Classroom Management Done the Restorative Way
Let's take a vote: How ready do you feel to take on a classroom of students, who bring with them a variety of backgrounds, cultures, potential traumas and more...and then you have to manage them? I'd venture to say that even the most prepared student, with a 4-year undergrad program under their belt, doesn't feel super confident in their abilities. And with our condensed program, I'm sure you are feeling overwhelmed with wondering how you will react to the myriad of behaviors that will be ever-present.
Enter our reading for Wednesday - I just want to lift up a shout of praise for these restorative discipline strategies! (I'm all about the tools to put the theory into action!)
But first...Chapter 2 in our book gave us an overview of the cradle-to-prison pipeline and how schools contribute to the "inequity, inequality, racism, and various other forms of discrimination" that inevitably push some students to prison "as soon as they are born" (Milner, Cunningham, Delale-O'Conner, Kestenberg, p. 33). They explain that there are factors in and out of school that work together, feeding off of each other, creating a perfect storm of disparate referral and punishment practices for students of color/students living below the poverty line, leading to suspensions, drop-outs, then...prison. The inside-of-school factors (listed on page 36, further discussed in the pages following) are especially prevalent in today's society.
Which inside-of-school factors do you see as the greatest contributor to the CTPP? The least? Are some of these factors more easily changed than others?
And now...a way to restore!
Chapter 5 gives us some practical tools in preventing CTPP through using restorative discipline practices, which is "an approach to discipline that builds upon the foundational idea that schools are places where students are expected to make errors and learn from them" (p. 133). You would think that this would be in practice everywhere...you know, a place to make mistakes and LEARN from them. How novel for a school. (Rolling my eyes, here.) The restorative approach seeks to support students through taking responsibility for their actions, seeing how they hurt/affected others, and how they can right the wrongs --- all by keeping the students in class.
Sidenote: I love that this type of classroom management is entitled "restorative" - we should be seeking to aid our students in repairing, rebuilding, replacing.
How do restorative discipline practices disrupt the CTPP? In what ways does this method repair, rebuild, and restore?
As I read about restorative discipline, I was reminded of my time working with pre-K.
It wasn't uncommon to witness students hitting, punching, or kicking other students, screaming during naptime, or complete defiance when asking to help pick up some toys. During these instances, we didn't call down to the office. We didn't complete a write up. Granted, the infractions were on a smaller scale than, say, a high school fight. However, the point remains: We used a more restorative approach in dealing with the infractions - guiding them towards understanding of how their actions hurt another and then helping them right their wrongs.
Why is this abandoned and replaced with punitive or zero-tolerance discipline practices for older grades? Should zero-tolerance be enacted in certain situations?
The Three Methods of Restorative Discipline include: 1) Affective Language, 2) Circle Processes and 3) Conferences.
These methods were displayed as a pyramid in the book, using affective language as the foundation (this should be ongoing and used to remind students that they are a part of a community), with circle processes in the middle (these can be done proactively or reactively), and conferences at the top (using when "relationships have been broken and are in need of rebuilding or when a student is exhibiting signs of personal crisis", p. 135).
I appreciated the book's examples and could see myself using affective language consistently, circle meetings/processes a few times a week, and conferences, when needed. However, I want to be sure that I have my foundation (affective language) in place before I move on towards the upper methods. And, of course, RELATIONSHIP has to be the ground on which to build the foundation (right, Lauren??) - because the restorative approach is "relationship-oriented", not rule oriented (p. 136).
What methods do you see yourself enacting? Do you see potential push-back from the school you may work in to this approach?
In closing, take about 10 minutes and listen/watch this TEDx talk which discusses this very topic. Teacher Jean Klasovsky makes a powerful opening statement in the first few minutes: Students are taught through zero-tolerance: Unless [students] were punished for their behavior, they didn't need to change.
In addition to the above questions...
- The book speaks of the importance of school support and greater success in full-school implementation. How can we enact restorative discipline methods if we do not have school support?
- Jean Klasovsky hits on this point in the video above and I wondered the same thing as I read: How would you respond when a student is unresponsive to affective questioning? How can we further support and reach the student? Other strategies?
Pricilla, you did great, I really enjoyed the video.
