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Bullying: Is there an appropriate "punishment"?

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Bullying: Is there an appropriate "punishment"?

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Great article that highlights alternate consequences of bullying in schools.

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Disparities, Bullying, and Corporal Punishment: The Latest Federal Discipline Data

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As most schools offered hybrid instruction in 2020-21, Black students and students with disabilities were disproportionately disciplined.

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Take this quiz to identify how much you know about student engagement! This might provide better insight regarding whether or not you are aware of your knowledge of student engagement (and how to increase it)!

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Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Student Engagement?

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Answer 7 questions about student engagement.

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This is a quick read about how educators can give helpful and meaningful advice to their students!

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We all want to help kids do the right thing. But a roundabout path can be better than a direct one. Here's something I wrote about the topic for Character Lab as a Tip of the Week:

Sometimes, giving advice to my daughters feels like shouting into the wind.
Did you know that you'd be able to concentrate better if you got more sleep? If you put your keys in the same place every day, you'd be less likely to lose them! Try making a to-do list at the start of the weekend. It will help you manage your time.
Shouting into the wind is, of course, part of the job description for parents, teachers, and anyone else who genuinely cares for the well-being of young people. After all, there are some things we know that they don't.

But very often, the advice we're dispensing is nothing new. My daughters have already been told countless times-by me, their dad, and who knows who else-that they should go to bed earlier, establish routines to stay organized, and plan ahead.

In other words, many young people know what's best, yet fail to act accordingly.

Several years ago, after working by my side on many failed interventions, a brilliant graduate student named Lauren Eskreis-Winkler came up with an entirely different idea: "What if, instead of telling kids what to do, we asked them to give advice to younger students?"

Lauren soon set to work on interventions that were much simpler than anything we'd done before. When young people are gently prompted to give advice to others, their own motivation and confidence improve.

In one study, Lauren and her collaborators found that high school students who were asked to give younger peers advice on study strategies and other ways to succeed academically-an activity that took only eight minutes-improved their own report card grades that marking period.

Don't underestimate the power of kids mentoring kids. Young people are wiser than we think, and both sides may benefit.

Do ask the young people in your life to give advice to others: "Your sister is a little stressed out about final exams. What can she do to manage that?" "I know some people feel worse about themselves after scrolling through their Instagram feed. What do you think they should do to feel better?" In other words, instead of shouting into the wind, listen.

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A Surprising Way to Improve Student Motivation and Confidence (Opinion)

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When students give advice to younger peers, it benefits everyone.

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This is a great resource for finding texts that are not only historically and politically accurate but also relatable for your students! The author also wants to connect with parents, which is equally important!

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Culturally Responsive Teaching

Classroom texts should represent all children in positive ways, and teachers may have to look for outside resources to make this happen.

In my experience, most classrooms and school libraries simply don't have enough books that provide representation to students of color, and these texts tend to be supplementary to course content curricula at best.

The report examines racial and ethnic representation in the books used in U.S. curricula and finds that White authors and characters are overrepresented, and portrayals of people of color are often troubling: "When books included groups and cultures of color, they often used stereotypes, disconnected culture from individual people, or portrayed those groups as less than or unequal to others. And, when historical and social topics were included, they were almost always sanitized, told through a singular perspective, or disconnected from the structural realities that help students make meaning of the reading."

Black books by Black authors with stories about the experiences of Black life should be in classrooms and school libraries. The same is true concerning other marginalized racial and ethnic groups. However, it's not enough to simply have these books at your disposal and/or on display.

These books must not be watered down. They should accurately represent the diverse set of experiences and history of the racial or ethnic group(s) represented in the text. That happens best when the author of said text is of the same racial or ethnic background as the group being represented. Also, these texts must be an active part of the course content. In other words, they should be frequently used as part of lessons and in various forms of assessment.

Teachers may desire to do these things but be unaware of where to find these texts and how to integrate them within their already prepackaged course content. Here are a few tips to help teachers make these things happen in their classrooms.

3 Ways to Find Culturally Relevant Texts Written by Authors of Color

1. Visit a bookstore owned by people of color (e.g., Black or Latino owned). These stores can be found in city neighborhoods; some exist in the suburbs. There are also online stores, including Mahogany Books and Brave + Kind Books, as well as publishing houses owned by people of color, such as Con Todo Press and Chau Luna Books.

