Teachers are central to building students’ sense of belonging in school and there are a lot of structures that gets in the way. Listen in for a story of one secondary teacher who invited the Gay-Straight alliance students into her classroom and created a safe space at lunch.

Restorative practice suggestions:

1. Draw on your own interests as a teacher to build connections with kids.
2. Build belonging in your classroom.
3. Learn students’ names and how to pronounce them.
4. Valuing people as part of the school team builds connections with adults.

Altered Destinies: Making life better for schoolchildren in need by Gene I. Maeroff 1999.

Visit CircleForum for more information about the HOWTO of building belonging .

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