Restorative Justice vs Punishment: Change is Coming!

I am interested in implementing a Restorative Justice component to my classroom this fall, as I believe that it aims at the root of misbehavior, not just the results.

I love that this approach focuses on the needs of the victims and the offenders, while encouraging the offenders to take responsibility for their actions by repairing the harm they have done. Research has shown it to be a good system for restoring justice in the eyes of the victim while allowing the offender to make amends and accept responsibility for their choices.

 I am particularly interested, as I teach elementary school. My students are old enough to understand the process of restorative justice, and young enough that the behaviors are usually not very serious in nature. This seems to lend itself well to this type of process. An addition, my students participate in regular Class Meetings and routinely collaborate on how to problem solve. As a teacher, I actively take into account the needs of my students, both victim and offender, when misbehavior occurs, so formalizing the process into a restorative justice format feels like the next step.

 My greatest concern is how parents might react to this type of management system, as much of the punitive nature of discipline is removed. I wonder if parents will think that students "get away with" bad behavior since they wouldn't be receiving the traditional punitive consequences for some actions. However, I am confident that students, parents and staff all want a respectful learning environment that upholds dignity of every student and this type of process does that very well. I am sure there will be challenges along the way, but I am excited about the journey!

 I would welcome any suggestions or comments about this process and I will keep this group updated on our progress!

• Great slide show on restorative justice process School-Based Restorative Justice
• Entire website dedicated to Restorative Justice http://www.restorativejustice.org/
• Excellent guide for setting up a Restorative Justice Program in your school Implementing Restorative Justice: A Guide for Schools
• New York Times Article about Restorative Justice Programs implemented in Oakland schools Opening Up, Students Transform a Vicious Circle

Importance of Music and Movement

Here is a link to a discussion about Why Music is Great for Your Child from Maggie Dent -  A champion of boys in education.   http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2013/08/why-music-is-great-for-your-child-maggie-dent-lil-fi.html

Preparations for a Boy-Friendly Classroom

School doesn't start for another month, but I have been busy trying to find some of the physical things that can help me transform my classroom into a more boy-friendly space.

 My classroom is not really big, and I am expecting 27 Grade 6 students in September, so I am really trying to be creative on how to set up the environment well. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have desks with connected chairs, and a large horseshoe table.

Here's what I have purchased so far.

Decoration
I went shopping for trim and bulletin board letters and I kept my boys in mind. I kept the trims simple to decrease distraction and made sure the colors would provide high-contrast.

I purchased two floor lamps from Target as well. I am hoping to turn off the florescent lights as often as possible and use natural lighting and these lights more often. I am still looking into different seating possibilities, but I thought I would see what the school might be able to help me with.

Water Bottle Holders
Pinterest turned out to have the solution for one of my personal frustrations: where to keep personal water bottles? I have always allowed water bottles in class, but they often became a distraction, or would be knocked off of students' desks very regularly. Here's the solution I was looking for! The bike bottle holders are on their way!

Voice Amplifier
I have been scouting for weeks and finally found the voice amplifier that I decided to purchase. I am very excited to finally get this product, as I have struggled with having a loud enough voice, without causing voice strain, for years. After reading Writing the Playbook and finding out that boys' hearing is significantly different than girls, I wanted to figure out a way to help my male students, without hurting my female students. I have found that I have to repeat myself quite often, and I am hoping this will decrease the frequency.
Gender Hearing Differences

Activity to help working Memory

Now..... today I did a simple activity which I use regularly to help develop working memory for my children. We use magnetic letters to practice the alphabet and learn new words. One part of the activity is that the children make the word at the table and then walk to the white board and write the word on it. At the moment the children are asked to go to the board each time they make a word. As they get better they will be asked to create two words before writing them on the board. Simple activity which includes multisensory activities, movement and working memory.