I thought this piece was lovely and enriched my understanding and thoughts on the finale. Thanks for your hard work.

PCA?

…educators (and all adults!) to foster more opportunities for students to be face-to-face and practice what good social interactions can and should look and feel like. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

…because it gives them the permission to practice pro-social skills in a safe environment. It is easy to blame covid for a lot of things, and I’m not confident covid is the sole guilty party for this generation of students’ underdeveloped social skills, but I am confident that it is the job of…

…as I read this outstanding piece by @dkthomp.bsky.social, I couldn’t help but think of classroom circles and why they are effective. I like them because they build stronger relationships for students and for staff. Today’s generation of students though, if I had to posit, love them so much…

…social skills. Restorative circles are strongly grounded in educational research, and I’ve been leading them in classrooms as young as first grade through high school. Nearly every single time afterwards, students find me in the hallways and beg and plead: “Are we gonna do our next circle soon?”…

…include “What’s your favorite smell?” or “Who’s the oldest person you know?” or “What positive word would your best friend use to describe you?” The questions don’t actually matter, it’s the intentional focus on taking turns, listening to your classmates (and teachers!), and practicing…

…classroom floor. Nothing in your hands, sitting upright, next to your peers and educators. We start with 3-4 questions and that’s usually more than enough. There’s a talking stick and centerpiece and sometimes it’s silly and hilarious, sometimes someone shares something serious. Questions might…

…when student-to-student or teacher-to-student relationships are suboptimal. Sometimes a student gets in a fight or makes a bad choice, sometimes the classroom has bickering and stress, it doesn’t actually matter the root cause. We spend 30-45 minutes, once per week, sitting in a circle on the…