ReplyDeleteI think the greatest inside of school factors for the CTPP is “Subjective Teachers and administration practices.” I believe this because teachers and administration will continuously bring with them their cultural baggage. I have worked with many different ethnic groups and individuals, and I used to consider myself a very neutral person. Well, until this program! Although, I have begun to look in-word on my thinking and actions to become more aware of my processes. Such as when volunteering with people, I strive to learn to pronounce names for other nationalities. Instead of in the past, I would blow it off as I did not speak that language so, I can pronounce their name correctly. The silver lining is that I know I can continuously improve, but I will never be perfect. As a new teacher, I will have to reframe from labeling students as athletic, smart, and problems, because of their race.
On the other hand, I think “lack of educator preparation in understanding race and class” is the one that can be addressed before teaching. This program has done a fantastic job of teaching me that I am a privileged white male that comes with many perks that I did not even understand. It has also shown me that through becoming a culturally relevant teacher, I can adjust and changes. I can recognize that when there are different ethnic groups are being held back because of their race or social economic class.
Zero tolerance has become that catch-all solution for any misbehaving student. It does not consider any ethnic, cultural differences between students, teachers, and school environment. It should be redefined as new practices and separate guns and drugs (there might be a few additional items on this list, but no more than ten) into their own ‘new name,’ and the rest should be handled through the restorative approach. By managing any problems through Affective Language, Circle Processes, and Conferences, real change can happen. By teaching students how to communicate their frustrations and understanding, we can build a better democratic society.
Teacher Jean Klasovsky suggests that we hire restorative justice aids/officers. Heck yeah, in many schools we could exchange a resource police officer for and RJO and have better outcomes for the students and community. Why cannot sweeping reform such as this happen? Why does it take so much time to change people’s mindsets? Down with Zero Tolerance let RJO rise to the top.
Jay, I’m sure your students will appreciate your efforts to pronounce their names correctly! As Americans we’re used to having everything translated for us and adjusted to accommodate us, that I think it can be easy as teachers to forget that it’s our job to make things easier for the student, not the other way around.
DeleteTo me, zero tolerance seems like such a primitive, outdated approach to discipline. It fails to consider that students are human beings, who make mistakes. Those of us who are reading “Bad Boys” have discussed the negative implications of such policies on black males in the school system. One student was suspended twice for bringing in a toy gun that resembled a real gun. While I understand the seriousness of bringing in a gun or toy that resembles a real gun, clearly their disciplinary tactics did not work, because he did it a second time. I doubt any adult took the time to explain to him why they don’t allow toy guns in school and how dangerous it could be for him if they mistook it for a real gun. It’s these conversations that are lacking in most schools.
I also think restorative justice aids/officers would be much better suited for schools. While subbing at a middle school a few months ago, I was stopped by a security officer who proceeded to question me. He said he saw my Disney lanyard, but couldn’t see my substitute teacher ID clearly inside. I couldn’t help but wonder if this is how you treat me, a white woman wearing braids and a Disney lanyard, how is he treating the students, namely the minorities in that school. Why schools feel the need to treat students like criminals, with teachers/staff suspicious of everything the students do, is beyond me.
Jay, thank you for your honesty - I, also, naively thought that I didn't have issues with biases or relating to people of other races/cultures, but this program has revealed so much that I need to constantly work on. Awareness is the first step in true change, followed by continual reflection to assess whether or not I have truly changed my mindsets.
DeleteAddy, thank you for giving me a glimpse into "Bad Boys". It's unreal that zero-tolerance would apply to toy guns. C'mon, people. On this subject, I have to admit I was a semi-proponent of zero-tolerance policies, but after our reading, I'm definitely leaning towards a restorative approach. I get the thought process...I get the school shooting culture, drugs in school, crime, etc. However, you cannot stop these actions without first looking at the root cause. I've heard you speak passionately, questioning about our students' emotional/psychological well-being. I think the restorative approach keeps their well-being in mind, aiding students to build an awareness and work through issues BEFORE they become worse actions. But what do we do in schools with little to no psychological/counseling resources? What type of support can we provide besides restorative methods?
Priscilla, your meme game is on point.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the reasons why we don’t use restorative practices as much in the older grades, is that we assume they know how to “handle” themselves in school. Considering that our brain doesn’t fully develop until we’re in our twenties, and there are many adults who throw tantrums (hello President Trump on Twitter), I think it’s funny that we expect kids to have perfect behavior at all times.