These establishments specialize in highlighting authors of color and themes specific to the experiences of communities of color. Teachers can find engaging texts for all ages that can be easily integrated into course content.

2. Collaborate with your school or district librarian, or the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) person in your school or district. If teachers are unfamiliar with any diverse books or resources to use for classroom content, they can reach out to school or district personnel who can assist with making recommendations. You can contact your school's or district's DEI director or curriculum supervisor to support you in these efforts.

3. Reach out to parents of color for suggestions found in their own collection of books for their child(ren). Parents of color may have their own set or collection of diverse books as it relates to their racial/ethnic makeup because of the limited options that the Education Trust report mentions. These parents may be able to offer recommendations on what texts you might want to use in your classrooms and why. They can also point you in the right direction-e.g., bookstores to patronize, authors to read, and resources to adopt.

But just having diverse texts in your classroom is not enough. Teachers should be able to use these materials to have students engage in rigorous higher-order thinking.

3 Ways to Prompt Higher-Order Thinking Through Diverse Texts

1. Don't shy away from exploring themes rooted in social issues. Although some politicians say otherwise, exploring themes rooted in social issues is a great way to engage students and bring your content to life. Whether it's climate change, systemic racism, income inequality, or mental health, social issues are connected to lessons on character, mathematics, reading, and writing.

Educators have the unique opportunity to teach students not only about said topics, but also about how to approach discussions on them with facts backed by evidence, sincerity, and civility. Observing the characters in books offers a safe way to do so.

2. Employ Bloom's higher order thinking question stems to have students explore these themes further during reading times. Using Bloom's framework gives teachers the ability to check for student understanding of what's happening in the text and to assist students with unpacking the story and character action to explore the theme(s) that appear in the story.

Through this framework, teachers can introduce students to critical thinking tools to become thoughtful about what it means to both apply learned skills and consider the humanity of everyone. As teachers move up through each level in the questioning, opportunities arise for students to take ownership of their interactions with the text and for assignments and projects to build themselves.

3. Craft assignments and assessments that allow students to display their recognition and application of these themes. Teachers must be careful not to recycle rote evaluations of student learning. Utilizing the highest level of the framework gives students the opportunity to create and to be able to display their learning.

Student creativity can be channeled into a potential service learning project, where young people have the opportunity to pour back into their communities, which have poured into them their entire lives. Learning must present students with opportunities to not only apply learned skills, but apply them for the betterment of society.

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Finding and Utilizing Culturally Relevant Texts

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Classroom texts should represent all children in positive ways, and teachers may have to look for outside resources to make this happen.

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This article combines AI (a technological resource that is growing in popularity amongst students and educators) and creating a safe space in the classroom!

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Artificial intelligence can be an effective tool in implementing restorative practices by tailoring the approach to the situation.

Brian Stauffer / The iSpot

As teachers, we work to create positive learning environments in which students adhere to expectations and routines. Unfortunately, undesirable behavioral incidents are an inevitable part of teaching young people. Growing up is a process of trial and error, and when behavior goes awry, restorative practices have been proven to help students repair any damage done and learn new skills so they can continue as positive members of the classroom community. The goal is to move beyond consequence and rewards into authentic learning.

As artificial intelligence tools become more prolific, I've discovered some helpful resources to improve my use of restorative practices in my classroom. The following strategies have helped me to empower students and facilitate a renewed sense of connection after a disruptive incident.

1. Create restorative reflections

When a student crosses a boundary or violates an expectation, independent reflection can help them express their thoughts and process what happened. I like to use ChatGPT to generate reflection questions tailored to the situation. An example prompt would be: "A student violated (school rule). Generate five reflection questions to help the student think about their choices and improve their behavior and rectify the situation."

You can also specify the desired reading level for the questions by adding "at a third-grade reading level." This encourages independent engagement.

Confidentiality is always key. Remember to leave out any identifying information because student privacy is key in using AI of any kind. The more detail you provide, the more the reflection questions will be relevant to the circumstances. This is a helpful way to engage students in learning and growing after mistakes. Rather than assigning arbitrary consequences that may not match the incident, I have students spend time completing the reflection, and then we have a brief discussion to "close" the situation and move on.

I've already seen positive outcomes from this practice, and students have surprised me with their ability to be introspective. Their responses help me to identify my next steps for effective intervention. I also send a copy to parents so they know what happened and how their child processed the situation.

