Circle Forum

Changing the lens of how we see students with special needs can lead to different responses to the behaviours. Students on the autism spectrum benefit from the predictability and consistency of the restorative questions. We are often called on as adults to translate and simplify the questions for students. Varying these same questions can help adults in difficult conversations about how adult beha...

The end of the school year is filled with the stresses of wrapping up the year and gearing up for September. Restorative leadership can address staff concerns like next year’s teaching assignment, room assignments and class lists. Stan shares an example where a conversation did not go so well. Join us this week as Shelley, Steve and Stan talk about building relationships by walking around. Restora...

Integrating restorative practices into the curriculum can actually save time with stories from the recent experiences of Brooke Monks, a grade 6 teacher with the York Region District School Board in Ontario. She just started with circles in April of this school year and already she’s noticed that students were able to present projects in classroom circles. Prior to this, there was a lot of anxiety...

Quiet students need to have talking space according to our guest this week, Brooke Monks, a grade 6 teacher with the York Region District School Board in Ontario. She speaks from the experiences of her students when they answered her question about how they felt when someone talks over them. It’s the second of 3 parts of our conversation with Brooke. Restorative practice suggestions: restorative p...

Every teacher needs to try restorative practices in class according to our guest this week, Brooke Monks, a grade 6 teacher with the York Region District School Board in Ontario. Brooke had Steve as someone who could model circles in the classroom and coach her. Brooke reflects this week on starting with restorative circles late in the school year this April. It’s doable and she has some great ins...

Community involvement and participation in restorative circles can positively impact all people involved according to Belinda Dulin in her chapter “Restorative Practices in Community” in the book   Colorizing Restorative Justice: Voicing our Realities . Shelley, Steve and Stan discuss a terrific story about 2 families at risk of eviction due to conflict who resolve the issues with the involve...

Intentional use of a talking piece in restorative circles can begin to undo what Edward Valandra calls “the First Harm” in his chapter “Undoing the First Harm: Settlers in Restorative Justice” in the book   Colorizing Restorative Justice: Voicing our Realities . Land acknowledgments are good and require a next step of action to undo the harm. Valandra asks what’s blocking settlers from recogn...

Student voices from black and brown boys describe adults as not caring and having the attitude that “you’re not worth it!” This is the powerful and helpful language from Abdul-Malik Muhammad in his chapter contribution “The Cipher, Circle and Restorative Practices with Black and Brown Boys” in the book   Colorizing Restorative Justice: Voicing our Realities . Shelley, Steve and Stan talk abou...

Privileged folks can be activated through the telling of stories and the listening to stories according to Gilbert Salazar in his chapter contribution “Passing the cup of vulnerability: offering vulnerability as a challenge to white fragility through elements of circle” in the book   Colorizing Restorative Justice: Voicing our Realities . Shelley, Steve and Stan discuss how skillful questioni...

“Hiding the ball” is the way restorative approaches are introduced in schools, according to Anita Wadhwa, contributor to the book Colorizing Restorative Justice: Voicing our Realities . In her chapter “‘What do you want, reparations? Racial microaggressions and restorative justice” , she describes oppression as “behaviours, practices, laws, beliefs, systems that privilege some groups and demean an...

Whether it’s in a classroom circle or a conversation with parents, pay attention when participants are silent. In the book Colorizing Restorative Justice: Voicing our Realities , one of the contributors, Christina Parker, writes that “power and privilege act to silence divergent and alternative perspectives, with the result that these perspectives remain unexamined.” Steve tells a story about the...

The title is a quote from Barbara Sherrod, one of the contributors to the book Colorizing Restorative Justice: Voicing our Realities . Sherrod’s writing prompted us to talk more about what it’s going to take to change the narrative of stories like “these parents don’t care” when referring to black or indigenous families. And Sherrod is exhausted with all the battles along the way to create safe sp...

