Blog

The Fist Fight that Didn't Happen

Mon, 04 May 2020 12:29:00 +0000

How a restorative circle stopped a fist fight from breaking out in my English class. It was as much about the circle as all the work the months before to build a restorative classroom culture.

10 Tips for Restorative Leading and Teaching in the Virtual World

Sun, 12 Apr 2020 18:13:00 +0000

Here are 10 quick tips on how to make your online classes, meeting and events more relational, interactive and energizing.

"Our Shared Humanity" Restorative Meet Up

Mon, 06 Apr 2020 13:17:00 +0000

Join us for a virtual "circle" share to pause, reflect, and connect

Creating Great Online Learning Events

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 22:25:00 +0000

So many of us are having to convert our trainings from in-person to online events. I was fortunate enough to take a course on this and also practice some of the skills. Here is my attempt to support you in making the switch to online training.

Transforming Schools Together! Annual Conference

Tue, 04 Feb 2020 18:16:15 +0000

A holistic restorative approach aims to create the conditions in which students and staff can learn, grow and thrive together. During this two-day event youth and adults will share stories, build community and expand skills and knowledge related to restorative practices, mindfulness, equity, social emotional learning, youth-adult partnership and healing engaged practices.

Where Does Harm Come From?

Sun, 09 Jun 2019 13:40:48 +0000

One of the greatest challenges of building restorative schools is shifting the way we think about "misbehavior." Our schools have been built on a traditional paradigm: a rule is broken, therefore we need to dole out the appropriate consequence. This has been shifted in many schools: an expectation has not been met so we need to remind them of the expectation, teach or reteach the behavior we want, and possibly come up with a logical consequence. What I am hearing in school after school is that in many cases neither approach seems to result in a change to some more difficult or repetitive behavior. Why not?

Two Feet. One Breath. 5 Cs

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 01:45:13 +0000

With kids who are well-behaved, regulated and motivated, we can respond to their disruptive very directly and they will stop. But with kids who have been marginalized and traumatized a more informed approach is necessary. I have developed an approach called "Two Feet. One Breath. 5 Cs" to support the teacher in the moment he or she needs to respond to disruptive behaviors from students who seem intent on derailing class.

Community Circles: Resources and Guide

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 10:57:17 +0000

Restorative circles are a powerful way to develop respect, belonging, safety and voice in any learning community. They provide a way to build connection and relationship equitably, with healthy boundaries and structure.

Remembering

Sat, 23 Dec 2017 03:02:05 +0000

Our job as humans is to remind each other of our beauty when we forget. We need brave friends to tell us when our impact is not positive. We need to be given opportunities to reconnect with a better self.

Intersection of Mindfulness and Restorative Practices

Mon, 04 Sep 2017 00:07:10 +0000

In this post I try to begin the difficult job of discussing all the ways Mindfulness and Restorative Practices support and inform each other

When Mindful Awareness Reveals What's Been Hidden

Mon, 13 Mar 2017 13:42:00 +0000

Mindfulness helps us with stress, not losing our keys and staying focused. But when it comes to a deep committed practice, mindfulness can bring to our awareness things about our "selves" that are hard to face, that cause shame. When that happens, we need support to travel the vulnerable road towards a peaceful relationship with how "self" has been expressed and is expressed in our lives.

More Important than a Circle Script

Mon, 30 Jan 2017 01:12:39 +0000

The restorative Circle practice I offer schools is very different from my original exposure to circles, but their power to connect and heal come from the same source—presence. The lesson? Presence and trust have more to do with successful circles than perfectly prepared scripts.

Seeing Student Learning: Teacher Change and the Role of Reflection

Sat, 14 Jan 2017 16:22:00 +0000

This post is from my recent graduate work at Antioch New England. In it I reflect on the powerfully transformative work of Carol Rodgers as expressed in her essay from Voices Inside Schools— "Seeing Student Learning: Teacher Change and the Role of Reflection."

Teaching Tolerance RP Resources

Mon, 28 Nov 2016 14:06:00 +0000

Teaching Tolerance has developed wonderful set of resources for schools interested in restorative practices.

Zen and the Art of Reflective Practice in Teacher Education

Sun, 27 Nov 2016 09:05:00 +0000

My response to a 1993 article in the Harvard Educational Review by John Tremmel, who makes a powerful case for the role of reflective practices in the art of teaching.