I see myself using all three methods in my classroom. I’ve already started using affective language when subbing. The students seem more receptive when I emphasize that it’s their behavior I’m disappointed in and not them. I’ve also had success with circle processes. I like that circle processes can be used to improve relationships among students. When I was having trouble with some of my girls, I invited the group to have lunch with me. Though we talked at the start of lunch, they eventually started watching YouTube videos and dancing together. Through getting them to open up and see things from each other’s perspectives, they started to get along better with each other. On the other hand, earlier in the day, when another teacher walked in to discipline them, they all came back crying and walked off to separate corners. What a surprise, that talking to your students will make them feel better than just yelling at them!
After seeing firsthand the benefit of restorative discipline, I am determined to use it in my classroom, regardless of whether or not the rest of the school does. Though I don't have high hopes for this, I'd like to find teacher allies who support me in this practice.
Addy, like you I have started to bring these ideas into subbing — but didn’t really have a name for them until now. I think circle processes are so common in morning meetings with the schools that I work in. There is this one classroom that I sub and they have such an amazing classroom community that they use affective language all on their own. One little boy got mad at another and came up to tell me about the situation. I started to call the other little boy over but the one there said ‘we talked and apologized already, I just wanted you to know what was going on.’ I was astounded at this 3rd grader taking responsibility for his actions. Looking back, it is very clear this teacher uses restorative discipline strategies in her class — and it is even more apparent how much students grow from these techniques.
DeleteThanks for sharing that example Tori. It is good to see how restorative discipline strategies actually work in the real world. As I was reading the chapter, I felt that the affective language vignette sounded forced or fake. But, based on your example, it an and does work in the classroom and kids buy in to it and adopt it for their own uses.
DeleteAnd, like you mentioned in your own comment, I wanted to take the strategies I learned from this chapter and teach them to the teachers from 'Bad Boys' as well as some of the teachers I've come into contact with in schools. It makes me so sad to read about these strategies and contemplate how they disrupt the school to prison pipeline, but not see widespread implementation. Especially when they're so easy to do.
Love the positivity in your post!! I agree with you on the appreciation for the examples the chapter gave on restorative discipline. I love how the chapter mentions that the implementation of these strategies will create a cohesive classroom and deal with classroom management. A part that I really appreciated in the book is when it pointed out that “no approach to discipline is perfect, and restorative discipline is no exception. Although this approach highlights the normalization of making errors and promotes the idea of students seeing themselves as good members of a school community...” (p.161). This approach to discipline makes so much more sense than punitive discipline — it is keeping students in the classroom and working out issues individually rather than ignoring them and taking the easy way out.
ReplyDeleteThe entire time of reading this, I just wanted to send this chapter over to the teachers at Rose Parks from ‘Bad Boys.’ The numerous incidents in that school that could have been solved with one of the pyramid techniques mentioned in this chapter is too many to count. I think this discipline strategy is something that should be more common in schools and communities.
Well, it seems Dr. Taylor's suggestion of reading the other book club book may be taken seriously - you and Addy both commented about the "Bad Boys" book, and in response, I now want to read it. I do agree that there is no perfect approach to discipline, however, restorative seems like a no-brainer. When I work on relationships or righting the wrongs in my own life, I don't seek punish through removing me or my friend/spouse/etc. from the situation. "Well, you screwed up. DONE." I use restorative practices in my own life and I venture to say many adults do the same. Why don't we, as teachers, also TEACH our students to manage/restore themselves instead of merely punishing them or taking them out of the learning environment?
DeleteGreat post Priscilla! Your question "Which inside-of-school factors do you see as the greatest contributor to the CTPP? The least? Are some of these factors more easily changed than others?" is very difficult to answer! Page 36 says "...that these factors are strongly interrelated and influence one another across domains..." (Milner et. al.). I feel like it's impossible to answer this question because I believe they are all interrelated but if I had to pick one I would say "zero-tolerance" policies and lack of teacher understanding of race and class with a close second. Zero-tolerance policies in younger grades definitely contribute to the CTPP because they display to kids at a young age they aren't valued as people. How can you expect anyone to listen to you or take you seriously if they feel like they aren't valued. And that's not even just being valued as a student, valued as a human being. I also think this relates to lack of teacher understanding of race and class because when teachers and educators do not understand race and socioeconomic status, they intentionally or unintentionally disregard students and show their students they do not value them.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you went into detail about the three methods of restorative discipline. I definitely see myself enacting all three. I think conferences are really important because even if you use affective language, students may feel overly or unfairly punished or may still take my form of discipline personally. Simply telling your students you're on their side and that you value them isn't enough. Having a conference with them to rebuild that relationship is so important because it shows your student you actually do value them no matter what and that you're willing to work through the situation.
