In this episode of Neuroeducation with Angie Dee, the host explores the topic of punishments and restorative justice in education. She questions the effectiveness of punitive methods and emphasizes the importance of teaching children valuable lessons instead. Reflecting on both school and home environments, Angie Dee encourages you to consider the long-term impact of punishments on children's behaviour and suggests alternative approaches that promote compassion and growth.

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Timestamps:

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:00:42 - Introducing Restorative Justice

00:01:03 - The Ineffectiveness of Traditional Punishments

00:02:31 - Long-Term Learning and Responsibility

00:03:45 - The Importance of Conscious Response

00:04:07 - Success of Restorative Justice in Schools

00:05:23 - Curriculum Demands and Student Engagement

00:06:06 - Connection and Preventative Measures

00:07:00 - Montessori Approach to Classroom Cohesion

00:07:44 - The Long-Term Benefits of Restorative Justice

00:08:16 - Closing Remarks and Call to Action

When we have this kind of punitive form of

punishment, what I would ask is what is it

teaching children in the long run? Punitive punishment is

not the answer because it doesn't teach our

children anything. Welcome to Neuroeducation, where

we're exploring the neuroscience of how to switch on the brain to

supercharge learning. I'll be sharing with you innovative teaching techniques,

effective parenting strategies, and educational advocacy. I'm

your host, Angie Deeee. Together, let's revolutionize children's

learning. Hello

and welcome back to Neuroeducation with Angie Dee.

Thank you for tuning in for this episode. We're going

to be diving in deep to looking at

the reality of punishments and restorative

justice within education, but this is also something

that we can reflect on at home with how

we treat our children and what kind of consequences

punishments we're giving our own children and

what really works in the long term. Traditionally in

school we have what you would call a punitive method

of punishment. That means if you've done

something bad you get punished, you've been naughty,

here's your punishment. You get a detention or you get a suspension or

you get expulsion if you've done it enough times.

But I would ask you to think, what

is this teaching our children? If

they've done something that's incorrect, if

they've misbehaved and you give

them a punishment that doesn't fit the crime, they

bully somebody, they get a detention. Has

the bullying stopped or

will it stop? Maybe, maybe not. But has the child learned

anything to improve that behaviour? So

has they learned something to be, how to be more compassionate, how to relate

more empathetically to, let's say if they bully Jessica, have

they thought about that more deeply? Have they changed

their morals to be kinder to

others? So when we have this kind

of punitive form of punishment, what

I would ask is what is it teaching children in the long run?

Is it teaching them to be responsible for their actions? Is

it teaching them to make amends? to

resolve their problems, to resolve their

actions and ideally to reconnect with

whoever the person is that they've done it to, to make

sure they have made amends for the whole situation. Because

ideally that's the kind of skill we want for life. If

we fast forward 20 years and they're in a relationship and

we have a husband and a wife partnership, what

do we want each adult to be able

to do in that relationship. If they make a mistake, if they've

messed up, if they've done something wrong. We want them to be able to

make amends. We want them to be able to talk about it, maybe to

say sorry. We want them to have some kind of interception which

means understanding what happened, what was going on in their mind, what

was going on in their bodies, why did they act like that and

how can they make a positive change not to do that in the future. So

they're not re-acting negatively but they're responding consciously. If

we want that to happen between husbands and wives or

in between co-workers, in between adults, we

have to coach children how to be able to do that from a young age.

Punitive punishment is not the answer because

it doesn't teach our children anything. Yes, they get

disciplined for something they've done, but it doesn't teach them how

not to do it in the future or how to change their behaviour.

Restorative justice is the new buzzword in

America and it's a buzzword for a big reason. It

is working and transforming the lives of

parents, teachers, and students in

American schools. In one American school

where they implemented restorative justice, which means

we're going to restore relationships

and restore what has gone on to make

amends. So where they've implemented restorative

justice, they have seen misbehaviour.

That means students acting out, and

suspensions and expulsions reduce by

50%. Now if

you could go to any teacher in a primary school or

a high school around Australia and you could say I can

reduce misbehaviour, suspensions and

expulsions by 50% I'm sure

they would be all ears. tell me how you're doing it,

because it's something we all face. Unfortunately,

with the demands of the curriculum, which we can debate later

about how appropriate these demands of

certain curriculums are in Australia, with the demands of the curriculum

and the pressures that teachers face and the pressures students face,

They are literally on a steam train going through

subject after subject. How engaged are they? How interested

are they? How empowered are they in their educational journey?

Unfortunately for the teacher and the student, not a lot in

our educational structure in Australia. However, this

is something all teachers and even

parents at home can do to improve

student behaviour. And that is called connection.

Restorative justice is about preventative first. So

we're preventing the behaviour by connecting with a student. And

if you think about this, if there's a teacher that

you really like, how often did you

misbehave for that teacher? Very rarely.

If there's a teacher you didn't like, how often did

you misbehave for that teacher? In Montessori,

The first few weeks of any schooling year

is really about bringing the students and the teachers together

and making sure there's a cohesive classroom environment.

So just like when you get to finally go on a school camp

and they play all these team games, This is

what is done at the beginning of every school year in Montessori and

I feel like if teachers invest more

time at the beginning of the school year, yes demands

aside, into allowing children to

build those relationships in the classroom and consciously building

those relationships with their students then

what we see is better and better behaviour. And the restorative justice

and the research on it in America is so clear.

It works. Yes, it takes time. It's

not a one stop shop. It's going to be fixed in a minute. It

takes time, but it works. It's an approach that

works for the long term. And

if you want a positive classroom environment, if

you want your children to feel connected and

to be working positively

with you and with others around you for not

just fear of punishment but for the joy of

connection then this is something you

want to be able to implement and research more on. Restorative

justice, it's a buzzword and that's just

because it works. Thank you for tuning in

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