Restorative Relationships with Mark Simmonds

Restorative Relationships

Mark is a huge believer in restorative practices
And tries to make connections with his students by sharing stories from his childhood
When he can make a connection, students respect him more and are more likely to open up
Though, Mark works at an alternative site
And it can be difficult to maintain respect
But he really pushes and models restorative practices and respectful conversations
It has helped a lot of students
Mark’s favorite professor at Missouri State helped him develop this mindset because of the support and grace she showed Mark during his undergraduate and graduate studies

What type of connections do you find in the classroom with the kids?

There are similarities between kids that grew up moving around for the military
He grew up with the mindset that you need to respect your parents, so it was an adjustment being a teacher fresh out of the military lifestyle
Whenever he would reprimand students he always gives them a rationale
Mark was able to relate to a lot of things the students went through because of his experience with foster care and military life

Mark has a love-hate relationship with education
He wanted to move up and get out of the classroom
But he’s not sure if what he’s currently doing is what he ultimately wants to do
He currently works as the leader of a residential facility for at-risk youth that is an extension of the school district
Even though he loves the job and the kids
He also has the duties of a principal without the reflecting pay or support
And that can make it difficult to cope with the stress

It’s hard to pinpoint one simple thing
One thing that has been lost due to the high demands of education is the relationship piece
There’s a lot of focus on the negative and not enough on the positive
The teachers had a duty to keep the students safe and to help them learn and grow
And also work on real-life transition skills that they may not be getting at home
The ultimate focus is on the students’ growth and achievement
Another solution is being really open to change
Mark’s school has been disproportionate for students with IEPs and students of color because they’re the hardest to relate to, and some people refuse to do that

Making connections with students doesn’t just have to be the avenue to get to something else
Mark is very intentional in making connections
It can be difficult and require vulnerability to connect to someone that is very different from you
Mark enjoyed his educational experience growing up because he had teachers that understood that
Growing up in the military, everyone had the same goal. So individual differences didn’t really matter
His first experience with racism didn’t happen until he moved to Springfield
Topics of conversation in education frequently boil down to race
Taking two minutes to connect with a student every day for 10 days can give you a totally different relationship with that student
Some of Mark’s favorite memories in school are from his teachers taking the time to connect with him

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