Author's posts
Aug 12
Students school teacher on changing classroom practice Aug. 9/22
Listen now Circle Forum Teens as teachers? You betcha. Adults can learn a lot from teen. It does take asking the right questions and takes really listening. Shelley tells a story of how initiating restorative practices in a Grade 7 & 8 classroom backfired until she backed up and asked what’s happening now. Summer Short …
Aug 01
How to have critical conversations in large groups. Aug. 2/22
Listen now on I-Tunes Circle Forum Summer Short on Circle Forum are stories where our practice changed because something restorative did not work out well. That’s how Steve changed his practice after running a staff circle with the best of intentions. It was WAY too big a group for an important conversation on racism. To learn more …
Aug 01
Rapid dive too deep ruins circle conversation July 26/22
Listen now on I-Tunes Circle Forum Summer Short on Circle Forum are stories where our practice changed because something restorative did not work out well. We are often asked if we’ve run circles that have crashed and burned. The answer is a big YES. Stan tells a story about a Grade 8 class that was already …
Jul 12
3 Things you can do to connect with colleagues today – July 19/22
Listen now on I-Tunes Circle Forum Summer Shorts on Circle Forum is a series of short stories with a difference. These are mistakes we made in our restorative practices AND how that changed our practice. Steve describes a circle he did in a classroom, what he learned and 3 things he’s changed in his practice with …
Jul 12
Uncover extremely valuable responses to harmful words from colleague – July 12/22
Listen now on I-Tunes Circle Forum Summer Shorts on Circle Forum is a series of short stories with a difference. These are mistakes we made in our restorative practices AND how that changed our practice. Shelley describes how a harmful comment from one staff member impacted a second staffer. Using restorative practices with adults changed Shelley’s …
Jul 12
Feuding Families Fuel School Fights – July 5/22
Listen now on I-Tunes Circle Forum Summer Shorts, our new season of podcasts, are just that, short and for the summer. Each podcast has a story with a difference! The story is about mistakes we made with restorative practices and how it changed our practice. This week Stan talks about a family feud that spilled over …
Jul 12
The WHY of our restorative practices – June 28/22
Listen now on I-Tunes Circle Forum At the end of our Season 3 Podcast on Student Engagement, we go back to our very first podcast in May 2021 and our discussion of our WHY with restorative practices. Our WHY informs HOW we do things and WHAT we do. You’ll hear phrases like : seen it work, …
Jul 12
Changing lenses to see students with special needs – June 21/22
Listen now on I-Tunes 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 …
Jun 16
Ending the school year well with restorative leadership. June 14/22
Listen now on I-Tunes Circle Forum he 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 …
Jun 16
Start classroom circles when needed and keep at it! June 7/22
Listen now on I-Tunes Circle Forum 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 …