Restoring Habits of Mind

Positive Habits of Mind

Habits of Mind are our patterns of thinking that shape our actions and experiences over time, and in a range of situations.

Positive habits of mind contribute to our own best interests, while respecting the rights of other. Sadly unhelpful habits of mind make life more difficult for us and for those around us.

Good or bad they operate automatically and require little effort so that we may not even be aware that we have unhelpful habits in the way we see and respond to others and situations that we encounter.

In a sense our habits of mind are our personal systems for dealing with our selves in the world. As such they are likely to contain our real values.

Positive habits of mind are not simple rules or skills but often require considerable insight, astute judgement, resilience, courage, practice and tenacity….leading to ongoing success and well-being.

Habits of Mind and Restorative Practices

Restorative Practices support the development of positive habits of mind.

Restorative circles and restorative questions often also reveal unhelpful habits. For example, it is common for participants in circles or restorative meetings to gain profound insights leading to new ways of thinking about themselves and each other.

Restorative commitments and on-going support enable 'offenders' to practice new habits of mind. This is one reason why follow-up is important

Outcomes
There are lots of good things can flow from developing improved habits of mind:

• Confidence
• Persistence
• Organisation
• Getting Along (improved relationships)
• Resilience 
• ...

Lots of ways of acting and responding

By improving our habits of mind, Restorative Practices can improve the following social and emotional abilities that are essential for our success and well-being:

• Accepting Myself and Other
• Taking Risks
• Being Independent
• Giving Effort
• Working Tough
• Setting Goals
• Optimism
• Happiness
• Thinking and communicating with clarity and precision
• Focusing on solutions (rather than problems)
• Managing impulsivity
• Gathering data through all senses
• Listening with understanding and empathy
• Creating, imagining and innovation
• Thinking flexibly
• Responding with wonderment and awe
• Thinking about thinking (metacognition)
• Taking responsible risks
• Striving for accuracy
• Finding humour
• Questioning and posing problems
• Thinking independently
• Applying past knowledge
• Remaining open to continuous learning
• ...

Note: Consider how many of the above are impacted by drug addiction, mental illness and unresolved guilt.

3 Tiers of Restorative Practices

Integrating RP and PBIS

Restorative Practices (RP) and School-wide Positive Behaviour Support (PBIS) overlap and complement each other. And many schools use both approaches in very well integrated ways.

For example, I came across this diagram explaining three levels of intervention as it applies to the use of Restorative Practices in schools

Like well implemented Restorative Practices, PBIS is school-wide and aims to build clarity of expectations, support, relationships and community. It is not just about solving problems. In many schools Restorative Practices are valued as powerful positive interventions and supports.

Three Levels of application

For those involved in School-Wide PBIS, the above diagram will be very familiar!! And adopting Restorative Practices is a natural step forward to make the school's PBIS even more effective. At the same time it is important to remember that Restorative Practices is not a short-cut version of PBIS!

And as in PBIS, it can be useful to think of three levels of application of RP 

1. School-wide Prevention Practices can easily incorporate many aspects of RP including

• use of affective statements
• extensive use of circles for a wide range of everyday purposes

2. Managing Difficulties includes supports such as 

• the use of the (Restorative) questions that can generate insight and create possibilities for resolving issues 
• more use of (Restorative) circles / meetings  focused on existing and/or emerging issues with the students (and others) involved

3. Intense Intervention includes

• restorative conferences

[The above diagram is from Restorative Justice - a working guide for our schools - a sound, easy-to-read guide to implementing what some call "restorative practices" at the school or school district level.  For more information simply Google "pbis"]

We want you here!!

Where is your focus? Problem solving or belonging??

The Restorative Schools online newspaper reports each week about schools reducing suspensions, having fewer problems... all things that make the school a better, safer place to be.

But one slightly different headline caught my eye - a message to students:

We want you here!!         

Such schools are voicing a direct commitment to their students, all their students!! Not just those who arrive at school in reasonable shape and comply with the schools' expectations.

Many problematic students are not wanted anywhere else in our communities... school might be their only chance to be wanted in a healthy community. To belong is a basic human need we all share. 

The school, club... doesn't want a person who else will? Employers? Clubs? Community groups?... Probably not!!

This is fundamental to the success of Restorative Practices - that those who have done harm can still belong.

How clearly does your school, club, group...communicate with all its people that they are wanted?

Restoring our organisations

"Restorative" is not just for people (updated)

Does your organisation make it easy for people to "do the right thing"?

Sometimes we need to "restore" our organisations, communities, teams, businesses, clubs, classes, schools...so that people do the right thing and there is less need for restorative justice.

