ABSTRACT
For those who advocate for social and emotional learning in an era when most American schools are focused on cognitive learning and, in particular, new academic standards, they should know that restorative practices in schools can support both. Restorative practices are being adopted by a growing number of schools (Shah, 2012), yet most initially try restorative practices only as what they hope will be an effective discipline strategy and nothing more. However, as educators gain more experience with restorative practices, they begin to realize the larger implications. Providing young people with opportunities to take responsibility for their own behavior not only improves school climate, but also simultaneously fosters social and emotional learning and supports cognitive academic standards and learning in general.
