Restorative Spotlight: David Chodakewitz the 6th Grade Dean

With the winter holidays approaching, rituals and traditions seem to be in the air – from gathering around a turkey at Thanksgiving to spinning dreidels for Hanukkah and decorating Christmas trees. Perhaps as a result, this week, I’ve been reflecting a lot on the role of rituals in students’ experiences at school.

As the faculty advisor for the Middle School Student Reps this year, I help students plan special events for different holidays. Through these planning processes, I’ve been struck by how much students look toward traditions: the Halloween mummy competition, door decorating before winter break, or #hashtaglunchbag after MLK Day, just to name a few. Clearly, the act of carrying on a tradition each year brings a sense of joy and comfort to students.

However, rituals don’t only occur on an annual basis for special occasions; in school, they also happen every day. The only difference? We call them “routines.” For example, in my Advising section this year, we begin our weekly meeting by sharing affirmations with each other – kind actions we’ve noticed a student take or other ways in which we’ve noticed they’ve shined. Each week, my students ask to make sure that I haven’t forgotten to make time for this routine, to confirm that we will continue the tradition. Or, for another example, I recently had the opportunity to cover a colleague’s class, and I was impressed by how her students independently carried out their start-of-class routine. Without help, they wrote down their homework and silently got to work on the “Do Now,” while one student went around to check and initial each planner. I felt like I was watching choreography, the way that each person fell into place and expertly played their part.

These “rituals,” albeit perhaps not as festive as those that we associate with the holidays, exemplify the power of classroom routines and traditions. They help students feel safe and at home in school because they provide predictability and help to establish the culture of the community. In addition, they help teachers refocus from corrective to positive feedback. And lastly, they help students build their own self-management, self-awareness, and decision-making skills as they take on greater autonomy and responsibility over the class community.

No matter what rituals you and your loved ones will partake in over the coming months, I wish you a happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful holiday season!