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Restorative Justice vs. Suspensions

Nov 28, 2010 | Comments (1) | Filed under: school
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I work with a lot of teens with behavior problems and so I see a good amount of out of school suspensions. What has always driven me crazy about school suspensions is that they keep kids out of school who don’t particularly want to be in school in the first place.  Further, many schools count suspensions as absences and any more than three days absent in the quarter and the student fails all of his classes for that term.  I have seen patients get suspended for 3 days in the first week of school and consequently have zero incentive to try that quarter as they have already failed their classes.  Guess what happens?  The student starts to skip school and digs a deeper hole for himself.

Because out of school suspensions have been linked to increased dropout rates there has been a push for alternative discipline measures such as restorative justice.  The central premise of restorative justice is that the student performs some kind of action to atone for the disruption he has caused to the community.  Rather than just missing school, the student hopefully learns from the mistake that he has made.  A summary of research findings on restorative justice can be found here: http://ht.ly/2HBmw. Certainly, restorative justice interventions take more time and planning than traditional school suspensions.  However, once school staff embrace a system to develop restorative justice interventions, this style of discipline becomes ingrained in the school culture.  As reasearch shows, a restorative justice culture can go a long way to reducing further discplinary infractions in the short-term and dropout in the long term.

Bullying and School Climate

Nov 18, 2009 | Comments (0) | Filed under: school,Uncategorized,violence prevention
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As support for anti-bullying legislation gains momentum in Boston, opponents and naysayers point out that parents or kids who bring bullying to the attention of the schools do so at the risk of subjecting the victims to increased harassment.  If you read the comments section of the above article you see stories of parents who have been ignored by administrators or kids who have been ridiculed for being a snitch.   The only way to combat this problem is to have an anti-bullying policy that is part of the school culture or climate and is just as prevalent and important as the attendance policy or academic integrity policy.  This way, students learn from day one that harassment and bullying are not tolerated and bystanders of bullying are expected to seek out adult intervention.  Similarly, teachers and staff receive the message that bully prevention is not an ancillary task but central to the mission of the school.

"Columbine" David Cullen

Oct 28, 2009 | Comments (1) | Filed under: school,violence prevention
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Just got through reading “Columbine” by David Cullen and it is a must-read if you work with adolescents/boys.  The two biggest take home points from the book in my opinion are:

1) the media completely glossed over the fact that the original plan was to detonate propane tank bombs that would have wiped out almost half the school.  The boys then planned to shoot survivors as they fled the school.  The original plan was not to go into the school and target individual students to shoot.

2) Eric Harris was a textbook psychopath.  He was NOT a member of the trenchcoat mafia, did not like Marilyn Manson and was not a “goth.”  His case does NOT prove that any disaffected teen who is bullied for being different can decide to go on a killing rampage.  His past actions, personal diaries, website and personality profile are all indicative of a dangerous psychopath.

Overall, the book is very well-written and gripping.  My one complaint is that the author switches from providing an analysis of the killers to telling the stories of the survivors, which can impact the continuity.   There is much to learn from this book and Mr. Cullen should be congratulated for a job well done.

Zero Tolerance

Oct 14, 2009 | Comments (0) | Filed under: school
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The recent suspension of a 6 year old in Delaware for brining a camping toll that included a pocketknife to school has brought zero tolerance policies to the fore.  Zero tolerance for weapons in school is meant to be a deterrent to school violence, however common sense is needed.  There is certainly a difference between a 6 year old who brings a camping tool to school to show his friends and a pre-teen or teen who brings a switchblade to school.  As a psychologist who conducts safety assessments for schools I believe there we can evaluate risk on a case by case basis to determine if the “weapon” in safety violates the schools zero tolerance policy for weapons.   That being said, parents please be as diligent as possible around monitoring what your children are bringing to school.  I have seen key chain pocket knives, fishing knives and boy scout utility knives all lead to suspensions at the high school level when the students had no intention of harming anyone and were unaware possession of these items violated school rules.

How to Talk to Schools about Your Son Being Bullied

Sep 28, 2009 | Comments (2) | Filed under: boys,parent,school
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For parents, one of the most difficult things about hearing that their son is being bullied at school is the accompanying feeling of helplessness.  After all, we can’t go to the school and stop the bullying ourselves.  It is also difficult to give practical advice about how to combat bullying.  If you tell your son to fight back, he could get in trouble and solving violence with violence is not a recommended course of action.  If you tell him to tell a teacher he risks being labeled a snitch or rat.  Here are three things you can do as a parent if you find out your child is being bullied:

1) Talk to the teachers and staff and make them aware of what is going on, who is involved, and where and when it is happening.  If teachers and staff have these details they can be on the lookout for the bullying behavior and catch the bully in the act, which saves face for your son who did not have to “snitch.”

2) Make sure your school has a comprehensive bully prevention program in place. There is no excuse not to have a structured, whole-school approach to bullying.  As a parent  you can expect and demand this of the school the same way you would expect special education and physical fitness programs.

3) Become involved in parent groups and community agencies who work to prevent bullying.  Be part of the school and community solution to bullying.  If your school or town doesn’t have these groups in place, start one.  You can be sure that your son is not the only one suffering from bullying and it is a problem that demands a coordinated and comprehensive community approach.

Boys, trauma and the schools

Aug 27, 2009 | Comments (0) | Filed under: boys,school

I am heading out to beautiful Ludlow Vermont on Friday to give a talk on trauma and learning.  The talk has me thinking about the needs of this population as we approach the start of school.  One thing to remember boys will often to be reluctant to talk about their experiences so you need to pay attention to their behavior. Here are a few tips for teachers and student support staff for working with boys who have experienced chronic trauma:

  • Boys who experience trauma are more likely to have a short fuse, to be reactive and will benefit from support around how to recognize the triggers that activate them and the physiological cues that signal they are about to have a meltdown
  • When a boy is in a meltdown, help him leave the situation and decompress before you process the situation; processing will not occur in the middle of  a meltdown
  • Try to minimize transitions and maintain consistent schedules and routines
  • Boys who experiences trauma are often hypervigilant so a seemingly innocuous gesture or statement may be taken as a threat
  • Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate as much as possible with service agencies, families and community supports.  Treatment is only effective when all of the supports in a young person’s life are working together and on the same page.

That’s all for now, have a great last week of summer! JB


Back to school: An anxious time for many young people

Aug 22, 2009 | Comments (0) | Filed under: boys,mental health,school

Its that time of year: the temperatures are still high but change is in the air.  Days are getting shorter and the leaves will soon change and that means back to school for kids and teens across the country.  While back to school time can be exciting it can also be stressful.  If your son is prone to school anxiety it is worthwhile to take some time to talk to him about about his thoughts and feelings about the school year.  Since boys often aren’t exactly thrilled to talk about their feelings it is helpful to have this talk while performing an enjoyable activity (e.g., shooting hoops, throwing a ball, drawing, playing a video game, etc.).  Possible sources of anxiety to ask about include:

  • conflict with friends or peers form last year that may have abated over the summer
  • fear of new teachers or increases in workload
  • dating concerns
  • fear of new classroom, social groups, or school setting
  • concern about performance in athletics

It is important to remind your son that he take the transition to school one step at a time and that the fear of the unknown is usually worse than whatever he will face at school.  Also, provide support and comfort that you will be there for him no matter what comes up this year and together you can manage it.  Finally, make the last week of summer fun! Go fishing, go for a walk or run, take one last trip to the beach, have an ice cream cone, watch a baseball game, or just hang out together but take advantage of this time before schedules get hectic in September.