As we learn more about child development and how much what happens to students outside the classroom impacts their behavior inside the classroom, there is a noticeable shift towards an improved framework for classroom management. Traditionally, school discipline has been modeled on the criminal justice system, with students punished for negative behavior, or even removed from the community altogether through detention, suspension, or expulsion. However, research is now revealing that punishing students who are struggling may do more harm than good, as it responds to the original harm with further harm. In recent years, many schools and districts have started moving toward a model called restorative justice (or restorative practices) as an alternative to the traditional school discipline models that are largely based on punishment. Supporting a Healthy Classroom Community Restorative justice has varied roots and has been attributed to various religious affiliations, indigenous practices, and the victims’ rights movement. At the heart of restorative justice is the idea that our social relationships are vital to our individual health. Therefore, restorative justice is designed to heal the harm that comes with interpersonal conflict. It offers a variety of strategies, but one of the most common is joining any persons who … Continue reading Improve Classroom Management with Restorative Justice