Will, I like how you mention Priscilla's detail about the three methods of restorative discipline. Like you, I hope I can adopt all three in my classroom. I want to go along and talk about the importance I believe conferences are. We must be on the same page with our students and their families. My assumption is that the majority of the parents out there want their children to learn academically and also learn from their mistakes, just like in real life! Unfortunately, we have created a system in education where students don't get a chance to learn from their actions, or even maybe teachers learning from their actions. I think the conference needs to happen, and maybe even more than once, before and major discipline can take place. All parties and that includes the student has to be given a chance to restore their chance for their education and future or our traditional discipline practices will continue to rob the lives of students who could otherwise prosper.
DeleteGood point about conferences, Will - using the affective language method can be used informally, within a group setting, or formally, in a conference setting. It's so true that a conference may be needed to further support the student after attempting affirmative language...and maybe it didn't go so well. ha!
DeleteI also agree that the inside-of-school factors are intertwined so perfectly that it's difficult to decide which may contribute more to the CTPP. I wonder...if we then change one, would all the factors then change? For example, if educators were required to complete courses like us (yes, it's a stretch, but as we've learned with our "While you were gone" news, it's desperately needed) to better understand race/class and their biases, would that cause a change in practices, then policies, then school facilities?
Will, I completely agree with you about zero-tolerance policies and their contribution to the CTPP,. You bring up a solid point about how these sorts of policies view children in younger grades and how they can be detrimental to their school trajectory. Because they are predetermined consequences, they are enforced "regardless of the context or underlying reasons for the behaviors and actions that require discipline" (pg. 41). These policies paired with increased security measures would make any student feel like they are in jail. My high school had one resource officer and we had the occasional big drug searches using police dogs, but we were still able to walk outside in between classes and guests were still able to come in to the school. But now the school is on lock-down all day long with one main unlocked entrance where a resource officers sits all day taking guests' drivers licenses and keeping watch. I can't imagine going to that school now and having to deal with multiple resource officers on campus and not even getting the minimal five minutes we used to be allowed outside during the day.
DeletePriscilla, great post! I would like to answer one of your first questions on which inside school factors that contribute most to the CTPP. I believe it is a mix between a tough zero tolerance policy and uneducated teachers about race and class. When both of these are present in the school system it is easy to see a teacher not understanding their students. If a zero tolerance policy is in effect, severe punishments for behavior that can be taught and understand have now been in action and the students are already expelled. On page 41 they talk that zero tolerance policies prescribe "predetermined consequences." This type of punishment completely makes the context of the problem non existent. Now our students circumstances and reasoning of why they acted in a certain way doesn't matter anymore. We know and you have mentioned that relationships are the foundation. Uneducated teachers of student culture won't understand why their students act in the way they do.
ReplyDeleteI believe I will definitely use restorative discipline practices in my classroom for certain situations. I do believe there needs to be some drastic discipline if the safety and well being of students are in danger. If it's a matter of not understanding, the responsibility is now our own to know our students and not fail them because you don't know them.
Doug, thank you for your response! I think the combo you mentioned (zero tolerance and uneducated teachers) is lethal...they feed off each other, for sure. You also mentioned that "there needs to be some drastic discipline if the safety and well-being of students are in danger". Do you think this would constitute a zero-tolerance policy? What (if any) infractions or situations would zero-tolerance be good for?
