SR Vol 27 No 3, July 2009 - Nova Scotia Barristers' Society

Restorative practices at
work in the classroom
Summation
Photo by Catherine Neily
Classroom management
has
become increasingly
difficult over the
years. Gone are the stereotypical
Rockwell images
of desks in perfectly
aligned rows, assigned
textbooks and a teacher
standing at the front of
the classroom teaching a
homogeneous group of
students who are silently
and obediently following
direction. Today, Dick
and Jane wear Prada and
Leave it to Beaver has left
the building …
Also unreported are the successful programs and positive student
involvement in these programs, which are making a difference.
One such initiative is taking place in the Yarmouth area. Several years
ago, the Tri-County Restorative Justice group began working with
several local schools to teach staff and students about how restorative
justice practices can be used in schools. In September 2007, a pilot
project was launched at Yarmouth High School, where vandalism
and disruptive behaviour had risen over the years.
Restorative practices include the wrongdoer taking responsibility for
his or her actions and the person who has been harmed taking a role
in the process if they choose to do so. Students are encouraged to
resolve conflicts with the assistance of a trained facilitator (often a
fellow student), rather than simply being punished for unacceptable
and harmful behaviour. Restorative justice practices promote peace,
healing, community, individual self-worth, accountability, reparation,
reintegration and empathy.
Terry Bartlett-Visser
LIANS
Is this merely the ageold
cycle where an older
generation criticizes the
younger? Classroom
data and various studies
suggest that this is not the case. Aggressive behaviour of adolescents has
increased in Canada, particularly in girls, according to federal statistics.
There are many reasons cited by experts for the shift in adolescent and
youth behaviour and expectations. These include parenting style, the
increase of popular media in children’s socialization,
the move toward technological
contact rather then face-to-face human interaction
and imaginative play, the breakdown
of community and socio-economic
status (Development of Physical Aggression
from Early Childhood to Adulthood, Richard
E. Tremblay, PhD, FRSC, Canada
Research Chair in Child Development).
Regardless of the reason for the shift, classroom
behaviour in many schools has become
a concern.
In our own province, numerous examples
of school lockdowns, out-of-control
brawls and violence against teachers have
been reported by the media. Unreported
are the individual examples of aggressive
behaviour, cyber-bullying, emotional
manipulation (a covert form of bullying),
incidents of theft and property damage.
Ken Langille, an educator for 32 years and the teacher coordinator for
the restorative justice in schools program in the Yarmouth area, spoke
at the first Tri-County Restorative Justice in Schools Conference,
held in Yarmouth on April 30. He confirmed that Yarmouth High
School (YHS) has introduced restorative justice practices to its system
of handling disruptive behaviour. Since its inception, incidents of
disruptive behaviour reported to the office have dropped. The school’s
administration plans to begin using the Restorative Practices program
in cases involving students who are habitually late for classes.
Photo by Tina Comeau/Yarmouth Vanguard
July 2009 37