Common approaches
The basic organisational approach is to try to fix every problem as it occurs (if possible). A more comprehensive approach is to respond at the three levels outlined in Problem Solving with Restorative Practices: 
Contain - Resolve (& Repair) - Reduce

An even more comprehensive and pro-active approach is to do both the above AND restore the organisation (school, service, team, business...) in which problems arise. But how to do it in in ways that are consistent with Restorative principles? And where to start?

Underlying principles
The fundamental principles underpining Restorative approaches include...

• The care and attention we give demonstrates the value we place on matters and things. 
• Most of us (attempt to) respond to the value we perceive that others place on matters and things.

Restorative management makes it easier to "do the right thing"

1. Make expectations explicit- involve everyone in developing expectations
2. Make expectations achievable - some people may need assistance
3. Show that we care - 'walk the talk'
4. Explain why we care - leadership, values, develop emotional intelligence
5. Achieve agreement across and throughout the organisation, community...
6. Act to reduce the frequency of problems arising  - see below
7. Fix a problem promptly when it gets broken and involve 'the perpetrator' if possible
8. Monitor and celebrate ongoing improvements
9. Use alternate responses if the 'window' gets broken repeatedly by the same people

 At the organisational level the following steps can "restore" the organisation. 

1. Know which problems occur frequently around here                  
2. Check the available data - does reality match perceptions?
3. Establish priorities for attention, prevention & response
4. Work through the key elements (above) in relation to a priority problem  

A frequently occurring problem can lead to an action plan focused on making it easier for everyone to do the right thing. The action plan is properly implemented when it goal happens as a matter of course without intervention, supervision...

Is it really new?

Chances are the above represents the best of what you already do, especially if you are a Restorative Practitioner. Perhaps this framework will enable everyone to be a little more consistent and collaborate a little more easily.

A more detailed discussion is available Broken Windows.

Problem Solving with Restorative Practices

Three levels of response to problems

Solving problems involves up to three levels of response:

Contain - Resolve (& Repair) - Reduce

Restorative Practices can have an important role to play in all three levels.

 

1. Contain the situation - so that it doesn't get worse and no more harm is done. 

Many restorative practices may contribute to de-escalating a tense the situation:

• Calm, affective statements can express care, concern and non-judgemental support for all involved
• Calm restorative questions may enable the parties to have their experiences acknowledged, assuring them that they have been or will be heard. This in turn may reduce their fear, anger, frustration...
• Even a quick spontaneous circle may really help defuse a situation. With more formal follow-up later, if appropriate
• Having a restorative culture with a proven track record means that the parties involved 
• can be confident that "We can handle this" and, 
• the process will be fair

2. Resolve what happened & Repair the harm done

For minor problems, containing the situation using the above strategies may well be sufficient. But do some incidental follow-up, just to make sure!!

For major problems more formal Restorative Practices may require restorative Circles, Meetings or Conferences that...

• Are entered into voluntarily by all parties
• Are well facilitated: suitable venue, layout, skilled, respectful, well timed, sequenced (scripted)
• Ensure proper accountability
• Lead to repairing the harm done if possible
• And have effective follow up as required to ensure that the problem has been resolved, commitments met, relationships restored...

3. Reduce the likelihood of the problem recurring

In the busy life of schools, businesses and other organisations time, energy and attention are valuable resources not to be wasted on non-core activities. It can be very satisfying and a relief to "fix" a problem. This is one reason we can be tempted to cut corners, simply tick off a problem as "solved" and move on.

But what if the problem recurs? It just means more time, energy and attention has to be given to fixing it next time!! Which also means less time for core activities. Rework is waste. So how to reduce the likelihood of problems recurring? 

There are lots of ways to do this including...

BUILD COMMUNITY!! - shared purposed, inclusion, belonging, identity...

- Train staff and others in restorative practices  

- Deploy and integrate restorative practices across the organisation 

- Identify as a restorative organisation*

- Develop a restorative culture  

- Make people aware of your restorative culture* 

- Share your restorative experiences  

- Use restorative practices (statements, questions, circles...) in non-problem situations 

- Gather data about your use and the effectiveness of your Restorative Practices

*NOTE:  Courage may be required

Identifying as a restorative organisation, and letting others know about may require a modicum of courage. We have to be brave enough to say "We are not perfect, we have problems too, things go wrong here,...". 

But remember there are two questions in the minds of your clients, students, families, staff, ...

"Does this organisation care about me, us, my child...?"
"Does this organisation know what it is doing?"

Being a restorative organisation is a step towards being able to answer both questions with a clear and demonstrable "Yes!"

Restorative Social Emotional Learning

Restorative Practices involve SEL
   Restorative Practices are not just about fixing things when someone has done the wrong thing, although of course that can be very important. There are always social and emotional aspects when someone does the wrong thing.  This means that successful Restorative Practices always involve social and emotional learning (SEL).

SEL everywhere all the time
   We are fundamentally social and emotional beings and, as a result, social and emotional learning is fundamental to the achievement of success and well-being by all of us.