DeleteI'm with you Priscilla, giving thanks for practical tools I can use in the classroom! Zero-tolerance policies are something I never really thought much about before this past year. As a student, I had a vague idea that breaking certain rules led to suspension or expulsion, but I certainly never considered the negative impact that could have on a student's education or their life's trajectory. Most situations in life are not based on a single chance. Even if a person is accused of murder they still have the right to a fair trial and can present their side of the story. Zero-tolerance policies do not allow that. The example given in the book is a student who had a pocket knife in their backpack because they had been camping over the weekend. Under zero-tolerance policies, this student is punished severely for bringing a weapon to school. The student is given no chance to give an explanation or defend themselves. This is where restorative discipline has a huge advantage over traditional disciplinary systems. Restorative discipline "gives students permission to make errors and to get it right after they have messed up without worrying about consequences that could be more punitive" (p. 141). That's what I like about restorative discipline. It's human nature to make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes hurt others. Restorative discipline offers a disciplinary system that doesn't derail a student's entire life because of one thing they did in school.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a valid and interesting point: in criminal cases with trials, the defendant still has an opportunity to tell their side of the story. Why are students not allotted that same opportunity?
DeleteI also appreciate that restorative discipline attempts to unveil the root of an issue, not just punish the action displayed out of the emotion. Through the three methods, especially when using affective language/questioning, students are given a safe space to discuss what is causing the problem. The calm questioning reminds me of a counselor, and with a counselor's kind and caring demeanor, we can advocate for our students by giving them opportunities to reveal their true selves.
Rachel, I feel very similar to you about zero-tolerance policies, in that I had never really given that much thought to the matter and when I was in school it made sense to me that if you broke x, y, or z rules you should receive a fitting punishment. However, I am also someone who believes that often times there is more to the story than many initially see when rules are broken, and if I found myself or someone I cared about in this situation I would want someone to give them the benefit of the doubt. I believe in the gray areas of life and that we should be able to make mistakes without it being detrimental to our future or without having a discussion about the issue or working through it. You said it so well when you said, "It's human nature to make mistakes, and sometimes those mistakes hurt others. Restorative discipline offers a disciplinary system that doesn't derail a student's entire life because of one thing they did in school." Having said all of that I still have a thought in my mind that if there aren't strict consequences for potentially dangerous actions how can we protect our students from harm, and I guess in a world like ours there are no guarantees, but I would much rather teach a student the error of their ways then send them away from school where they will more likely than not continue down a destructive path. I like how Milner said, "when students engage in behavior that cause personal harm or harm to other members of the school community, the goal is to keep them as engaged as possible in school and classroom life and encourage them to self-correct" (p. 137). I think this is a much more productive way of changing for the future than continuing discipline that perpetuates the CTPP.
DeleteLauren, I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Some actions are such that they cannot be tolerated at school due to the potential danger to others. My worry is that zero tolerance policies are used to address problems that are not necessarily a danger to anyone. For these students where do they go after they are kicked out of school? It seems to me like one more option is being taken away from a student that needs more support, not less.
DeleteDoug, This was one that I selected Uneducated teachers about race and class as well. With our program so strong in being culturally sustaining, I forget that other university have different focus on curriculum. Truly, if a teacher is blinded by their own culture and does not take the time to learn and recognize their students cultures the classroom is going to turn into a monarchy, instead of a democracy. I believe these teachers will struggle with classroom management which would be detrimental to the students and themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe restorative discipline practices will be a skill that i will need to utilize during student teaching. My teacher friends have reenforced that implementing classroom management at the beginning of the school year takes a lot of work. They share that there is considerable amount of time teaching students how to be part of the class and walk down the halls. Using Affective Language, and Circle Processes heavily at the beginning of the school year combined with warm demander and building relationships could make a successful start. I can't wait to start putting more of these new skills to the test from these two summer courses. Let's Go Student Teaching!
Great post, Priscilla! I completely 100% agree with you that we should "aid our students in repairing, rebuilding, replacing" and implementing these restorative justice practices in the classroom might really disrupt the CTPP. To answer you question about why these ideas of teaching children how to understand how their actions have an affect on others are abandoned as the children get older, goes along with the idea that play becomes less of a norm the older children become. Schools continue to prepare children for adulthood and everything they need to do in order to "go to college" and "get a job", as rules and testing are forced on them in the classroom without letting them have a say in most of the matter.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was reading this chapter, I certainly had the same questions pop up while I was reading the chapter on Restorative practices because what do we do if the school is not on board with these practices? I think a lot of the ways we might be able to implement these practices is by starting small like you suggested above with the affective language that can be used in the classroom. Because the use of affective language "creates a classroom or school culture and promotes awareness of self, awareness of others, and the belief that students can correct and grow past their mistakes" (Milner et al., 2019, 145). These factors are everything we have talked about in these courses in the class and I think they might be effective ways of dealing with conflict in the classroom instead of sending children off to the office. I also think that asking administration to formulate a plan where you can make sure they are aware that you might be using some of these strategies, especially if we want to try to include circle processes and conferences. If they can see that these strategies are working in our classroom and having an effect on the amount of office referrals, they may be more on board than had a parent complained before you got a chance to explain your classroom practices.
