Posts Tagged RESTORATIVE PRACTICES
Chronically Misbehaving Kids Suffer Mental and Social Disease
Posted by Julia Steiny in Uncategorized on August 26, 2016
Published by EducationNews.org — Sometimes these students get a chance to shake off the ‘bad kid’ self-image. Too often not. Naturally, Faina Davis, a lawyer and head of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY), would have a happy-ish story about what happens when troubled kids connect with adults who practice Restorative Justice. Far more often, kids […]
Always Model Kindness, Especially to Children
Posted by Julia Steiny in Uncategorized on July 14, 2016
Published by EducationNews.org — The kindest response to unwanted behavior is to ask good questions. The trim, tall elementary teacher, whom we’ll call Ms. Larch, paused before answering the question that had been posed to everyone in the circle. Larch was among a group of teachers from all levels in a Restorative Practices (RP) training. RP, in […]
Winning the Discipline Wars Takes Restoration
Posted by Julia Steiny in Uncategorized on June 9, 2016
Published by EducationNews.org — Kicking the kid out doesn’t really hold the kid accountable or teach him how to behave. In Fordham Institute’s weekly Flypaper blog, David Griffith offers a tantalizing hope in a piece called “How to end the discipline wars.” He asks, “Is there a more annoying manifestation of our political and cultural […]
At Last! A Review of Research on Restorative Justice In Schools
Posted by Julia Steiny in Uncategorized on March 17, 2016
Published by EducationNews.org — Early studies of RJ programs in the US show their impact in reducing suspensions and harmful behavior. Local Restorative Practices/Restorative Justice (RP/RJ) initiatives have been starving for research on America’s efforts to implement programs. The large body of evidence showing the ineffectiveness of punishment doesn’t seem to make an adequately compelling argument for supporting Restoration. And […]
Communities Create Their Own Safety; Police Only Help
Posted by Julia Steiny in Uncategorized on March 10, 2016
Published by EducationNews.org — We can fall into the habit of thinking the responsibility for certain problems belongs to someone else. David Karp, who directs Skidmore College’s Project on Restorative Justice, tells this story: Some time ago, a student, whom we’ll call Sarah, came to class one day visibly upset. She’d been “harmed,” in the language of […]
San Antonio’s Restoration Center Weaves a Social-Support Fabric
Posted by Julia Steiny in Uncategorized on March 3, 2016
Published by EducationNews.org — It can be done: a coherent and effective system for dealing with mental illness. Back in the 1970s, Leon Evans became the director of a community mental health center in San Antonio, Texas. A social worker by training, Evans knew how to manage organizations that deal with mental illness, keeping afloat often-stressed frontline workers […]
Drugs, Drop-outs and Restorative Justice Conferencing
Posted by Julia Steiny in Uncategorized on February 18, 2016
Published by EducationNews.org — When a student knows what she wants, it’s a lot easier to help her get through trouble. The lovely Roxanna, as we’ll call her, sighed heavily as she joined a circle that included a school administrator, two conference facilitators and her very pissed-off dad. The teacher who had promised to make it could […]
Instead of School Suspensions, Let’s Listen to Kids
Posted by Julia Steiny in Uncategorized on February 4, 2016
Published by EducationNews.org — Kicking out the disruptive kids is convenient. But what do we, or they, learn from it? Allow me to say right off the top that I believe each out-of-school suspension is a symptom of a mental or social issue. I’d call them symptoms of disease, but some are more like sniffles. In […]
What If South Carolina’s Body-Slammed Teen Had Been Treated Restoratively?
Posted by Julia Steiny in Uncategorized on January 14, 2016
Published by EducationNews.org — There may be no good excuse for disrupting class, but a punitive response can just exacerbate the problem. Restorative practices are simple tools for handling conflict in ways that maximize the possibility of a happy ending. The practices are habits of the mind and heart. So let’s revisit last October’s nasty incident at […]
New Year’s Resolution: Take the Time to Restore Kids’ Lives
Posted by Julia Steiny in Uncategorized on December 31, 2015
Published by EducationNews.org — Do we leave problems to fester, or do we put in the effort, unpack the problem and come up with answers? A few years ago a kid we’ll call Leon transferred from a big urban district to the small, even poorer district where I consult on restorative practices. As a 7th grader, Leon was small […]
