Education Week - October 12, 2016 - 24

LETTERS to
the EDITOR

Commentary 'Parodies'
Restorative Justice
To the Editor:
The Commentary essay by Richard Ullman
("Zero-Tolerance-Policy Overcorrection," Sept.
14, 2016) led me to empathize with the author's
obvious frustrations and concerns about disruptive
behaviors. However, he clearly misunderstands
restorative justice/restorative practices, and so
he ends up giving readers a parody of the actual
philosophy and practice of these useful and now
globally recognized processes.
Ullman wants a "fix it" (his words) approach to
behavior and he wants restorative practices to be
"behavior management" schemes, but they are not.
Nor are they supposed to replace consequences
or punishments, where appropriate. Restorative
practices have a well-researched basis in social and
emotional human-behavior theory. They are focused
on how best to bring consensus and resolution to the
kinds of conflict that often are the root of unruly or
disruptive behaviors in schools.
My best guess is that the author might be
the bystander who has witnessed educators
managing restorative practices poorly or without
proper training. I can point him to many schools,
including those I work with, that have very difficult
socioeconomic contexts in which restorative practices
have made a significant contribution to better
climate and culture, which are, after all, the bedrocks
on which we build learning.
Jon McGill
Academic Director
Baltimore Curriculum Project
Baltimore, Md.

decision, has decided to skip the normal selection
process and boil the Cy Young Awards down to one
measurement. Each eligible pitcher will report to
Wrigley Field in Chicago on Jan. 1, 2017, and throw
one pitch. The pitch speed will be measured on a
radar gun and its miles-per-hour recorded. One Cy
Young Award will be given to the pitcher who throws
the fastest that day.
" 'The concept of having one winner from
each league is flawed and ridiculous,' said MLB
Commissioner Rob Manfred. 'Let's make the
process much more simple and straightforward.
The notion that the Baseball Writers' Association
of America should vote based on win/loss records,
earned-run averages, walks-plus-hits per innings
pitched, completed games, adjusted ERA, strikeouts
per nine innings, strikeout-to-walk ratios, etc., is
senseless. Let's just measure one thing on one day.'
"A bystander asked, 'Why an outdoor stadium
in January in a cold-weather climate? Won't this
impact a pitcher's performance and possibly his
health? How many warm-up pitches will each
pitcher get? What does the speed of one pitch during
the off-season have to do with who is the best
pitcher?'
"Mr. Manfred retorted, 'The date and location are
arbitrary-as long as the conditions are the same for
all pitchers, a little snow and freezing temperatures
aren't a real problem. As for warm-ups, the answer
is none. We're coddling the athletes as it is. My
thought? Let them throw the ball, and we'll see what
happens. May the best pitcher win.'
"The bystander said, 'This is too arbitrary and does
not fairly represent who does well in a given season.
Different pitchers throw at different velocities and
may be equally effective. The current system takes a
huge variety of statistical measures and has expert
baseball writers evaluate and vote on who is best.
That makes more sense.'
"Mr. Manfred merely harrumphed and said, 'Too
bad. Even if it doesn't measure overall effectiveness,
doing it this way makes my life easier. That's the
important thing.' "
Kevin J. O'Mara
Superintendent
Argo Community High School
Summit, Ill.

What If Baseball Awards Were Assessed
Like Student and Teacher Evaluations?
COMMENTARY POLICY

To the Editor:
Imagine if Major League Baseball were to simplify
the Cy Young selection process along the lines of how
we measure students, teachers, and schools in the
public school system. It might be reported something
like this:
"Major League Baseball, in a long-overdue

ONLINE

Education Week takes no editorial positions, but
publishes opinion essays and letters from outside
contributors in its Commentary section. For
information about submitting an essay or letter for
review, visit
www.edweek.org/go/guidelines.

www.edweek.org/go/commentary

'Brain Friendly' Practices
For Adolescent Success
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 28

changed those prefrontal regions
that are important in metacognition.
* u lic osting of grades and
test scores (a practice which in
this data-driven world appears
to be increasing) humiliates and
shames students in front of their
highly valued peers.
* oc ing students into a set academic college-bound program of
courses takes away their ability to
make decisions about what most
interests them (a process that integrates the limbic system's motivational verve with the prefrontal
cortex's decisionmaking capacity).
* he elimination or cut ac of
physical education and/or recess
in favor of more time for academics increases teenagers' already
stressed-out nervous systems.
Some educators may be content
to continue making the conversation on secondary school reform be
about raising academic standards,
creating more-rigorous courses, or

OPINION BLOGS

Teachers don't need to be forced into accountability
through standardized tests when they're already
accountable to students, colleagues, and parents,
writes Justin Minkel.

There is no room for heroes in schoolimprovement efforts-all of us must
rise to the occasion, argue Jill
Berkowicz and Ann Myers in the
Leadership 360 blog.

Schools teaching a majority of children of color
with staff that is almost exclusively
white and female reflects flawed pedagogy. "

www.edweek.org/go/heroes

- Paul L Landry, responding to Winston C. Cox's Commentary
"Obama's Legacy for Male Principals of Color"

COMMENTARY
Find out what opinion writers have to say about the current
presidential race and its implications for education policy,
civic engagement, and the classroom.
www.edweek.org/go/election-2016

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achieving "excellence" in other
ways. But the most tangible element in middle school and high
school learning is the adolescent
brain-this incredible threepound organism designed by nature over hundreds of thousands
of years to react with excitement
and awe to the amazing world
that stretches out before it.
Neuroscience research tells us
that the teenage brain is exquisitely sensitive to environmental
influences. This neuroplasticity
makes it vulnerable to a wide
range of societal dangers-traffic
accidents, drug abuse, suicide, violence. But it also makes it acutely
sensitive to the influence of teachers, for good or for ill.
That means it's far better for our
middle and high school teachers
to be familiar with the workings
of this extraordinary organ, and
learn how to respond constructively to it in the classroom, than
to go on teaching for test results
and leaving our future adults to
their own devices. ■

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Education Week - October 12, 2016

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