justice-overview/
I love this paper about the brain and school climate, but that's because I have a slight fascination with the brain and all of its complexities! There is a lot in here, but it's worth a read or at least a skim through: http://www.iirp.edu/pdf/Bethlehem-2012-Presentations/Bethlehem-2012-Saufler.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment