I have always thought that expulsion and suspension at young ages were unnecessary and had a negative effect on their mentality of school. When JJ and his brother were expelled from school at the ages of 3 and 4, I thought that was very extreme. In the position of the trying to discipline “bad” kids, I would take the approach of the Lyons Community School. I believe that talking about their feelings and how they felt about certain altercations can lead to a great learning partnerships. Jumping straight to punishment instead of trying to understand why they reacted a certain way can lead to students feeling like they are not heard. And I felt like I was not heard in school, so as a future teacher, I want all my students to feel heard. 

 

I had learned so much about restorative justice before listening to this podcast; I had just never heard someone put the label on it. I think that students really need to understand their punishments. I loved the idea of the teacher who said “let’s have a conversation” about a student’s behavior, rather than just punishing the student without any explanation. I think that’s a really effective way to make sure that students are learning behavioral improvement, while also incorporating their academic skills. Students cannot learn if they’re constantly worrying about getting in trouble for no reason, especially since the statistics show that minority students are punished much more often than white students, for no reason at all. The classroom culture needs to have an atmosphere of respectful discipline, where students are all treated equally and know exactly what they need to do in order to learn and earn respect from their teachers as well. That’s what I want to make sure I establish in my students at Breakthrough, the reasons for discipline and equality in discipline, rather than discipline for the sake of discipline, or as the podcast described, out of fear of losing control. 

The area that resonated with me the most was Awareness because, for me, it feels like the least intuitive area in that I will actively have to learn about my students and where they are coming from. I think, especially for this summer, it will be important for me to ask questions and get to know the cultures of my students, as well as be introspective and think about how my upbringing and experiences color the way that I teach. Hammond writes that teachers must “learn to manage their own social-emotional response to student diversity” which to me means actively confronting my own personal biases and not allowing those biases to negatively affect my teaching. I think that’s a really hard thing to do, and something that is not often directly asked of me, but also incredibly important for being a culturally responsive teacher.
- Marissa Sanghvi

The teacher who had the strongest impact in my life was my eight-grade math teacher Doctor Stoner. She not only gave me a passion a zeal for learning math, she made me realize I loved teaching also. Dr. Stoner forced me to not only join the tutoring club, she also persuaded me to join the math competition team. I felt that I could trust my teacher not only to guide my learning but to also tell me where I was going wrong and give me constructed feedback. Dr. Stoner not only showed us how to beat Math head on but also how to be respectful to one another and our teachers. Her classroom was like a sanctuary and a neutral ground where students were not judged and expected to be respectful to one another.

 

I feel that all four of Hammond’s frameworks are needed to achieve not only a bond between students and teacher but also for students to gain independence in their individual thinking and reasoning. I do think the strongest of the four that have the greatest impact of achieving the goal is awareness and community of learners and learning environment. If that educators and policy makers need to be aware of what our students actually need. Hopefully being aware will allow a change that has been long overdue. I also think it is important for students to be in a space where they not only challenged but also where they feel safe or comfortable. It is up to create a space where there are cultural differences in the work that is taught and, in the conversation, had. It is also important to create a space where students can learn from their mistakes and understand what to do better next time in certain situations. This challenge will be hard for teachers to overcome, but necessary for the growth of all students.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t astonishing hearing about the three-year-old who was repeatedly suspended from school. This has been an epidemic that some people don’t even realize that they are contributing to. The school systems within our country have been slipping down a slope that leads to our children’s lives being devastated in their futures. The hardest part is how to solve a problem that has several levels steaming from the child’s environment to the education teaching ethics to the governmental educational policies. I think it’s important for anyone who is apart of education to take courses in child psychology. I had the opportunity to attend a school that had child psychology classes and gave instruction and information on what the child brain endures when it goes through trauma and how children adapt to the environment they must survive in whether social, emotional, or physical. There are reasons for why students “act out” and it ranges from just trying to get attention to being angry and hurt about something going on in their lives. To create a whole new era of community building it will take the community. 

One of the most memorable segments from the podcast was when the reporter was interviewing some of the students from a Restorative Justice school in Detroit, particularly Nelson. The part that was most telling about the benefits of utilizing this method was when Nelson and the Dean discussed their history together and how it developed into a strong relationship. The development of Nelson over time showed me that having an open dialogue with my students will be one of my most valuable tools in promoting their academic and personal growth. This podcast also implicated to me that some of the more traditionally stern methods of maintaining control are some of the least effective and detrimental to students. However, another valuable piece of advice from this podcast was to remember what it was like when I was that age in school and to treat the students accordingly.

 

Reading these words, especially the word “discipline,” leaves me feeling a bit unsettled. After all, much of my school environment up to this point has taught me to fear discipline, to be on my best behavior so that I would not disrupt the classroom. If the teacher had to resort to classroom management, then that meant we were definitely doing something wrong, and we would definitely be disciplined. I think this can be a really damaging thing—like in my case, it teaches students to fear their teachers, to fear being corrected. I do think this speaks to a greater issue with how we deliver discipline and classroom management, because these are not things that should necessarily be feared or come with a negative connotation. Rather, they’re important, like all of these words are, for ensuring that a classroom is a positive, safe, and productive environment for students; they are necessary in correcting behaviors that disrupt this type of environment, yet they should not be fear tactics. I think, as teachers and students, it is important to have a respectful and positive relationship with these words. 

 

The first story in this episode really stuck out to me because I spent last summer working with preschool students, much like JJ. The idea that we as teachers have the ability to produce these negative behaviors by how we treat students is really striking, in my opinion. It was a story that made me look back on how I approached managing a classroom and how I might have perpetuated—or even produced—the exact behaviors I wanted to prevent; it also forces us to confront the uncomfortable truth of how people of color are even more at risk of these responses from teachers. In my summer at Breakthrough, I want to keep this story of JJ in my mind—he is just a child whose educational experience might be completely changed by reinforcements that he is “bad”. I hope to remember that and to always be gracious with students, even in my attempts to discipline, manage a classroom, and promote a positive culture. It is important to understand the responsibilities that I have and the implications of my actions. I hope that the students I encounter this summer t Breakthrough don’t leave with the negative connotations associated with those words.  

The story that struck me the most was towards the beginning of the broadcast about JJ and his mother Tunette Powell. JJ’s suspensions came from racism, and for a mild-mannered kid like JJ to be suspended for far less aggressive acts than what the white children in his class had done only furthered this thought. As Tunette said, she never felt less aggressive or calmer once she went back to school after being suspended. There is an issue with the way that these teachers were choosing to discipline the black children. I want to have open conversations with my students at Breakthrough. The more open dialogue, and the more respect that the children feel from me, the better of a classroom environment and school culture there will be. Similarly, if dialogue is maintained, this sets a precedent for community norms.  

This podcast was truly an eye-opener to me about disciplinary systems and methods in school systems worldwide. JJ’s story saddened me deeply, because it showed how the school-to-prison pipeline can be and is enforced on minority students from such a young age. It showed me that his instructors didn’t give him a fair chance to be successful from the very beginning of his academic career, and this mentality and outlook from the people who are meant to encourage and support students of all ages is absolutely unacceptable. The second podcast detailed the negative ramifications of unfair and unnecessary discipline in the school system, and it talked about the long-lasting negative effects that inadequate classroom management can have on students as they matriculate through life. The third discussed restorative justice, and I think it did a great job of touching on the positives and negatives associated with it. However, after considering all of these disciplinary methods, restorative justice is the one that I will be sure to use when dealing with a child who might be acting out. While it does have its downfalls, it also provides students with a chance to turn their behavior around and discuss the reasoning behind their actions with others. Unfortunately, as the podcast mentioned, it doesn’t prepare children for the cruel reality of America’s criminal justice system. Nonetheless, restorative justice is the most productive disciplinary method for students in my opinion.

The part of the podcast that made the biggest impact on me, was the discussion of restorative justice at Lyon. I think they perfectly brought up the issue with restorative justice which is that while it may work in the context of a school, it doesn’t usually in real life. That being said, I think the idea of talking through issues and trying to get to the root of it, instead of just punishing kids and moving on, is really important, and something that I want to try to do in my own classroom. However, I think there’s a fine line between doing that, and being taken advantage or losing learning time. So it’s definitely something I will think about this summer, as I try to find a good balance. 

One practice area  that really stood out to me was the Community of Learners and Learning Environment. To me, this particular practice area allows students’ voices to be heard and allows for a partnership between the students and the teacher. The teacher serves as the moderator by establishing a classroom culture of respect and as a safe space for all students. All in all, the culture drives the learning in the classroom and allows it to flourish. 

One episode that really struck me was the Talking Cure. This episode really struck me because the idea was really innovative and introduced the idea of avoiding traditional norms of punishment such as detentions and suspensions. Through my time with Breakthrough, I will try to use some of the methods mentioned in the Talking Cure. 

The terms mentioned above all have the issue of meaning different things to different people. Many people confuse the word “discipline” with the word punishment. They misunderstand the idea of discipline and instead of seeing it as how to correct or guide behavior, many assume it is about implementing negative consequences. Disciple has an especially negative connotation for children and adolescents, because in their eyes it is about being restricted or controlled in some way. “Classroom management” is a phrase that may differ between adults as far as what the definition of management is. For some, management may simply be making sure all the children are in one piece. Another person may see management as having a certain level of control over the children. “Community norms” stood out to me as a phrase because it is not something I hear about very often. At first glance it seems self-explanatory, but after further consideration it seems like a phrase that would really emphasize the subjectiveness of “norms” in general. It would seem obvious that one community’s norms could greatly differ from others, but I think having this term helps to bring that to the attention of educators. “School culture” seemed like an awkward phrase to me, and difficult to really define. I would think school culture would depend more on the culture of the surrounding community and the people inside the school. I personally find it difficult to really place what a “school culture” would be. “Restorative justice” is a term that I would consider helpful in guiding a school’s discipline standards because it seems to give a sort of guideline as to what the goal of any discipline is. I do think it would be important to discuss exactly what this term would mean and look like within the classroom. 

The podcast really opened my eyes to another level that teachers have to work through when teaching. It is more than a lesson plan or educating them to help them make it into college. As the podcast mentioned, teachers are preparing these children for the world. The world is not fair, easy or simple. This podcast illustrates how guidance and discipline goes beyond the classroom, and that there are real world implications when implementing a certain “school culture”.  Personally, I think an important factor emphasized in this podcast is communication, and effective communication is a strong value of mine as well. It is important to be able to talk so that people will listen and listen so that people will talk. My goal for this fellowship is to help the students participating in Breakthrough Atlanta learn better communication skills, through direct teaching and by making myself a personal example. 

A teacher who had a great impact on my life is my high school chemistry teacher Mr. Berryman. I was struggling in his class at the beginning of the year and he went out of his way to meet with me to create a plan of how to succeed. He spent countless hours with me after school to go over concepts that I didn’t understand. He never made me feel discouraged, he only focused on the improvements I was making in his class. If I didn’t understand something in class that day, he would think of creative ways to teach the topic differently. His positive energy and patience had a lasting impact on me. He truly believed in understanding the material being more important than the grade in the class. Even though I struggled in that class I felt like I learned more and took ownership of my education. 

Her reaching out meant a lot to me; it was refreshing to know that I wasn’t just a number and that she actually valued my growth as a student. After attending this first meeting with Dr. Ventura, her and I immediately began to bond. She expressed genuine care for her students and their well-being, which was made evident not only through my relationship with her, but also through her relationships with other students. Throughout the semester, Dr. Ventura became an important point of reference for me in the English department. 
-Destiny Reese

As far as my approach to working with Breakthrough students, I will make a conscious effort to implement aspects of restorative justice while still holding students accountable for their actions. I believe that communication is often times lost when disciplining students, so I will be sure to implement open communication with my students. One thing that really stood out to me in the podcast was the idea of power vs. purpose. Whenever exerting power, it is important to access my purpose in doing so. 

When thinking about traditional terms to describe how to control the classroom, they typically all bring up negative connotations. The word “discipline” is seen as another word for punishment. It doesn’t help teach a lesson or promote positive change. “Classroom Management” makes it seem as though the teacher is the ultimate power in the classroom and that the students are underneath. I think it’s more important to see the classroom as being a community where students and teachers can learn from each other. “School culture” and “restorative justice” have positive connotations. Restorative justice is a positive way to help solve problems in a way that benefits all parties. Punishment is not simply just given out. There is a reason and learning opportunity in each lesson. “School culture” is important because both students and teachers are able to work to create the values and vision that they want to see. The choices and decisions all parties make will be to uphold that values and culture of the school. It gives everyone ownership in their education and their community. 

