Restorative Practices
When students arrive to Canada as refugees with little or no formal schooling background there are many steps to take before participating in a mainstream class is even achievable. Abraham Maslow, in his Hierarchy of Needs, insists that a student's psychological and safety needs must be addressed before any levels of deeper thought can be achieved. Restorative practices assist in this process, allowing students to come to terms with their past, identify their present, and plan for their future. Below are some of the practices we use in our classroom.
Morning Pages
Morning Pages is a simple practice that is very effective at teaching communication and self-expression. Every morning we gave the students twenty minutes to write in a journal that was essentially a written conversation between the teacher and student. The teacher asks the student a question, starting off as simply as, "How was your weekend?" or "What is your favourite animal?" and the student will respond and reciprocate. As time goes on, the conversations become more in-depth and provide a safe, open space where the students can talk about life issues without pressure or fear of failure. We never correct their English in Morning Pages but allow it to be an opportunity for the students to express themselves and their concerns. Each conversation is very individualized and dependent on where the student wishes to take it.
Morning Pages serves multiple practical purposes as well. It is a very practical tool in bringing the students in and assisting them in getting focused for the school day. It also teaches the students how to have traditional conversations. At the beginning of the exercise the students were at a loss if we did not give them a specific question to answer, but over time they got better at asking questions of us. They learned conversational etiquette and unconventional terms that would not come up in a English Language Arts lesson. Morning pages also serve as an opportunity for formative assessment. We are able to see where the students' writing level is at while the pressure to perform is removed. Questions arise during Morning Pages that present great opportunity for a teachable moment later on in class time. It acts as an amazing opportunity to get to know your students on an emotional, psychological, and educational level.
Effective Prompts: How was your weekend? What do you want to do when you grow up? What do you do for fun at home? Can you tell me about your family? Do you ever dream? Is there anything in class you are really not liking/understanding? Can you tell me about a time in Nepal when you were really happy? Can you tell me more about your religion? Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?
Morning Pages serves multiple practical purposes as well. It is a very practical tool in bringing the students in and assisting them in getting focused for the school day. It also teaches the students how to have traditional conversations. At the beginning of the exercise the students were at a loss if we did not give them a specific question to answer, but over time they got better at asking questions of us. They learned conversational etiquette and unconventional terms that would not come up in a English Language Arts lesson. Morning pages also serve as an opportunity for formative assessment. We are able to see where the students' writing level is at while the pressure to perform is removed. Questions arise during Morning Pages that present great opportunity for a teachable moment later on in class time. It acts as an amazing opportunity to get to know your students on an emotional, psychological, and educational level.
Effective Prompts: How was your weekend? What do you want to do when you grow up? What do you do for fun at home? Can you tell me about your family? Do you ever dream? Is there anything in class you are really not liking/understanding? Can you tell me about a time in Nepal when you were really happy? Can you tell me more about your religion? Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?
Tea Time
Tea Time is a ten to twenty minute block in the middle of the day where we sit down in a circle and discuss our lives and our world while drinking tea. There are a few basic rules for Tea Time:
1. Only one person may talk at a time. If you are not the one holding the talking stick, it is not your turn to talk.
2. Unless seeking clarification from your peers, all discussion should be in English.
3. You cannot laugh at another person's ideas or attempt at English. We are all learning and it is important that we learn in a place that is safe.
Discussions during Tea Time range depending on the day. Sometimes the discussions take a more open approach and I ask questions such as: What is something you find confusing about Canada? What was your favourite thing to do in Nepal? What was school like in Nepal? What do you do for your festivals? These questions were effective at encouraging the students to think about their lives here in Canada while still remembering where they came from. Their stories would build on one-another as they told anecdotes of living in the refugee camp. Other times the Tea Time conversation was more focused around current global issues. We discussed events such as 9/11, the Ebola crisis, the shooting in Ottawa, and ISIS. We also discussed moral dilemmas such as: Is money good or bad? If someone is a murderer, do they deserve to die? What does it mean to be a leader? These conversations help the students discover why they believe what they believe in relation to what is happening currently in our world. The difference in cultural background allows from some very intriguing new perspectives.
I also incorporated an aspect into our Tea Time called Artifacts, where the students were to bring something to share with the rest of the class that was important to them. The students brought in jewelry from Nepal, gifts from friends and family, and significant trinkets that allowed them to discuss parts of their life that were important to them. It allowed the students an opportunity to show off and learn more about their own identity.
1. Only one person may talk at a time. If you are not the one holding the talking stick, it is not your turn to talk.
2. Unless seeking clarification from your peers, all discussion should be in English.
3. You cannot laugh at another person's ideas or attempt at English. We are all learning and it is important that we learn in a place that is safe.
Discussions during Tea Time range depending on the day. Sometimes the discussions take a more open approach and I ask questions such as: What is something you find confusing about Canada? What was your favourite thing to do in Nepal? What was school like in Nepal? What do you do for your festivals? These questions were effective at encouraging the students to think about their lives here in Canada while still remembering where they came from. Their stories would build on one-another as they told anecdotes of living in the refugee camp. Other times the Tea Time conversation was more focused around current global issues. We discussed events such as 9/11, the Ebola crisis, the shooting in Ottawa, and ISIS. We also discussed moral dilemmas such as: Is money good or bad? If someone is a murderer, do they deserve to die? What does it mean to be a leader? These conversations help the students discover why they believe what they believe in relation to what is happening currently in our world. The difference in cultural background allows from some very intriguing new perspectives.
I also incorporated an aspect into our Tea Time called Artifacts, where the students were to bring something to share with the rest of the class that was important to them. The students brought in jewelry from Nepal, gifts from friends and family, and significant trinkets that allowed them to discuss parts of their life that were important to them. It allowed the students an opportunity to show off and learn more about their own identity.
Home Visits
In her article on Iraqi refugee students in a program very similar to ours, Barbara Nykiel-Herbert states:
"That children's home culture is indispensable to learning has been argued theoretical by Vygotsky (1978) and his followers, and confirmed through ethnographic studies. It is the culture of the child's home--the the cultures of others--that enables and supports cognitive development through the complex system of social and cognitive factors" (Nykiel-Herbert, 1).
Observing our students' home lives allows us to learn more about their lifestyle and culture, but also learn more about their learning styles and educational preferences. The strongest rational for Home Visits over Parent/Teacher Interviews is that, as a parent in the Nepali culture, to call or come in to the classroom is a sign of disrespect. It suggests that you are questioning or doubting the teacher--an occupation of great prestige. Immigrant parents need to be communicated with more than any other group as their knowledge of the Canadian education system is so limited. During Home Visits we bring a translator and sit down with the parents. We discuss their child's achievements in class--what they are succeeding at and what they are struggling with. We inform the parents regarding trips we will be taking or events that we have planned for the class. We discuss how the parents themselves have been adjusting to Canada and how their own work/school life is going. We also take time to speak practically about their child's life goals and intentions regarding education. It is important that the parents, teachers and students are all on the same page as to the purpose of our program and where they can go from here. This meeting is an amazing opportunity to gain rapport with the parents, deconstruct any confusions between the three parties involved, and learn more about the exact needs and desires of the students.