Getting Unstuck – Using a Social & Emotional Approach with Student Discipline
“Our kids are struggling. Upwards of a quarter to a third of our children do not graduate high school, and many who go on to two- or four-year universities don’t finish. We also hear of the increasing mental health. needs of our college students. Many educators now embrace the need to support kids differently, which rely on faculty members to practice social and emotional competencies. It’s a conversation we need to have.”
Today on Getting Unstuck
In this episode of Getting Unstuck, we welcome Jim Collin. Jim is the Director of Talent Development at EASTCONN, one of Connecticut’s six Regional Education Service Service Centers. (ESAs provide professional development services for educators in a given geographic region.) Jim’s particular focus is on helping schools implement social and emotional learning, and restorative justice practices. He also has a strong interest in helping schools and their leaders lead change at the local level.
The “Social Discipline Window” as defined by the International Institute for Restorative Practices.
In our conversation, Jim refers to the “with box,” a safe space where student and teacher co-create an instructional experience.
“The fundamental hypothesis of restorative practice as defined by IIRP is that individuals are more productive, cooperative and likely to make positive change when those in authority do things with them rather than to or for them. Thus, “high control” in this illustration can also mean ‘high involvement’ or ‘high expectations.”’”— Jim Collin
The Essential Point
“Restorative justice” moves away from the traditional forms of disciplining inappropriate student behavior where adults simply mete out punishment. It relies instead on a social and emotional approach – one that seeks to help adults and students first understand the underlying cause or causes of the disruptive behavior. Central to success is the need for adults and students to create and operate within a safe, calming space.
Listen for:
How we define “restorative practices” in the school setting and what makes up the underlying skills sets that allow teachers and students to connect effectively.
What the teacher’s immediate role is relative to a student’s potentially disruptive behavior.
How removing positional hierarchy can help create a safe environmental space for productive discussions.
“Even if a school district mandates a simple change, adults will react in an adaptive way. All changes have social and emotional consequences; all change is adaptive change. I don’t care if you’re teaching someone how to run a computer, or doing something that seems very technical. It’ll always have a social emotional component to it. And once you’re aware of that, you understand it to be a significant component to learning.”
Connect with Jim
Referenced
International Institute for Restorative Practices
The Coalition for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence
NPR interview with CT principal Olympia Della Flora
”Creative Ways to Get Kids to Thrive in School”
Could a book on how to effectively lead change in schools be any more timely?
We’re pleased to announce …
…that our book Shifting: How School Leaders Can Create a Culture of Change is now available from Corwin Press or Amazon. If you purchase from Amazon, please consider leaving us a rating and review. Thank you!
From our publisher:
In Shifting, educators and leadership experts Kirsten Richert, Jeff Ikler and Margaret Zacchei empower educational change leaders to proactively and coherently navigate complex change in schools to achieve the desired outcomes.
Using a three-part framework—Assess, Ready, Change—this book leads educators to examine a school’s imperatives and readiness for change, identity the tools and abilities required to manifest change, and take action by defining the roles and processes necessary to effectively implement both sweeping change and smaller day-to-day adjustments.