            When listening to the American Life podcast I was most interested in the part where they talked about “circle” at the Lyons school. It’s important to talk through problems to create a stronger, more trustworthy community. There should not be punishment just for the sake of punishment. There should be conversation and brainstorming solutions to help fix what went wrong and how to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future. By talking through problems it gives students the tools to advocate for themselves and to create solutions for the future. Communication is essential at all levels in order to build a strong community and to promote trust. 

The teacher, who had the strongest impact on my life is Ms. Swafford. She was my 9th grade Literature teacher, 10th grade Acting teacher, and 12th grade Literature teacher. Before I share what made my experience so powerful, it is worth noting that from a purely teaching standpoint, she was great at teaching the material. However, it is more than that, which made my experience as her student so amazing. She always was helpful. Anytime I struggled then she struggled with me instead of merely regurgitating the same thing. She had unlimited time to help her students. I was always a very introverted student, but because of her, she made it inclusive for me to speak up and share my ideas with the class. She was always joyful and happy which made it easy to approach her. Lastly, she actually had conversations with me that challenged me. Because of her, she made my high school experience with other teachers easier because she uplifted me and really made a difference on my scholastic life. 

The teacher who has had the strongest impact on my life was my 10^th and 11^th grade English teacher, Mrs. Kearney. Mrs. Kearney not only taught me sophomore English Literature and AP English Language and Composition, but she was also my first introduction to advocacy. This woman was a quiet force. When I first met her while turning in a form for National English Honor Society, I was actually intimidated by her. She had this colorful room filled with different rubber ducks, but she seemed like such a serious woman. When I was her student, I learned that she was one of the sweetest women that I would ever encounter. She encouraged us to have a voice, and to speak up for injustices that we noticed as students. She was not afraid to be controversial, and often raised sensitive topics of discussion in class. Whenever I needed to talk, she was there to listen. She always provided me with the encouragement I needed to overcome whatever issue I was going through. One thing I loved about Mrs. Kearney was that she hated the idea that the school system conditioned its students to take a test. That is why her teaching style was so effective. She did not want us to learn how to take a test. She wanted us to actually learn English and how to write. Due to her belief in teaching us the fundamentals of how to write compositions and read literature, I was able to become a strong writer. 
-Morgan Street

To be culturally responsive teacher, it means understanding other cultures. If one does not understand, then ask. Seek to learn. it is always interesting to learn about people’s background and culture. In addition, learn from the student. Students love speaking about things that interest them. Learn about their culture through that student. Also, it means to understand the mindset that not race, genders, class distinctions, etc learn the same. There is no code to teach just Black kids. Students shouldn't be categorized by their differences and thus taught differently based on mere race, gender, or class. 

The particular practice area that resonated with me was the learning partnerships. In order to really achieve success with a student, the teacher has to understand that it is a two way street; however, you are both equally responsible. If the student fails, the teacher fails. The teacher and student are a team trying to accomplish this goal of getting the student to understand the material. Many teachers merely teach without keeping this in mind which is why they fail. They see a student fail and blame him or her when it is equally the teacher’s fault too. 

Discipline, classroom management, community norms, school culture, and restorative justice are all words that are very well-known. First, discipline is a way of getting people to obey certain commands using reinforcement or punishment. I do not like the word because it is always seen as negative and associated with punishment. Punishment is one way of disciplining by giving them something they hate (a phone call home to their parents, demerit) or taking away something they like (phone, social time during breaks). Discipline can also be reinforced positively by offering rewards for behaving a certain way. Classroom management is the ability to make sure class runs as smoothly as possible. For example, if a child wants to speak, they raise their hand. This is important to ensure everything is operating efficiently, so the material is taught with no distractions. Community norms and school culture apply together. Community norms are ensuring students and teachers know what should be valued, emphasized, and expected. School culture is the ability for the school to have the teachers and students actually execute the community norms. I personally like the connotation of the word because it has norm in it, which means it is nothing out of character and how you should act normally. Restorative justice is a new approach that offers intervention between the wrongdoer and victim. This helps both the wrongdoer’s psychology, view on crime, relationship with victim positively if done correctly. It does have a large risk factor because one is not directly punishing the wrongdoer, but instead allowing them to understand what they did was wrong. If they do not truly understand it, then it does not work. 

