This is the third post in a three-part series on meditation in schools. The first post discussed ways to articulate what meditation is for school audiences. The second explained some reasons why meditation makes for more beneficial restorative practices. This part will share some characteristics of an effective implementation of meditation in schools. Across… read more
This is the second post in a three-part blog post series on meditation in schools. The first post discussed ways to articulate what meditation is for school audiences. This part explains why meditation makes for more beneficial restorative practices. One can think about restorative practices as a set of practices and structures that enable schools… read more
I contend that effectively implementing meditation makes for more beneficial restorative practices in schools. This three-part blog post discusses ways to articulate what meditation is for school audiences, why meditation makes for more beneficial restorative practices, and some characteristics of what an effective implementation of meditation might look like. Based on my lived experience and… read more
I’ve written about using Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as a core component of a set of restorative practices and also a core component of social and emotional learning practices. In effect, all are interrelated and several school leaders that I’ve consulted with have found the three helpful for explaining and enacting parts of their behavior management… read more
I was introduced to nonviolence and sciences in a university setting. During undergraduate studies, I was a student and later a teaching assistant for a course on the philosophy and theory of nonviolence (textbook for the course). I also learned from Dr. Michael Nagler’s PACS 164-A, B, & C courses. I was familiar with various… read more
What is a natural and social science approach to understanding and applying nonviolence, particularly as it manifests in schools that implement restorative practices? I’ll be addressing this question over the next year as a Metta Center for Nonviolence research fellow. In the meantime, it’s worth considering why a scientific perspective on this question is important.… read more
This summer, the Metta Center for Nonviolence is hosting a series on nonviolence education and building community that particularly focuses on how and why nonviolence can be particularly effective for reconciling conflict in schools. Special guest Robin Wildman, a nonviolence educator from Broad Rock Middle School in Rhode Island with 25 years of teaching experience,… read more
This is Part 2 of a two-part blog post. Part 1 looked at preparing for holding a difficult conversation about poverty. Here, I clarify how restorative practices might help facilitate a conversation about poverty and what to do to address poverty. The preparations I mentioned in Part 1 included recollecting thoughts on the matter, nonviolent… read more
This will be a two-part blog post. In this first part, I focus on preparation for holding a difficult conversation about poverty, and in the second, I will clarify how restorative practices might help facilitate a conversation about poverty and what to do to address poverty. In an earlier post about addressing misconceptions often made… read more
Perhaps part of what makes restorative practices so effective is that these practices embody a variety of approaches to behavior change. These approaches markedly contrast with what many media outlets have served the public in 2015; numerous news reports, that highlighted the use of physical force and sometimes violence in schools, dominated the public’s attention… read more