Emma, your response... YES! I loved and will be using your idea: "asking administration to formulate a plan where you can make sure they are aware that you might be using some of these strategies, especially if we want to try to include circle processes and conferences". Such a simple idea, but I completely spaced it. Communicating that you are using these practices and coming up with a plan with school officials that incorporates the methods on some level would be great.
DeleteSo, let me make sure I understand your first paragraph: You are saying that as students get older, and the idea of play is lessened, we then expect them to grow up, so to speak. Because of this thought process, the fighting, the yelling, every infraction, becomes more serious because the students are to be more serious. And then, punishment follows in a "serious consequence" manner. Did I get it? If this is what you are saying, I can definitely see this idea at work.
Great post, Priscilla! “Chapter 2 in our book gave us an overview of the cradle-to-prison pipeline and how schools contribute to the "inequity, inequality, racism, and various other forms of discrimination" that inevitably push some students to prison "as soon as they are born" (Milner, Cunningham, Delale-O'Conner, Kestenberg, p. 33)”. So, when I was reading chapter 2 and then your quote you pulled, I thought of a ‘snippet’ from my Media Project, which I did over the movie Coach Carter (2005). [….Yep... I'm about to go off script as usual...]. This doesn’t hit directly on your questions, but you all know I love showing off my work… ha jk…, but I thought it was something worth sharing:
ReplyDelete“The institutions in our society, e.g., schools, were founded, established, and continue to function upon functionalist ideals. These functionalist ideals and practices at the foundation of the educational system have long since manifested into deep-rooted, institutional oppression and racism and unequal treatment (DeMarrais & LeCompte, 1995). But even further, these tendencies and disproportionate representation of ethnic minority groups (Skiba et al, 2011, Ladson-Billings, 2009, DeMarrais & LeCompte, 1995) are reflective of the glaring problems within our society as a whole. As we look at the criminal justice system in our country, ethnic minorities are identically overrepresented within the correctional system. Sentencing frequency and punishment severity are disproportional – meaning, minorities / people of color are sentenced more frequently and punished more harshly for the same/similar offenses than Whites. Coach Carter, [played by Samuel L. Jackson], in a speech to his players, makes this point, as he lays out the facts to the players and covers the systemic oppression, inequities, the underrepresentation of African American (and students of color) high school graduates and college bound, the overrepresentation of African Americans (males in particular) and people of color in prison, and thus essentially the school-to-prison pipeline – or rather, CTPP – for students in low income, urban areas”:
“I see a system that is designed for you to fail. Now I know that all of you like stats so let me give you some, Richmond High only graduates 50% of it's students, and of those that do graduate only 6% go to college, Which tells me when I walk down these halls and look in your class rooms, maybe only one student is going to go to college. Well damn Coach Carter if I ain't going to college where am I going to go? Well that's a great question and the answer for young African-American men in here is this, probably to prison, in this county 33% of black males between 18-24 get arrested, so look at the guy on your left, now look at the guy on your right, one of you is going to get arrested, growing up here in Richmond you're 80% more likely to go to prison than college, those are the numbers, those are some stats for ya ass. Now I want you to go home and look at your life's tonight, look at your parents lives, and ask yourself do I want better, if the answer is yes I'll see you here tomorrow, and I promise you, I'll do everything in my power to get you to college, and to a better life.” – Coach Carter (2005).
Delete“Although these are factors of which educators may be well aware, how might they work together to form a CTTP for students?” (Milner et al., 2019, p. 36).
