SEL for a Second

SEL in Seconds

Did you know that how schools discipline can hurt or hinder a child's social/emotional development? There are various camps in schools across the country when it comes to discipline: some want hard, black and white consequences, while many districts and schools are moving toward a more restorative approach. No matter where you personally fall on that spectrum, there is a lot of research that supports the power of teaching behavior.

Restorative discipline approaches focus on teaching and restoring. It's all about allowing all kids to feel part of their school. Instead of simply kicking a child out of school or having them serve a detention, in a restorative approach one would also have the child find a way to fix and mend the situation that they caused. This approach teaches empathy, and helps to provide the person who was the "victim" with a voice;  ideally it repairs broken relationships.

Some ways I have seen QUEST use restorative approaches: 

• Volunteering in a classroom
• Writing an apology letter to someone you hurt
• Helping to clean up a mess that you created
• Mediating between two students
• Having students reflect on behavior
• Having students set goals around relationships
• Jamie, Jamie, Jamie...the way she is able to help students find a way to fix things
• Peace circles...sitting kids in a circle as a group and teaching them to talk.

Restorative approaches does not mean you remove any consequence and do not hold a child accountable. Instead, you combine the consequence with fixing and restoring what was hurt/broken. 

Go QUEST.