by Rosie Chadwick
Fabulous session from author and restorative practitioner Leaf Seligman at this week’s RJ World e-conference. Leaf was talking about restorative teaching. Here’s a little of what she shared, illustrated with stories from a writing course she teaches:
Start with yourself – i.e. the importance of inner work and self-care: ‘you can’t offer students what you don’t have as a resource for yourself.’
See your students as co-learners: ‘They’re my teacher as much as I am theirs.’
Remember the 4 verbs:
Notice – be aware of what’s going on for you and for others
Wonder – be curious rather than rushing to judgement
Acknowledge – acknowledge where you make mistakes and acknowledge what’s true for others
Appreciate – both in the sense of showing gratitude but also in the sense of understanding more deeply.
Give co-learners agency – ask learners ‘What do you need to learn? What will be satisfying to you as learners?
Challenge hierarchies of learning: ‘the written word is not always someone’s first language.’
Don’t be afraid of discomfort, whether that’s from making yourself vulnerable or from conversations that you might be tempted to shut down: ‘Discomfort is not the same as danger.’ What’s more, ‘teaching restoratively requires us to be willing to sit in the complicated messy space of being human together.’
It’s OK to take incremental steps. Read the room. Invite humility.
Above all: ‘If relationships are at the centre of our pedagogy then we know we’re on the right track.’
You can find the whole thing here:
RJWorld 2022 Restorative Teaching Video – Leaf Seligman
Happy listening!