Educator’s View: Restorative Justice Can’t Work If There Aren’t Enough Teachers
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As educational institutions grapple with increasing behavioral challenges, debates continue to emerge regarding the effectiveness of restorative justice. Restorative justice, which opposes punitive forms of discipline and instead focuses on building relationships to address the root causes of conflict, has produced varying results in studies conducted on school violence and academic performance.
Advocates of restorative justice attribute the disparities in these results to schools implementing isolated restorative practices, such as restorative circles or peer mediations, without fully committing to a schoolwide cultural shift. In these cases, schools fail to administer consequences as traditional discipline would and also fall short in addressing underlying issues, which restorative justice aims to accomplish.
This insight holds true. Restorative justice can only succeed if the entire school community embraces core values like respect and authority. However, school culture is not the sole determining factor. I speak from personal experience, having taught at a school where restorative justice thrived, thanks to another crucial element: a strong and dedicated staff. The pursuit of cultural change alone cannot yield significant results without a sufficient number of adults supporting the cause.
Restorative justice relies on robust student-teacher relationships, which cannot flourish when teachers are burdened with excessive student loads. Allow me to compare my teaching experiences:
School 1 (a restorative justice school): In each academic term, I taught a total of approximately 40 students across all my classes. I had the opportunity to truly know each student, preserving their get-to-know-you surveys for regular reference, providing detailed and personalized feedback on assignments, and engaging in conversations with them outside of class.
School 2 (not a restorative justice school): I taught up to 175 students per semester. I constantly found myself grading piles of papers during any available free moment, with minimal feedback beyond rubric markings. Given the limited time, I could only establish connections with a fraction of the students I taught.
Establishing meaningful relationships becomes impossible when classes are overcrowded and teachers are spread thin. Further complicating matters, restorative practices consume significant amounts of time.
For instance, consider the restorative conference, referred to as STACs (student-teacher-advocate counselor conferences) in School 1. These conferences allowed students and teachers to address challenges, such as incomplete assignments or disruptive behavior, by sharing perspectives, discussing potential solutions, and creating action plans. These conferences greatly benefited students and teachers alike. However, they also consumed a significant portion of my planning periods. If my time was occupied by grading extensive rosters or conducting STACs with numerous students, it would have been impractical. Restorative justice demands time that many teachers cannot spare, and the only solution is to improve student-teacher ratios.
The presence of a skilled team of social workers or school psychologists can also greatly assist in implementing restorative justice. In our case, our advocate counselors, who were trained social workers, facilitated the conferences and offered valuable insights into individual students’ perspectives. This was made possible because the counselors had manageable caseloads, enabling them to establish meaningful relationships with their students.
Unfortunately, despite the School Social Work Association of America recommending a ratio of 250 students per social worker, no state comes close to meeting this recommendation. The national average stands at 2,106 students per social worker, nearly ten times the recommended number. In fact, many social workers are forced to divide their time across multiple schools, making it difficult for them to feel a sense of belonging within any particular community. This presents yet another obstacle in establishing an effective restorative justice program.
The positive news is that restorative justice holds the potential to benefit all students, particularly those from marginalized communities. When implemented correctly, it can reduce disparities in disciplinary actions based on race and improve academic achievements, attendance rates, credit completion rates, and graduation rates. These are areas where students of color often face disadvantages.
School social workers have experienced an increase in their workload due to the rise in student trauma related to the pandemic. Additionally, many Black and Hispanic students are facing a decrease in access to mental health professionals.
It is not enough for advocates of restorative justice to merely discuss cultural shifts. In order for restorative justice to be effective and beneficial to students and teachers, it is crucial to invest in human resources. Without this investment, any progress made in restorative justice will be ineffective and potentially harmful.
To ensure consistent benefits for all students, particularly those who face the greatest disadvantages, there is a need to focus on improving teacher retention and expanding school social worker teams.
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