Restorative Practices - Marg Thorsborne Session One

Today we joined with a neighbouring school in developing our knowledge around Restorative Practices (RP).


The day consisted of layering the background to how and why we think and believe the things we do. Our ability to react to behaviour around us in classrooms (as teachers, teacher aides, or senior leaders in schools) is very much dependent on the mirroring that ocurred for us in our own family of origin. How we were parented hugely impacts the choices we make when making decisions around discipline - both for the children we parent, and for those children we teach.

Marg tallked us through a useful tool called the "Social Discipline Window". This offers us a way to understand the levels of control or limit setting and discipline, and the levels of support, or encouragement or nurturing, placed on children by us as adults.

Interesting:
What I found really interesting about today was the background to how human society has dealt with, or treated, children and babies! The history of childhood shows the infanticidal mode from the 4th C onwards. And we know this continues on today in many 3rd world countries such as India. The abondoning mode ocurred from about the 6th C onwards, moving into the Ambivalent mode around the 15th Century. The 18th C saw the advent of the Intrusive mode moving into the socialising mode in the mid 20th C.

What I wonder is - Do we really want to keep on doing what we've done for several hundred years? Or is it time to try something different and begin to treat children in more respectful ways?

Enjoyable:
What I really enjoyed about today was the way the groups were set up. Vertical groups of people who don't normally work together, with an even split of staff from either school. This was a great opportunity for us to get to know each other across our schools, while stepping out of our comfort zones.
I also really enjoyed watching the highly developed skill Marg has in managing the pace of her sessions! This seemed so effortless, but have done some adult education sessions in the past, I know how difficult this is to arrange!! We were always given opportunity to talk (and how us teachers love to do that!) while never quite being left having to wait for others to finish. Marg strategically filled the day with a clearly balanced delivery of detail and fact, intersperced with fun, flippancy, humour, and small group dialogue. The levels of challenge were scaffolded carefully.
Another excellent opportunity tomorrow to develop my skills in holding the scripted conversations with children to improve the outcomes for those who have been harmed!