Is this working offered a lot of different viewpoints and ideas that are very interesting. First, it educated me that there are many ways to discipline. For example, in the prologue, the situation was a kid walks in and has a hat on. The teacher says take it off. The student says no. According to the podcast, the teacher can either yell at him, have a conversation with him, merely give him a demerit or report, or outrageously assault the kid by throwing a shoe at him. All four are very different, and there is no right answer but I think having a conversation is the best way that can be applied to Breakthrough. If you yell at them, they might yell back, and that will turn into pointless banter to accomplish nothing. If you give him a demerit or report, he or she may not care and continue to protest, and throwing a shoe is never acceptable at all. If you have a conversation with him, he will understand why it is wrong. I would take him aside. Most kids challenge the teachers because they are in front of their friends, and do not want a certain image projected if they do what they teacher said. Therefore, I would take him aside and say something along the lines of, “We have a policy here at Breakthrough to get you ready for school, college, and life. A millionaire doctor might walk in and say I want three kids to work for me. You might be the most qualified, but you have a hat on. Wearing a hat in the building is not professional. He assumes you aren’t professional all because you did not want to take it off, and you miss out on a great opportunity. Appearance matters because its the first impression we get to see.” I would go on until he understands why we do not wear hats, so he gets why it is wrong and does not do it again. This connects to restorative justice, which is making sure that the children genuinely understand what they did was wrong and how to correct it without giving out the same old punishments. 

-Aliyah M

From the podcast, I learned that there isn’t one right way to discipline students. It made me more conscious of any biases that I may have and that may affect the way I interact with my students and treat them. This podcast also made me realize that there is more to teaching than creating lesson plans and just teaching students. As teachers, we have to prepare students for the real world. My goal for this fellowship is to be able to have my students leave with knowledge and skills that go beyond the classroom and to demonstrate compassion and show my students how to be compassionate people. 

I had the pleasure of having the same teacher for AP US History and AP Economics my junior and senior year of high school. I can go on and on about how much this teacher means to me but I’ll keep it short and say that they put their heart and soul into their students. Everyone could tell that they cared about us because of how they pushed us to be better. I was at the top of my class but they pushed me to be better. To learn my history and to be a better person overall. They’re one of the reasons why I want to be an educator. To this day, the two of us still stay in contact. Whether it’s about school, career, or life, I know that I can rely on them. 

-Alexes Harris 

I want to talk about Act I and Act II. The first story talked about something very real that often isn’t talked about because it just doesn’t make sense. The idea that minority kids are often targetted as trouble kids should be laughed at and dismissed but it can’t because it’s often true. I’ve worked in a charter middle school, that primarily serves immigrant and refugee kids, for the past three years and I can tell you that even I have made this mistake. I have talked about “the trouble kids”. I , myself, went to this middle school as a teenager and often remember the “trouble kids” from my grade. I look at the way punishments were implemented and how my peers turned out. I get sad and frustrated. They have become part of these statistics and it really isn’t their fault. The second part of this definitely reflects several things we do in the middle where I work. As the new kids come in, we teach them about our school culture and what the expectations are of attending this charter school. The kids learn about “the clap”. They learn, within the first three days, that the clap means “stop what you're doing, look for the teacher that did the clap and listen to that teacher”. We always get compliments about our kids when we go on field trips. Everyone is always in awe with their behavior and how “the clap” works but it's super normal for us. We don't think twice about it. I also want to talk about Rousseau’s last point. When I see these kids, I see myself and my peers. I often have conversations with students that come back after they graduated and let them know why I may have been so harsh with them before and that’s because I care. I see myself in them. I see my siblings in them. I see my friends and peers in them and it scares me. This world isn't easy. I try to have conversations with current “trouble kids” about how much we care and try to explain why we, as adults, react certain ways and expect more from them. They, of course, try to understand but its often hard to truly get that your teacher is using her teacher voice because she cares rather than just because she’s angry. I want to take everything I’ve learned in this podcast and what I’ve learned in the past three years of working at a middle school and use that to helps other kids. I want the kids to know that I can understand. I have been in their shoes. I am a minority that’s trying to not just be a statistic and show them they don’t have to be one too. I think more than ever, I will take what I learned from this podcast and reconsider my thought on “the trouble kids” because they're only trouble kids if we call them that.

