A well-written letter from the Kevin Ahern, president of the Syracuse Teacher's Association, appeared today on www.syracuse.com. It is a must read!
STA to Syracuse Board of Education: "Restorative justice is fine, but what about safety?"
For anyone who is familiar with the "Be the Change" movement, reading this letter will make it clear why STA was willing to endorse and present our Plan of Action to the SCSD Board of Education. Our positions are in harmony - safety for ALL students and staff, creation of a supportive learning environment, a system of consistent boundaries and consequences, provision of social-emotional supports for those students who need them, and a refusal to allow "a few students exhibiting serious anti-social behavior to interfere with ability of the majority of their peers to learn."
If you haven't seen it yet, please read it and add your support to Kevin's letter by adding your comment.
I am glad that Mr. Ahern wrote this response to the BOE's attempt to address the behavior issues in the SCSD. His letter was spot on with the exception of addressing the Restorative Justice model that the district is proposing......it is not a true Resorative Justice model as it lacks the key elements that make it successful. These are (1) the individual must admit that he/she has broken the law/injured another person and, by extension, the community; (2) the individual must be willing to meet with the person they have harmed (including school staff) to hear how the behavior he/she engaged in has effected them if the person they have harmed volunteers to participate; and (3) the individual must be willing to act in a way as to make amends for the harm caused. The combination of these three tenets is not negotiable or the Restorative Justice model will have no impact what-so-ever. The model is labor intensive by those administrating it to ensure that students understand how their behavior has negatively impacted others and tthemselves, is sincere in their intentions to become a better person, and actually does the work to make the victim/school/community whole so that they may become healed themselves. What the district is proposing does noty resemble the true RJ model.
ReplyDeleteThanks for clarifying what the Restorative Justice Program requires. Is the Board willing to put in the money for the resources? Sounds like this is more complex than what the Board portrayed in their editorial.
DeleteI think Mr. Ahern's editorial is correct. The teachers and staff in the schools are only asking for the Board NOT to be indifferent to their valid concerns. They want the integrity of the classroom respected so that children FEEL safe and nurtured. What's so hard to understand about that? Children cannot learn in chaotic and unpredictable schools - which is what disruption, violence, and lack of respect bring about. This goes beyond the scope of the classroom - it includes school safety and security. And it is about a sense of community. How can we build this when safety concerns aren't even being seriously acknowledged and teachers are the only ones bearing the brunt of the responsibility? That doesn't sound like a formula for success. Wake up Board and listen to your teachers! They are not the enemy!
ReplyDeleteIt has appeared for some time now, that those at the helm of the SCSD seek to control what information is reported to and by the press, as it does with the strong, yet unofficial pressure NOT to call the Syracuse Police Department when assaults from students occur. Most recently, when a vice-principal was assaulted by a 10-year old who punched the VP in the face, requiring the VP to seek hospital care, police were NOT notified -- again. Staff (not limited to teachers, but ALL staff), work daily, for months and years, in an undeniably toxic work environment. The often-voiced fear of retaliation and overall palpable climate of fear (from both student violence AND from the very top administration, downtown), is unhealthy, counter-productive and utterly appalling. There is a reason the SCSD routinely cannot furnish substitutes when teachers are out -- the SCSD reputation for violence and disruption by a sizable segment of the student population is well-founded. Until the PUBLIC is made aware, by a steady stream of timely and accurate reporting by the press, change will continue to come at a snail's pace, if at all. Staff at all levels need to publicly report what is ACTUALLY going on inside the walls of our schools. The PRESS needs to both hear about it (from staff voices, as it is abundantly clear that the SCSD releases only limited and greatly watered-down information, when contacted by the press). The PRESS needs to USE their significant resources to uncover and reveal the scandalously dangerous situations both SCSD staff and students must deal with each and every day of the school year. Be the Change has offered a safe haven for these stories to be told, and would be an ideal place for the PRESS to launch a much-needed investigation. Seriously. What, exactly, are we waiting for?
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