How’d we get here?

Many schools and school systems are looking to unlock the current challenges we’re having around student behaviour. Before we choose a course of action, I’d suggest examining how we got to this point. We don’t have this problem for no reason, and it’s worth determining where we went wrong so that we don’t make the…

Of No Consequence

An article about school bullying caught my attention this week. It was written by a vicar (for some reason) in the UK who was talking about how restorative approaches are a gift for bullies. If you’re ok, I won’t link to it as I don’t really want to popularise it. But I think you’ve got…

Student Leadership “Counsel”

The composition of your Student Leadership Council might be something you’ve argued with colleagues about. I know I have. On this occasion, I had a rare win. I argued that Anthony should be on our SLC. Janis, an Assistant Principal, didn’t see it that way. She argued that Anthony wasn’t exactly the model student and…

The Responsibility End Game

When something goes wrong socially in your classroom, kids mentally skip to the end game. It could be bullying, conflict or a poor behavioural choice. But by the time they’re in your company, a reasonable proportion of their mental energy is spent strategising based on what they know your end game is. So, what’s your…

Your Mission Statement Might Suck 

“We need to build a safe, inclusive and highly productive learning environment where the wellbeing of our students is maximised alongside their academic potential being thoroughly realised.” Sounds good, right? Well, not to me. To me, this sounds like an outcome that’s impossible to achieve. To me, this sounds like a recipe for failure, and…

Toxic Positivity

Typically, the positive ones encourage and teach us to do more useful things for ourselves and others. Joy comes when giving a family member a birthday present; pride comes from achievement or effort. As a result, we can repeat or even habitualise these feel-good actions without the need for ongoing extrinsic motivators. But negative feelings…

That Email

Once a semester – and only once a semester – I write an email to you that’s useful in a different kind of way. It’s not an email where I make an attempt to stimulate your thinking or support your work. It’s more of an email I write because I really want you to do…

Lessons From Epictetus

My family and I are currently on a long-planned holiday to Greece, a land where my wife, Anthea, has some significant family heritage. We’re extraordinarily lucky to have this opportunity. This week we visited the mighty Greek National Archeological Museum, and my son found a book of quotes by the philosopher Epictetus. One quote got…

Yard Duty

In our Partner Schools, we talk about making every square inch of the school restorative. It’s a clear determination that there not be places where Restorative Practices don’t apply or are optional. One of the places where this can be hardest is in the yard. Let’s be honest, if we didn’t do yard duty to…

Taming Dinosaurs

I meet a lot of school leaders, specifically those who are implementing Restorative Practices. Many of these leaders have discussed phenomena with me regarding experienced teachers who are wed to older crime/punishment/blame-based models of improving student behaviour … and how they’re struggling to budge these teachers. Their experience with these teachers is frustration and exasperation,…