Your Predicament:

Part of the dilemma for school administrators who seek other strategies in responding to the misbehaving student is that they are often no more equipped than the classroom teacher to spontaneously craft an alternative to punishment. Their training to be an administrator did not include a more abundant toolkit of responses for student misbehavior than when they were teachers.

They are also in the midst of other tasks—just like with the teacher, the student’s behavior is an interruption. They may only have a marginal relationship with the student, or worse still, only know the student from their trips to the office.

A deeper dive into the background of the student and the current misbehavior is time-consuming. And the administrators certainly will need to share with the teachers their non-punitive strategies and convince the teachers of their efficacy versus detention and suspensions, but there is no system in place to do all that.

Pulling out the hammer of punishment is at least quick and well-established, if nothing else.

⚡︎ Essential Edge:  

Tomorrow’s Transformation:

After establishing the school’s boundaries for which behaviors must be managed by the teachers in the classroom and which belong to administration, the next step is to provide everyone with a diverse set of responses.

Here are several steps you can begin right now – tomorrow – whether you’re an administrator or a teacher:

We all recognize that the road to restorative justice and better classroom behavior is filled with potholes, forks in the road and unforeseen obstacles. However, every small step we all take makes our schools, our students and – ultimately – our worlds better places to learn and to live.

Publisher's Notes:

• Part of this text was taken from Hacking School Discipline Together by Jeffrey Benson. Visit jeffreybenson.org to learn more about new solutions to restorative justice.
  
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