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’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
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 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
Many school administrators and educators have some familiarity with bringing nonviolence strengths to education through restorative practices for school settings. Although, quality portrayals of what school restorative practices might look like severely lack in online spaces. There are a few videos on YouTube (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and there are some very helpful… read more
School systems use standardized “codes of conducts” (COCs) to govern student behavior and conduct as well as what responses should follow these behaviors. These codes must formally comply with federal, state, and local laws, and are often informally amenable to student, teacher, staff, and parent needs. Present example justifications from two districts’ COCs include: “Educated… read more
Many schools see the value of teaching social and emotional skills so that their students will succeed in their personal and academic lives. Although there are a variety of ways to promote this type of well-being, many federal, state, and local education agencies mandate that schools implement programs based on the social and emotional learning… read more
