Introduction
Teachers must ensure discipline in their classrooms, but everything should be balanced. Discipline maintenance can be based on strict obedience to rules and punishing everyone who does not comply. Such an approach is typical, but it harms students and worsens their problems instead of solving them. Restorative justice is a much more efficient approach, based on fostering responsibility and repairing the harm in case of committing it. To implement this approach successfully, a teacher should train their emotional intelligence and leadership qualities.
Overview
Establishing and maintaining discipline and order in the classroom is one of the most essential aspects of teaching. Arto & Wakhudin (2021) show that students who do not follow disciplinary rules fail in their education, disturb others, and can even cause harm. In addition, their moral character deteriorates, and they may grow into bad personalities. Therefore, a teacher should be able to maintain classroom discipline and train essential skills, such as emotional intelligence and leadership skills. While traditional disciplinary approaches based on punishments harm students, restorative justice practices are highly efficient and recommended.
Restorative Justice in Classrooms
Restorative justice is based on nurturing the feeling of responsibility and maintaining healthy relationships and communication between all involved parties. According to Welsh & Little’s (2018) article, unlike approaches grounded on punishment and strict obedience to rules, restorative justice practices focus on how healthy relationships can be recovered in case of problems and conflicts. They focus on fostering responsibility for their actions in students, communicating with them, and helping them restore the harm they have caused.
Teacher’s Essential Skills
A teacher should be able to motivate students and ensure that they will do what is said; thus, a teacher should develop leadership skills. They include the ability to formulate and communicate requests to students, understand and implement the best teaching practices, and inspire students to study by showing them their potential. In addition, Valente et al. (2018) show that emotional intelligence (EQ) is necessary, as working with students is deeply connected with perceiving and understanding their emotions while not being overloaded with them. As mentioned, restorative practices are efficient in maintaining classroom discipline, and a teacher should be able to use them. For that, abilities to perceive and influence students’ emotions are essential.
Summary
Restorative justice practices are excellent for establishing and maintaining discipline. They are grounded in recovering broken relationships, ensuring communication, and repairing harm. For example, if someone behaves wrongly, they should be taught to change and compensate for all the harm they committed. All classroom rules serve this purpose and should be obeyed to make everyone’s lives better, not just because there are rules. As students know the destination of classroom rules, they will be more likely to obey them. Good teachers should have a high EQ and developed leadership skills: the ability to motivate, inspire, and manage students through their decisions.
Conclusion
Maintaining discipline in the classroom ensures a healthy and productive environment for students, where they can study safely and efficiently. Restorative justice practices provide tools for ensuring discipline while not destroying students’ motivation and without abusing them. They are based on the principle that all harm caused by a student can be recovered and propose discourses, rather than authoritarian commands, to solve problems. Teachers must develop strong emotional intelligence and leadership qualities to maintain discipline successfully. The former enables them to feel and understand the students’ emotions, while the latter is essential for successfully managing, directing, and motivating the students.
References
Arto, S., & Wakhudin, W. (2021). The role of teachers in improving the discipline character of students. Dinamika Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Dasar, 13(2), 71. Web.
Valente, S., Monteiro, A. P., & Lourenço, A. A. (2018). The relationship between teachers’ emotional intelligence and classroom discipline management. Psychology in the Schools, 56(5), 741–750. Web.
Welsh, R. O., & Little, S. (2018). The school discipline dilemma: A comprehensive review of disparities and alternative approaches. Review of Educational Research, 88(5), 752–794. Web.