As argued in the Ministry Documents, students learn better in an environment where they feel safe and supported. The main points presented in the document titled, Caring and Safe Schools in Ontario, emcompasses the ideas of school climate and prevention. As maintained in the first few lines, “students who experience a positive school culture feel supported and accepted by peers and school staff tend to develop a strong sense of school membership” (4). It can easily be argued that nowadays, as maintained by Brian Kuntz, "students are far less engaged in schools, disinterested in participating in school activities. In most cases, students may be unwilling to take part in school activities because they are bored, or simply lack the self-esteem necessary to participate in said activities" (n.p).. Regardless, it is important for teachers to promote participating and invite students to take part in activities that may appeal to their particular interests because, as per claimed in the article, “feelings of belonging enhance students’ self-esteem and can contribute both directly and indirectly to improvements in academic and behavioural functioning and overall mental health” (4). In this context, by promoting participating, involvement, and inclusions, teachers are creating an atmosphere that encourages students to get along with each other, which is a “key strategy in building a caring and safe school culture” (34). While student participation may contribute to caring and safe school environment, the article also provides prevention strategies that aim at eliminating behavioural problems in school.
The first strategy is a Problem-Solving Approach. By and large, this approach is “aimed at preventing the behaviour from occurring again by helping the student learn a positive behaviour by empowering the student to take responsibility for for solving his or her problem, and by empowering the student with his or her dignity intact and positive sense of accomplishment” (37). When using the problem-solving approach, the student acknowledges that his or her actions were wrong, and takes responsibility for said action, but is not further punished or made to feel ashamed about themselves. Often, more punitive measures such as suspension are unsuccessful, and result in more acts of violence or intimidation, therefore, it is important for students to understand that what they did was wrong and provide the students with the tools necessary in order to prevent any further negative behaviour. The second strategy is a Restorative Practice. Based on an Aboriginal concept, restorative practices is a “method of dealing with criminal justice issues that focuses on repairing the harm done to people and relationships rather than on punishing offenders” (36). While in the beginning I was a little skeptical of this prevention strategy, it seems as though it might be quite beneficial for students. By mending seemingly difficult students relationships through restorative circles, students are able to share their emotions in a safe and caring place, as per the title of this article. As opposed to the problem-solving approach, restorative practices help students understand the importance of cooperation and working together to achieve a common goal. This results in a more inclusive environment that promotes positivity and inclusion. The second article entitled: Shaping a culture of Respect in our Schools: Promoting Safe and Healthy Relationships reminded me of Accepting School Act, 2012, which in its mandate attempts to make Ontario school more inclusive. Many parent organizations were originally dissatisfied with the current amended Bill because they believed it singled out the LGBT community. The parent organizations argued that by taking out LGBT, the act would no longer single out a group, and thus make the act more inclusive. I would argue, however, that by specifying the LGBT community, the act was not attempting to single out a certain rather, it was allocating a section to a group of people who are subjected to the most violence and intimidation. In my opinion, the schoolyard can be a very a hostile place because homophobic slurs are thrown around so freely without consequence. As maintained in the article: "research shows that boys more often than girls both receive and make homophobic comments (e.g., “gay”, “fag”, “dyke”, “queer”, “lezzie”, or similar terms): in the CAMH survey 34% of Grade 9 boys and 30% of Grade 11 boys reported being victims of such insults, while 38% of Grade 9 boys and 33% of Grade 11 boys reported being perpetrators. In Grade 9, 22% of girls reported being victims and 26% perpetrators; while in Grade 11, 12% of girls reported being victims and 16% perpetrators" (6). This directly pertains to the following page which explains how the media influences behaviour. Bandura explained this concept through his Social Learning Theory, which briefly, explains that children learn behavior through observational learning. As expressed in the article, “young children who see media violence have a greater chance of exhibiting violent and aggressive behaviour”(7). In this case, it is important for parents as well as teachers to teach students the importance of understanding the media, and digital literacy. Finally, the third and fourth article shared the same subject as the they both discussed the idea of supporting English Language Learners. It is also important to note that all articles mentioned in this post can be directly linked to chapter 3 of Ayers’ book. The whole premise of these article seems to explore the importance of creating a classroom that challenges, but also nurtures students. As claimed in Supporting English Language Learners with Limited Prior Schooling, “by building positive relationships the teacher gets to know students by interacting with them as individuals and listening to what they have to say” (7). Although I have limited experience working in schools, in the short time that I have been at Pinecrest, I have notice how children seem happy when you genuinely listen and subsequently respond to what they have to say. Although a story may be as simple as a child telling you about how they were able to cross the monkey bars at recess, if you show a genuine interest in the children, they will react in a more positive way.
1 Comment
Linda Radford
11/27/2015 03:08:02 am
Thanks for reviewing these reading here so thoroughly and I appreciate you sharing your evolving thoughts around restorative practices in schools.
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