Responsibility Centered Discipline

After a fight

/ Julie Nariman / 5 Comments
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Student tracing a sketch in art class.

This week, two girls had a fight in the cafeteria.  We found that it had been instigated by other students, and stemmed from unkind posts on social media.

The issue for me wasn’t the fight; we quickly broke up the fight and held a mediation between the students involved that was successful.  The issue was that a large number of our 9th and 10th-grade students cheered on the fight.

Earlier in the year, we had spoken to our students about integrity and how it relates to not encouraging a fight.  I was disappointed that the students had cheered on the fight until a friend reminded me of “rubbernecking” in traffic: “That’s just what people do.  Remember how in traffic, people slow down when there’s a car accident because they want to see the accident.   It’s not always because they actually need to slow down, it’s just that human curiosity.” Continue reading →

How to be a man

/ Julie Nariman / 5 Comments

Sky view

This year, my school is focusing on raising the achievement of boys. I’ve learned that supporting boys goes beyond good teaching: we need to show boys more options for how to “be a man.”

Most boys have an idea of what it is to be a man. It’s often a child’s idea of being “hard” or “tough,” “independent.” A principal colleague of mine said he and his staff consciously teach their 9th graders to lose the “tough guy” attitude and just be kids; be students.

This week, I found myself in a conference with a student, Hassan,* and one of my teachers, Matt. Hassan had hit another student who had been calling him a “little boy” and making teasing gestures towards him.

In the past, we might have said, “The next time someone teases you, tell a teacher or administrator.” However, we saw that an 18-year-old boy who sees himself as a man may not want to run to a teacher to solve his problems.

Continue reading →

Saying “Yes” to Interruptions

/ Julie Nariman / 1 Comment
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Students making origami at lunchtime.

This year, my assistant principals and I committed to being the “first responders” for student behavior issues.  In the past, as the principal, I personally did not respond to most behavior issues.  Teachers would call an office extension and another staff member or one of my assistant principals would respond to the issue.

This year, we created a system where the teacher directly texts the three administrators (my assistant principals and me) on “What’s App.”  One of us then goes immediately to the classroom to support the teacher.

In being the “first responders,” we have our pulse on what’s happening in the school. Continue reading →

Teaching Integrity

/ Julie Nariman / Leave a comment
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Students at the High School of Language and Innovation collaborating in science class. 

 

The first week of school, I learned that most of my students didn’t know the word “integrity.”

As a tone setter, my assistant principals and I visited classes and did a presentation around our core values: integrity, perseverance, respect, and responsibility. We’re using a new approach, Responsibility Centered Discipline (RCD).  In RCD, we coach kids to make choices that embody these core values, rather than simply reminding them of rules.  An RCD conversation would go like this: “Jaime, I love when you participate in this class because you have a great sense of humor.  Your participation makes a difference.  When you stopped doing your work and put your head down, you weren’t showing perseverance.  If you can keep showing perseverance and never give up, you’ll not only learn, but you’ll be a role model and leader for your classmates.  What can you do when you get frustrated with the work and want to put your head down?”   Continue reading →