Whether you support the use of masks or not, conversations about masks in schools have been very polarized. In this podcast, Shelley, Steve and Stan start with what’s happening as schools transition away from mandatory masks and end up talking about RESPECT. How do we treat others who look different that we do because of a mask or not? How can we engage parents again in respectful conversations? R...

A restorative approach to students with special needs can help teachers get to know their students and their special needs. Our guest this week is Dane Ellis from the Hastings Prince Edward District School Board in Ontario. He persisted from September to February and was successful in having a reluctant student participate in daily community circles. Listen to this terrific story of great question...

Teachers are central to building students’ sense of belonging in school and there are a lot of structures that gets in the way. Listen in for a story of one secondary teacher who invited the Gay-Straight alliance students into her classroom and created a safe space at lunch. Restorative practice suggestions: Draw on your own interests as a teacher to build connections with kids. Build belonging in...

It’s an understatement to say the pandemic has been stressful for everyone. This new research from the Rand Corp points out some very interesting findings (see below). Steve and Stan discuss these findings using a restorative lens. Restorative practice suggestions: Restorative practices offers the HOWTO of building and maintaining relationships in the stress filled pandemic. Be intentional about t...

What’s happening for a student who sleeps in class all the time and what should you do? Steve and Stan discuss this question from an online forum. Whatever educators do in this situation, we ask “Who’s being helped or served by this action or response?” Schools are like an early warning system where changes in behaviour are noticed very early so it’s important to find out what’s happening (a very...

This week we continue our discussion with Soukaine Berri, a high school teacher in Windsor, Ontario. Student engagement starts with learning about student interests and listening to students’ voices. Soukaine has a terrific example of how listening to students made a change in her content subjects. Things that get in the way of engagement include: -hunger -mental health concerns -transportation -s...

Our return guest this week is Soukaine Berri, a high school teacher in Windsor, Ontario. Her classroom stories illustrate how taking 5 to 10 minutes per class can help you as a teacher to know your students in the content subjects. Soukaine has 2 great questions for her Community Discussion time every day. She reflects on how much a teacher can and should share about themselves with students. You’...

“In the middle, everything can look like a failure.” (Kanter’s law) Rosabeth Moss Kanter of the Harvard Business School says that “everyone feels motivated by the beginnings…we love happy endings, but it is in the middle where the hard work happens.” Shelley, Steve and Stan continue the conversation about change and guess where they end up? Fair Process and the 3 E’s: Engagement, Explanation and E...

If learning in a school or district is symmetrical for students and adults, then you’ll want to hear more about that from our guest this week, Perry Smith is the Director of Instruction for Curriculum with the Abbotsford School District in British Columbia. Implementation and embedding indigenous worldview, content and competencies is best done by address the heart, then the head of the educators....

The gap between a school’s vision and the implementation of that vision is the problem of practice being studied by our guest this week, Perry Smith, Director of Instruction for Curriculum at the Abbotsford School District. Our conversation is led by how to implement and embed indigenous worldview, content and competencies. Teacher practice is impeded by concerns about time needed to change, adequ...

In these traumatic and pandemic times, there are many conversations to be had with frustrated parents. How school leaders structure the conversations can make all the difference. A restorative mindset  allows leaders and school staff to prepare for the inevitable difficult conversations with parents, ask non-blaming questions during the conversation and follow up on any actions arising from t...

Know your students and let them know you care. Sound advice whether it in-person or remote learning according to our guest this week, Cathy Abrahams, President of the Ontario Public School Board Association and Trustee with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. Language matters and can inhibit student engagement. Cathy share a story that has stuck with her about the impact of her teacher...

A new year and a new season of Circle Forum starts with our guest, Amina Abdulle , teacher consultant for equity and Co-Founder:Black Staff Equity Alliance with the Greater Essex County District School Board in Ontario. This season’s focus will be on structures that enhance or inhibit student engagement in our districts, schools and classrooms. Our discussion this week points out that rigid struct...