• Social and emotional learning is an ongoing whole-of-life need and challenge
• Every action and interaction has social and emotional aspects
• All experiences, teaching and learning have SEL components
• All relationships involve substantial social and emotional experiences
• Our thinking shapes our social and emotional learning
• Similar experiences can result in very different social and emotional learning
• Social and emotional learning is complex and unpredictable
• Our social and emotional learning is influenced by that of those around us
• Significant others are more influential than casual acquaintances
• ...

In short, for better or worse, social and emotional learning occurs in all places, at all times and in all contexts including school, home and the community. Supporting social and emotional learning is one of the core tasks of families, schools, communities, and restorative practices.

The outcomes of social and emotional learning
   Social and Emotional Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills and attitudes to

• recognise and manage emotions
• develop care and concern for self and others
• establish and maintain positive relationships
• make responsible decisions, and
• set and achieve positive goals
• constructively handle challenging situations

SEL in schools
   Because social and emotional learning are so universal across place and time, it can be difficult to map those things needing conscious attention in the life and work of schools. In teaching SEL schools may focus on one or more of the followiing

• Social skills
• Habits of mind
• School-wide positive behaviour support (SWPBS) 
• Anti-bullying programs
• Cooperative learning initiatives such as Tribes; 
• Values programs; 
• Emotional literacy teaching
• ....

There are a multitude of valuable initiatives all of which can make positive contributions to student and staff success and well-being.

Four dimension of SEL
   The following four part framework might be useful to schools, clubs, and other organisations to map their present provision and to identify opportunities for enhancing SEL in the school and its community.

1. Thinking –  knowing, understanding, appreciating, accepting and applying the requirements expected by the school, school system and the wider community
2. Emotional literacy that informs individual decision making and responses by recognising significant emotional experiences  in self & others
3. Social skills – enabling successful social interactions that enable us to meet our own needs without significantly impairing the success and well-being of others
4. Habits of Mind – successful self management over the course of life's challenges, ups and downs.  That is, long term sustainable approaches to life’s challenges and achievements

Supporting Social and Emotional Learning

  Families, organisations, communities... support social and emotional learning through explicit, or tacit

• Expectations:
• Rules:
• Programs (SEL):
• Pedagogies:
• Practices, e.g., active supervision…
• Problem solving methods
• ...

Positive SEL Indicators

• Greater sense of well-being
• Greater sense of success
• Greater sense of belonging
• Greater sense of community

Behavioural indicators of SEL

• Fewer incidents/issues
• Faster recovery
• Incidents/issues are less serious
• Transference of learning into new situations

What is it that Restorative Practices actually restore?

In order to monitor the success or otherwise of our Restorative Practices we need a framework against which to monitor the outcomes. 

Fewer problems, less harm, better behaviour... are all important outcomes. However these are actually low order indicators. They may not reveal the ways in which restorative practices have really improved the well-being of those involved.

Obviously there are lots of possible answers to the above question. For example, a school that was using Martin Seligman's approach to Well-Being might use restorative practices to restore the 5 main elements (PERMA) that contribute to success and well-being, namely,

1. Positive Emotions 

• Experiencing joy and pleasure

While the outcomes of bad experiences are the opposites of joy or pleasure, it is important for people to ultimately feel more positive after dealing with the bad things that they have done, or have been done to them. 

Unfortunately, punitive approaches leave wrong-doers in the state of feeling bad (shamed) about what they have done as 'logical consequence'. However this is likely to result in on-going disengagement, resentment, loss of confidence... that make it more difficult for a wrong-doer to become a full contriubting member of his/her organisation or community

Similarly, traditional approaches often fail to address the emotional needs of the person who has been harmed so that they continue to feel bad about what has been done to them and are similarly limited.

2. Engagement 

• Being consciously involved in our activities

Disengagement (isolation, suspension, gaol...) is also often seen as a 'logical consequence' of doing the wrong thing but this reduces the likelihood of productive engagement

3. Relationships 

• Having enjoyable and supportive interactions with others

Damaged relationships are very often a result of wrong doing. Failing to restore damaged relationships is likely to result in a long term state of reduced success and wellbeing

4. Meaning 

• Creating a purposeful narrative about our lives
• Being engaged with or serving something larger than ourselves

Having been harmed, or having caused harm to others, changes our personal narratives for the worse. Experiencing restoration of positive emotions, engagement, relationships... helps to restore constructive meaning in our lives.

5. Accomplishments 

• Completing our goals and following our core values

Those who have been harmed, or caused harm, are likely to experience a sense of failure. If unresolved this is likely to reduce a person's subsequent capacity to achieve and act in ways that better match their own core values.

Clearly restorative practices provide rich ways of restoring each of the five elements of Well-Being.