Bradley's Philosophy of Education Blog

The Restorative Justice section was the most interesting session that I attended that day. The session itself had a very small attendance, which I believe was intentional. It was led by two instructors who used Restorative Practices in their schools. The basic premise is that when students misbehave it is better to discuss the reasoning for the behavior rather than merely punish them for it. In the example they led with us, the student is sat with either the Principal or the Restorative Leader. The discussion is facilitated using a talking object, so that way no one can speak over the other person. The student says why they did the behavior and the Restorative Leader discusses how that behavior affected other people. The end goal is for the student to make amends for their actions, whatever the agreed-upon result may be. I would greatly like to use this in my future classroom because I believe it is more effective than the traditional punitive method. I am a pragmatic individual who l

The purpose of the Student MEA meeting session was so that student members could meet members from other Universities and discuss any objectives, plans, or previous events. At this meeting were students from Farmington, Presque Isle, and Orono. The meeting focused primarily around the revisions made to the Student MEA Constitution. The other major topic was a plan to create a conference that focused specifically on undergraduate and first-year teacher development. The ways in which they facilitated conversation were especially effective. The discussion started with a talking stick being handed around to each person. The person said their name, place, and major. This provided everyone an opportunity to understand the background of the people present. This most likely allows the MEA to see the diversity present at their meetings. The meeting was then facilitated by the MEA Representative and the student Co-Presidents. They set the agenda for the day. If an individual wished to speak, t

The Young Educational Professionals (YEP-MEA), focused on providing young teachers with resources and advice on how to establish yourself as a confident educator. Or at least they were supposed to. The presenters failed to show up for their session. It was rather unprofessional and ironic. In place of these presenters, the Vice-President of the MEA lead a dialogue on discussing controversial issues in education. These issues included cellphones in the classroom, administrative & teacher relationships, and the place of the MEA in the school district. Overall, I was satisfied with how this event turned out.