Another part of the movie touches on deficit thinking, inequitable school funding, and others (Milner et al, 2019). I think this demonstrates the “perfect storm” you referenced, Priscilla, that works together to form a CTTP for students…
The school [Richmond High] is failing and there is no aid or funding coming in. The teachers and administration are upset with Coach Cater when he asks for status reports on his players. The teachers feel as though their competence and abilities as educators are being challenge. The principle and the teachers have essentially given up on the kids, as they see them as troubled, or at-risk.” – In our Book Club text, “Bad Boys” the term “unsalvageable” is used, and goes along with how many admins/faculty/teachers perceived the students and players in the movie Coach Carter – “This contributes to and thus reinforce the perpetual discriminatory and oppressive practices in place in the education system in our country. The teachers/ administrators do not see the potential of the players, they believe that basketball will be the highlight of most of the players’ lives, thus the school pushes these kids through the system, setting them up for failure, and as such, the students/players, have developed this sense of hopelessness and negative view of themselves, thus have disengaged from school and have lost their sense of self-worth. The teachers, administration, and school was essentially “granting students permission to fail,” (Ladson-Billings, 2002 as cited in Milner et al, 2019, p. 23). This demonstrates the absolutely devastating impact that deficit thinking can/does have on students and is the sad reality of how many schools (particularly in urban areas), teachers, and administrators feel and act in schools across the country today. There are several scenes from Coach Carter that depicts this toxic deficit thinking by the school, teachers, and administration – the one that stuck out most to me was after Coach Carter began the lockout and was confronted by the Principal:
Principal: Take the lock off that gym. My phone hasn't stopped ringing.
Coach Carter: Maybe someone on the other end of that phone has a solution to our problem.
Principal: Your intentions are good, Mr. Carter, but your methods are a bit extreme.
Coach Carter: You paint it an extreme picture. No one expects them to graduate, no one expects them to go to college.
Principal: So you take away basketball, the one area of their lives where they have some success?
Coach Carter: Yes, ma'am.
Principal: And you challenge them academically?
Coach Carter: Yes, ma'am.
Principal: And what if they fail?
Coach Carter: Then we've failed.
Principal: Unfortunately, Mr. Carter, both you and l know that for some of these kids, this basketball season will be the highlight of their lives.
Coach Carter: Well, l think that's the problem. Don't you?
Priscilla, you know how I feel about relationships! It's gotten easy to poke fun at this idea of relationships because we've read about it so much, but you're right none of these methods of restorative approach will be effective if you don't develop that relationship first. You're right restorative discipline is incredibly relational I love how Milner describes the conferences by saying they "can be used a tool when relationships have been broken and are in need of rebuilding or when a student is exhibiting signs of personal crisis and may need support" (p. 135). This strategy seems to not only be a good way to rectify a bad situation, but also has the means to get in front of future "rule-breaking" or misbehavior in the classroom. When we as teachers recognize what our students are going through and take the time to address and support them through this it has potential of stopping less than desirable behaviors before they start.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thank you for sharing the video! I really put into perspective what it looks like for students in schools with "zero tolerance" policies. When it is framed the way Jean described the issue at hand it's easy to see the true importance of engaging in restorative discipline in our schools and classrooms. If we aren't willing to get to the root of the issue, care about what is causing the problems, and give space to learn from and rectify the situations we're not helping our students grow, but often times sealing their fate when they are no longer able to come to school or they don't see the point.
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ReplyDeletePriscilla, when I read that, “third and fourth grade reading scores and drop-out rates are used to determine the future capacity needs for state prisons” (p.35) in Chapter 2 of our book, I was taken aback. It feels like the system is set up to fail certain students. As mentioned in the text, disruptive behavior often indicates students are experiencing personal crisis and need support. It is a failure of our school system that students that need the most get helped the least. Restorative practices give students space to be accountable for their actions and return into the community in good standing. The traditional school model positions teachers as the only people in the classroom with power. Many people’s experience in school was the traditional transmission approach and students were expected to be passive. Behavior seen as problematic was a result of student transgression rather than students’ needs not being met. I think that labeling children rather than trying to understand the context for their behavior contributes to office referrals and other punitive measures that could be better remedied by restorative practices such as circle meetings. I feel like many educators cannot relate to students that do not come from similar backgrounds. I think if comes down to teaching disposition and a desire and willingness to self reflect to overcome obstacles such as deficit thinking. Restorative discipline practices, “moves students whose behavior harms themselves or others toward the support structures that can help them make better future choices instead of excluding them and pushing them away” (p.136). They also help students to be accountable for their actions and develop empathy for others. Even if we do not have school wide implementation of these practices, you can incorporate them into your classroom such as building community through circle meetings and then using them to address conflict as it arises. Using affective language is a practice that anyone could utilize for better communication and conflict resolution.
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