2. Compose customized social stories

Social stories are commonly used for students identified for special education services in the area of autism spectrum disorder. I've found, however, that social stories can help any student who is working through a negative behavioral incident. ChatGPT can generate social stories that are custom-made for the situation.

"Write a narrative about a fifth-grade student who stole another student's lunch money and then returned it and apologized, at a third-grade reading level, 500 words in length."

"Write a narrative about a middle school student who was throwing food in the lunchroom and then decided to clean it up and make better choices next time, at a sixth-grade reading level, 700 words in length."

"Write a narrative about a high school senior who got in a verbal altercation that disrupted class and then resolved the conflict with the peer, at a 10th-grade reading level, 1,000 words in length."

In order to incorporate restorative practices, I always include something about "how the student made things right" in the prompt. I also select the reading level and word count I desire based on the student's independent reading ability. Note that you can also prompt ChatGPT to create 10 comprehension questions about the story to increase independent engagement. Here are a few example prompts you could use as a jumping-off point:

3. Generate discussion questions for restorative circles

Restorative circles are a key element of restorative practices. This involves bringing students together to discuss harms and needs in order to restore harmony in the group. In my practice, I might use a full "class meeting" restorative circle to address an issue that impacts all students. If an issue occurs between a smaller number of class members, a "mini-circle" can help bring restoration.

"Generate 10 open-ended questions I can use to facilitate a discussion about excessive cell phone use with my students."

"Generate five open-ended questions I can use to facilitate a discussion between two students who had a verbal disagreement in my class."

"Generate eight open-ended questions I can use to discuss students disengaging and sleeping during class."

In order to prepare for the discussion, I ask ChatGPT to generate a list of questions or suggestions that can facilitate a discussion about the specific issue. Here are some example prompts:

4. Build creative social and emotional learning lesson plans

Many undesirable classroom behaviors relate to a lack of skills such as self-control, self-discipline, conflict resolution, and anger management. Taking time out to engage students in social and emotional learning can create a more productive learning environment with improved academic achievement. Restorative interventions empower students to improve their ability to manage similar situations in the future.

Lesson ideas and activities aligned to specific incidents or student needs can be hard to find. I like to use ChatGPT to create lesson plans for the specific skills I hope to build in students.

Here is an example of an effective prompt to create this type of lesson: "Generate a multistep lesson plan that teaches students how to (name the skill, such as use coping skills, use appropriate language, walk in the hallways, clean up after themselves, get along with others, etc.), at a fourth-grade level." ChatGPT will generate objectives, materials, and a lesson plan that includes an introduction, a main activity, guided practice, independent practice, closure, optional homework and assessment.

The benefit of this process is that it frequently offers new ideas in addition to those I might find in curriculum materials. It sends me on a path of brainstorming how I might help students build their social and emotional skills, and it offers me a structure to follow. This, combined with my own creativity and knowledge of my individual students, has resulted in improvement in classroom climate and has bolstered transferable skills for learners.

Essentially, AI tools help me to create learning experiences that are restorative in nature and targeted toward specific behavioral situations. I find that these strategies help convey a message of acceptance and care for students, even after they've made a poor choice or violated an expectation. The hope is to inspire growth and learning to improve the students' sense of belonging at school and to nurture a healthy classroom community.

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4 Ways to Use AI in Implementing Restorative Practices

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Artificial intelligence can be an effective tool in implementing restorative practices by tailoring the approach to the situation.

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A great text that exemplifies the importance of connecting with your students to make a safe and effective method of controlling emotions!

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Administration & Leadership

Schools can play an integral role in the development of the self-regulation skills that will help students thrive in any situation.

As a school principal, I've navigated my share of student disputes-from "she stole my applesauce" to football recess referee to mediating more serious and violent gang disputes as a high school administrator.

When students have outbursts or retreat inward, they may have issues with other students, something happening at home, or even an internal conflict they're trying to process. Supporting students when they're in crisis, or especially rebellious, is difficult. It requires patience and understanding. It's not about the discipline that we impose, but rather the self-discipline we all-adults and students-model and learn how to harness from within.

Teaching Self-Regulation is an Urgent Need

Research indicates that there is a mental health crisis among teens today. Forty-two percent of high school students indicate suffering from overwhelming stress and anxiety-a 50 percent increase from 2011. These strong emotions can be disastrous if students don't learn how to adapt and cope.

Interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts can be hard to manage, yet they present teachable moments for us to help students apply strategies for resolving their issues in real time. Our students are also watching our every move, including the models we provide when we're elated, frustrated, or simply riding the wild of human emotions. In fact, disciplinare (the forbear of discipline) means "to teach" in Latin. We must remember that schools not only are institutions of academic learning but also are training grounds for lifelong personal success.

It's About Strategy, Not Perfection

While I've learned that helping students regain their composure requires being a regulated adult in the moment of crisis or conflict, the reality is that everyone has off days and moments of frustration. You don't have to be perfect. We're all human, and we wrestle with real emotions.

Here are some ideas to help students regulate their emotions and keep calm.

1. Build strong relationships with students. This is essential because it increases students' feelings of trust and sense of belonging. In fact, research indicates that positive relationships can have a remedying effect on youth trauma. Strong attachments with adults at school-including teachers, staff, coaches, and administrators-provide young people with a sense of safety, security, and stability.

You can deepen connections with students through time spent during extracurricular activities. Align school initiatives with students' diverse interests in music, sports, visual arts, language, coding, and more.

At our school, we pair students with an adult as a mentor, which facilitates closer bonds. As a result, students respond favorably to us because they know we truly care about them. These strong and reliable connections can be particularly important when students experience insecurity at home.

2. Teach coping and self-management skills before they're needed. In the heat of the moment, it's hard to think clearly, and the fight-or-flight response may kick in. That's why we've established a peace corner in every classroom. These spaces provide our students with the prompt to self-direct and reflect-taking a break when they feel they need it. It's so encouraging to hear a 4-year-old empowered enough to say, "I need to take a break."

We also leverage positive psychology strategies through encouraging, specific feedback, and even social stories, which allow students to envision themselves making good decisions. We start each day with affirmations about our identity as leaders, and student groups sing our school values during morning announcements. We believe it's important for students to develop a deep belief in themselves to know they can face the challenges that come their way.

3. Expect conflict. Diversity of thought can sometimes result in tension. Students will experience frustration, anger, or sadness. These strong emotions offer the adults who support students with the opportunity to affirm students' identities and coach them through the wild ride of feelings. In addition, we often know and can anticipate the hot spots of the day for when students may need more support. For example, playing soft instrumental music right after recess may help students settle down and limit peer-to-peer conflict.

Educators can also identify peer mediators in advance to help students work together to solve certain problems. These leadership roles can be formal or informal or even school-level jobs through student council, or playground monitors. Students can help mediate by giving advice and sharing perspectives to their peers through role-plays.

4. Listen to what's said and unsaid. When supporting students at the height of their emotions, we must acknowledge their behaviors. Are they fidgeting? Crying? Fuming? What clues and hints can you uncover about the root of the issue? Do they need someone to hear them out or maybe just a safe, quiet space to think? Would a peer mediator be helpful?

This can be challenging if a student has an outburst during the middle of instruction, which could derail the entire class. When this happens, it may be time to ask students probing questions about what's bothering them. Yet, sometimes all they may want is the presence of a caring adult and a nonjudgmental ear. It really all depends.

5. All behavior is a form of communication. Determining appropriate support may sometimes necessitate involvement from a school counselor or mental health professional. Other times, our students may simply need to tap into their own strength through guidance from a teacher or administrator. Being a regulated adult in these situations helps to ascertain the next steps to take to assist the student.

6. Tap in a colleague. It's OK to not be ok. A variety of factors can cause you to not have the energy to offer nuanced support at the specific moment a student is in need. This is a tremendous responsibility.

We can break or build our students in these moments, and we take this seriously at our school. Our teachers have buddy classrooms. They rely on each other to both proactively curtail behavior issues and also help de-escalate students when necessary. We know how to ask for support when dealing with a student who is in crisis by telling a colleague that we need a break. Education is a collaborative effort, and the psychological, intellectual, and physical demands of the work are to be shared.

It doesn't make you less of a professional or caring educator to tap out. It actually demonstrates your own level of self-awareness and understanding, which ultimately helps us all serve students at optimal and healthy levels.

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Guiding Students to Manage Their Emotions

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Schools can play an integral role in the development of the self-regulation skills that will help students thrive in any situation.