Restorative practices (RP) sounds like education jargon only teachers are supposed to understand. But Malden public schools hope this learning method will strengthen the most fundamental educational tool: communication.
RP is already part of the way Malden High School students learn and the teaching method was introduced to teachers throughout public schools last summer. Simply described, it is a teaching method that puts a premium on listening, thinking and communication.
OK — isn’t it a given in public schools that these basic skills are building blocks for a good education? Maybe, maybe not is School Superintendent John Oteri’s answer to that question.
Oteri told Forestdale School parents that RP, in so many words, is a journey back to the basics intended to reinforce the most elemental skills necessary for students to learn effectively. RP is built around “community building circles” of six to 10 students and an educator. Talking and listening are the activities taking place in the circles and Malden teachers have each been tasked with forming and working with six circles throughout the school year.
Parents who think all this talk of circles and talking sounds a little too touchy-feely are encouraged to step back and ask a couple of basic questions like, “Is my kid comfortable asking his or her teacher for help?” “What is the ratio of face-to-face learning time versus mobile device screen time in my child’s life?”
The answers might very well surprise and disturb some parents not only in Malden but anywhere in Massachusetts and the nation. Kids haven’t lost the art of talking and listening to learn but they might be around the corner from losing it.
Oteri is quick to say RP is not the latest new-fangled way to make kids learn. It is, in his view, a tool refocusing students and teachers on communication and helping them work through the socio-emotional part of adolescence that is a consistent factor in young lives and promotes conflict resolution.
RP circles, and the RP chats and conferences that represent more advanced elements of the learning technique, help kids talk through problems and approach learning and lessons on a question-and-answer basis. Simply explained, RP is way to help every student raise a hand and say with equal confidence: “I know the answer,” or, “Could you explain that again?”
“It’s about relationships,” said RP practitioner Candace Julyan. It also about Malden and every community trying new ways to give kids the confidence and desire to learn and make learning a lifelong pursuit.
