A restorative approach to students with special needs can help teachers get to know their students and their special needs. Our guest this week is Dane Ellis from the Hastings Prince Edward District School Board in Ontario. He persisted from September to February and was successful in having a reluctant student participate in daily community circles. Listen to this terrific story of great questions, listening and teacher persistence.

Restorative practice suggestions:

1. Know your students. It helps you as a teacher to understand the how and why of students behaviours.
2. Persevere when implementing circles in your classroom.
3. Never assume that students can’t do circles.
4. Asking the same predictable questions helps de-escalate student behaviours.
5. As the teacher and leader of a classroom circle, set the expectation that everyone participates.

Visit CircleForum for more information about the HOWTO of asking great questions .

Free practical tools and restorative resources for teachers on restorative.ca

Order Steve’s book The Restorative Principal Leading in Education with Restorative Practices

Music by ZakharValaha from Pixabay