Restorative Practices at School: An Educator's Guided Workbook to Nurture Professional Wellness, Support Student Growth, and Build Engaged Classroom Communities

by Becky McCammon

Overview

Explore the impact of restorative practices through interactive prompts and exercises designed to examine your role as a teacher or educator and as an agent of school transformation.

Restorative practices have been shown to increase classroom time and student engagement while reducing suspensions, bullying, and absences. Fantastic in theory, restorative techniques require practice every day to result in meaningful change. That’s where Restorative Practices at School comes in.

This first-ever restorative practices workbook helps teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, and every educator reflect and enhance their restorative journey. Part professional resource and part guided journal, this book includes:

• Guided prompts to help you reflect on your practice
• Real-life examples from educators who use restorative techniques
• Critical analysis of your own values and their influence
• Strategies for remaining present and mindful at school
• Exercises for building strong school relationships and communities

Inspired by an urban district’s work in whole-school implementation, the activities in this book provide clear pathways for consideration, exploration, and celebration of restorative practices.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781646040001
Publisher:	Ulysses Press
Publication date:	03/24/2020
Series:	Books for Teachers
Edition description:	Workbook
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	467,594
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Becky McCammon is the restorative practice program coordinator at Saint Paul Public Schools. She loves haiku poems, effusive text messaging, and, most especially, having been a middle and high school English teacher for 14 years. At the core of her joy and education practice with young people and adults is a belief in our binding, beautiful stories. Over the years, Becky has collected a happy assortment of lanyards and canvas bags from conferences around the country, where she has offered perspective and learning about racial equity, restorative practices, and the critical role of educator unions in supporting healthy schools for students, staff, families, and community.

As mom to Quinn and Lily, Becky prides herself on everyday learning and the critical role of humor, forgiveness, and just the right balance of yes and no. She does not serve enough vegetables to her children but asks plenty of feeling questions. Becky supports and learns alongside her peers at schools in St. Paul, MN, as a circle keeper, coach, ally, leader, and expert in restorative practices.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Who Is This Workbook Designed for and How Should I Use It? 1

Your Restorative Lexicon: Embracing a Flexible Restorative Language 3

We Are and I Am the Work 5

Valuing Your Authorship 14

Our Stones Often Involve Harm 15

Our Perspectives and Practices Are Autobiographical 19

Lessons Learned Emerge from All Stages of Life 21

Restorative Allies and Supports 23

Paying Attention to Our History of With 24

Learning as Relational 25

Critical Pause 30

Knowing Your Whole Self 31

Examining Systems from Our Identity and Values 35

What Are Restorative Practices? 37

Our Value Origins 44

Our Creative Expression of Values 46

Our Relationships Hold Distinct Values 47

Foundational, Shared Understanding 52

Examining Our Assumptions 53

Pause for All the Ways We Experience Joy 59

Our Stories Matter 60

Harm and Needs 62

From Harm to Hope 65

Our Good, Wise, and Powerful Educator Neighbors 68

The Wisdom of Departing from the Familiar 75

All of Our Wisdom 77

A (Consistent) Return to Self 92

Healthy Relationships Look All Kinds of Ways 94

Our Capacity to Repair 95

It Takes Time to Build, Nurture, and Sustain Healthy Relationships 97

Sharing Space with Our Families 101

(Restorative) Movement and Space Matter 105

Our Inherent Capacity for Growth 111

We Need Reminders of Our True, Good Selves 114

All Voices 116

Equity, Always 118

A Way of Being and Ways of Practice 119

We Are the Work 122

Compassionate, Healthy Accountability 124

Expansive, Inclusive, True Definition 126

Challenge and Possibility 128

Celebrating Self (You) 131

Your Awesomeness! 132

Defining Restorative Practices for Myself 136

Gratitude 137

About the Author 138