Authority with Grace - stolen cell phones, cheating on tests and misbehaviour

The most common reoccurring ethical issue that I have experienced in the classroom have been concerns regarding student attitudes to school and work. When I first started teaching, I confess that I thought that the most effective way to deal with a disruptive student in my classroom was to send them to the office. And as I discovered from the first student that I sent to the office for acting out in class, that this type of discipline was not discipline at all. The tone of  this interaction was not appreciated by the student and in fact it was ineffective in shaping the classroom environment that I was trying to create.

I remember a fellow new teacher suffered from the same misconception that I had, and in her case the office was more direct, they sent that student right back to the classroom, telling her to manage the misbehavior herself. 

Sending students out of the classroom is often not the most ethical way of dealing with student misbehavior. Instead, our most ethical response depends on our ability to decipher the cause of the misbehavior. This ability depends in a large part on emotional intelligence. For example, students can motivated to misbehave:

• Because they do not know what the proper behavior is
• For no other reason than they are having a bad day
• They are bored with a certain subject
• They feel uninvolved with the classroom or classroom decisions and feel it is an unfair environment
• Their teacher seems to expect negative behavior from them
• They want attention, power, or revenge
• They have given up on themselves and feel anxious or inadequate.

Since I have a lot of control over what goes on inside my classroom and little control over what goes on outside, I began to focus on how I interacted with students while instructing them.

First, I started by incorporating the philosophy of inclusion in the classroom (using the Tribes philosophy).

The Tribes philosophy focuses on incorporating activities that are designed to create an atmosphere of respect and responsibility in the classroom.

From the first day of school, I discuss the concepts of respect, responsibility and participation, and develop both curriculum and community learning goals for each lesson. Immediately I noticed that the students responded very positively to these changes, the quality of our discussion improved, and the quantity of disruptions dramatically decreased over time.

An important part of the Tribes  process is setting up four key classroom rules which govern our interactions. These are:

• Mutual Respect
• Attentive Listening
• Appreciation - no Put-downs
• The Right to Pass 

The idea is that through discussion, the students and teachers can reach the stage of community where students and teachers can work together creatively to contribute their talents to the classroom.

 

Restorative Practices

My second step was becoming trained in restorative practices. Restorative Practices has deepened my practical understanding of classroom leadership.

Restorative practices focuses on the art of seeking to solve problems collaboratively, instead of seeking to solve problems by placing blame.  The premise of restorative practices is that students are happier, more cooperative and productive and more likely to make positive changes when those in authority do things with them, rather than to them or for them. Restorative practices is proactive, rather than reactive, and it works to improve and strengthen human relationships by repairing harm. Students feel fairly treated and are less likely to re-offend. 

Since I started using restorative practices in my classroom, a lot of what I choose to do in terms of classroom management has to do with involving the student into the problem solving process and re-affirming our relationship, rather than relying on punishment as a social regulator.

When I encounter an behavioral dilemma, the main tool in my arsenal are the restorative questions. These questions provide an opportunity for everyone involved to tell about the incident from their perspective and how it affected them. Everyone gets to speak, and because they feel heard, I frequently get apologies from students and the process ensures they do not repeat their actions that caused the harm. The their behavior has changed and our student-teacher relationship has strengthened. My classroom feels much friendlier.

The restorative questions are purposely scripted, and provide all involved with an opportunity to speak and listen to one another in an atmosphere of safety and equality.

Restorative practices has helped me to successfully mediate a variety of classroom conflict: from stolen textbooks, cheating on tests, finding missing cell phones, dealing with poor word choices and excessive lates.

Teachers face ethical dilemmas on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Our focus as teachers is to provide equal opportunity for education for all. One size does not fit all. In teaching, what is considered the most ethical often comes down to determining what is in the best interest of the particular student involved with the situation. Both the Tribes Philosophy and Restorative Practices have been critical in shaping my understanding of classroom leadership.

References:

Tribes Learning Communities: http://tribes.com/about/research-based-components/

Restorative Practices: http://www.iirp.edu/pdf/beth06_davey2.pdf