ABSTRACT
Ray noted that he and his school share an approach to discipline that is grounded in the restorative justice model. Like other schools that employ this model, Ray's school focused “heavily on relationship building and repairing the harm caused by acts of misbehavior”. The school-imposed consequence of demanding an apology just created another reason for both parties to be angry—or at least frustrated and disappointed. Ray, and Melanie for that matter, found himself in a state of disappointment and frustration because this specific enactment of the school's discipline policy failed to provide a means of engaging the larger goal: ensuring students are supported and remain involved in the classroom. A school-wide, canon-based summer reading list, imposed at the last minute, troubles a teacher's plan to encourage students to engage a range of genres of their choosing. Homophobic graffiti is spray-painted on lockers.