-Cinthya

-Alexes Harris 

 

This will be my second year with Breakthrough and I have learned so much from my first year. First, I know not to stop a lesson to react to negative/distracting behavior. I understand that not showing the students that they’re getting to you helps. Also, pulling them to the side after class to talk and listen to them about what happened is also helpful too. Sometimes negative behavior is a cry for attention/help so students should receive it in a positive  way. Doing things such as threatening to chug a shoe at students, described a teacher in the podcast, is absurd and not the way to go.  
-Alexes Harris

My mom was the coordinator of child welfare and attendance for my school district. Meaning she was over suspensions, expulsions, SART/SARB (attendance) and more. Going to school in a district where your mom is suspending and expelling your friends was different. My mom prided herself on changing the culture of suspension and expulsion rate in the district, to find alternative intervention programs that could prevent them. At first, I did not see that was what she was doing, it wasn’t until I was sitting in class with a student who had gone through her office and sat down with her. I vividly remember him asking me if she was my mom and I sat there contemplating on if I wanted to say yes, and hear him bad talk my mom. But I still said yes, not knowing what I was going to hear, and to my surprise he started to sing her praises, that instead of expelling him, and sending him to the community day school, she gave him a second chance to give him a fresh start a new middle school down the street. She let him know that she understood what being a black boy in the classroom was like, that even if he did the same thing as his white counterparts he would be held to different standards, and he understood that. And of course, he wasn’t perfect while at my middle school, but he was trying because he knew the importance of his second chance. This reminded me of both Tunnette’s story with her boys, and the kids at Lyons Community school. It is important in not only recognizing the struggle of black and brown kids, but advocating for them. Creating a system and school environment that promotes them and their learning. That gives them the benefit of the doubt sometimes. I want students to feel as though maybe the world is against them but inside of the school, the teachers and staff have their backs, that they can come to us for any and everything. 

 

Through this episode I learned there are a variety of different ways/solutions and methods to disciplining a student. Ironically truthfully nobody really knows if their method is even working or not. No student is alike so in my eyes as an educator you should never stick to one method of disciplining. Develop a unique personalized plan for each student because what works for Johnathon may not work for Sasha. Through this video I also learned disciplinary action does not always have to be some form of harsh punishment. I believe all it takes is a simple conversation to guide one back on track. Even if that means I have to have 1,000,000 conversations I will. In regards to my work with the Breakthrough students I will cherish this whole heartedly. Conversations go a long way, always. I want there to be a mutual respect present within my classroom and I cannot achieve this if I never take the time to develop a genuine, real authentic connection with my students where they know I only want the best for them. 

While listening to the podcast, what stuck out to me the most was the line “we are producing the bad behavior”. This line really made me think about the ways in denying students valuable learning time affects them. When I was in middle school, I was often in In-School Suspension for dress code violations. Being in ISS made me feel like a bad student. I often describe myself as “not the greatest kid” when people ask me to reflect on my middle school years. The podcast made me question whether I was actually a bad kid or whether I was taught that I was. The system of punishment that teachers find to be the “easy way out” creates students who view themselves as not worthy of being listened or talked to. In my time at Breakthrough, I want to encourage conversation as opposed to demanding compliance. I want to ensure that all students can take advantage of valuable learning time.

- Jasmyne Tucker

In order to be a culturally responsive teacher, the teacher has to know how to understand their students in a cultural sense. They know how to effectively and appropriately teach their students in a way where the students can constructively process information. A culturally responsive teacher also has the ability to create a safe environment for his or her students so that no one feels left out or inferior to their classmates. This is attained from the social-emotional relationship that the teacher forms with his or her students. The practice area that resonated with me the most was the Community Building Factor.  When students don’t feel that their classroom is a safe space, it can be difficult for them really engage with the teacher and the rest of the class because of they don’t feel comfortable. I want to make sure that each of my students understand that my classroom is a safe haven from spaces where they feel uncomfortable or where they are not able to be secure in their intellectual abilities. 
-Morgan Street

After listening to the “Is This Working” podcast, I had to reevaluate my thought process.  The podcast furthered my belief that the odds are unfortunately stacked against minority students. I did not like the idea of the “zero tolerance” discipline techniques because we are teaching students that they cannot be children if they are at an early age; or that they are not capable of controlling themselves when they are teenagers. I went to schools where there were “zero tolerance” policies, and I did not question it. It was normal. Looking back, it seems like part of my childhood was taken away from me, at least during school.  Although the speakers argued that they were trying to keep students out of jail, these discipline practices are creating a jail-like environment for the students in the schools. I loved the idea of restorative justice, but I was heartbroken of the incident that happened when the students encountered that heartless undercover police officer in the podcast. Two of the students had to go to jail because the officer did not have manners, which triggered the students into reacting in a negative way.  When it comes to my approach with my Breakthrough students, I want to utilize the restorative justice technique, but I want to make my students aware that the world does not utilize restorative justice when minority students are involved. I want them to have positive, respectful responses to the cruel intentions of others. Although that is an idealistic idea, the students need to know that there are people out there that are vile and will try to set them off to get a reaction from them. Sometimes, no matter what they do, there will be racist people, like the undercover cop in the podcast, that will try to get a rise out of them, so that they can punish the students. 
-Morgan Street

I believe that there is no perfect classroom management strategy, and adjustments might have to be made depending on the student and the situation. For example, restorative justice seems like the best response in theory, encouraging conversations between students which should definitely be implemented. But if the teacher had to stop every single time there was an issue to have a conversation, the classroom would become less efficient. There should be more of a focus on being proactive rather than reactive, to avoid more of the problems before they occur.

 

I found the story on the incredibly strict charter schools very interesting when the podcast mentioned that though many of the students made it to college, they were unable to succeed when the rigorous standards were lifted. They had very little autonomy and as well as few opportunities to practice self-control before they were given ultimate freedom and responsibility. This summer with my Breakthrough students, I am really going to think about the power and purpose idea discussed in the podcast. I will often ask myself the question, “Is there purpose in the power that I’m exerting?”  I will ask myself ‘why’ before I tell my students to “quiet down” or “take a seat.” It is true that sometimes I will have to say these things to maximize student learning, and there will be appropriate situations to exert authority. However, in order to establish a comfortable environment, I will give my students the freedom to control themselves accordingly and try to abstain from micromanaging their actions. I will control my classroom while also giving them opportunity to express themselves and have fun. 

-Keyra Moran

 

All of my teachers had a strong and important impact on my life but the teacher who I thought of first after reading this question was my small group teach Ms. Hammond. Ms. Hammond was the teacher assigned to me as my teacher pair for the IEP that I got in the second grade for slow processing. While this teacher did not teach me a specific subject her services taught me how to understand  the value of learning. This teacher would pick me up from my general reading and social studies class and she broke down the course material into digestible sections. Additionally she would always give me gold fish and water to drink as we went through lessons. She cared for me as if I were her grandchild. She would give me small gifts on my birthday and on other important holidays. I had this teacher for 4 consecutive years and I am still in contact with her today.

One of the things that made this relationship so powerful was the fact that no matter what this teacher supported me and I found safety in spaces where were we're together in. she always asked me what I needed and if my parents could not provide it she would. For instance one year she bought me a trapper keeper binder and a calculator to help me remain organized so I could perform my best. She always told me I could do it and she reminded me that even when I mess up I am still learning. Those lessons stuck with me and influence my journey even today.

 

Disiplin-the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience.- when discipline is enforced due to the disruption of rule following if propper insight and discretion is avoided you will be teaching students to ignore their creativity to be in compliance to the ideas of others. Additionally you are criminalizing without description. As a result you should take time to find out why one is behaving a particular way and search for an effective way to redirect the student or the standard.

Classroom management-  variety of skills and techniques that teachers use to keep students organized, orderly, focused, attentive, on task, and academically productive during a class.- while classroom management may keep teachers sane, their management skills may or may not be effective in providing students with the best overarching view of learning so strategies should be evaluated daily.

Community norms/ school culture-values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors shared by most people in a “group.”- having general agreements are good but variation should be considered. Additionally if norms are ineffective there should be systems in place for change to take place.

Restorative Justice-a system of justice which focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community at large.- I think the idea is a good one but I think that all people should be considered as members of the community

As stated in the connotations above I believe teachers are doing things without knowing if their goals are being met. As a result I think that from the mass era of literature that has been written on discipline should be evaluated and cultivated to make the best plan of action for teachers moving forward.