{"id":433008,"date":"2022-04-16T01:32:27","date_gmt":"2022-04-15T22:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/community-circle-classroom-fad-likely-to-do-more-harm-than-good\/"},"modified":"2022-04-16T01:32:27","modified_gmt":"2022-04-15T22:32:27","slug":"community-circle-classroom-fad-likely-to-do-more-harm-than-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/community-circle-classroom-fad-likely-to-do-more-harm-than-good\/","title":{"rendered":"#&#8217;Community circle&#8217; classroom fad likely to do more harm than good"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3292cb4c39a\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3292cb4c39a\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/community-circle-classroom-fad-likely-to-do-more-harm-than-good\/#%E2%80%9C%E2%80%98Community_circle_classroom_fad_likely_to_do_more_harm_than_good%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;&#8216;Community circle&#8217; classroom fad likely to do more harm than good&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9C%E2%80%98Community_circle_classroom_fad_likely_to_do_more_harm_than_good%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;&#8216;Community circle&#8217; classroom fad likely to do more harm than good&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>America\u2019s classrooms seem focused lately on just about everything except educating kids: progressive politics, <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social<\/a> fads, psychological tinkering, fringe ideologies. Alas, we must add group therapy to that collection of non-academic pursuits: \u201cCircle conversations\u201d are <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>earing in more and more public schools, and even colleges like UC Berkeley \u2014 asking teachers to play the role of therapist, not educator.<\/p>\n<p>The Twitter account <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/libsoftiktok?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor\">Libs of TikTok<\/a> caught attention when it shared an example of \u201ccommunity circles\u201d at an elementary school in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District, requiring kids to keep anything said there confidential. This is in line with a \u201crestorative justice\u201d initiative in the district that seeks to make the \u201ccircle process\u201d a regular part of the school day.<\/p>\n<p>What exactly is this \u201ccircle process?\u201d As a University of California Berkeley\u2019s Restorative Justice Center manual describes it, it resembles a religious ritual more than a classroom practice, with opening and closing ceremonies, a centerpiece bearing trinkets or candles and a talking piece \u2014 anything from a popsicle stick to personal jewelry. The ritual begins; the \u201cleader\u201d asks prying and probing questions, encouraging the discussions of \u201cdifficult or painful events,\u201d as participants pass around the talking piece and share.<\/p>\n<p>The manual recommends discussion of topics such as when participants felt harmed or had themselves perpetrated trauma, how they deal with negative emotions and personal history. A<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/blank\"> <\/a>manual for the San Francisco school district encourages teachers to ask questions that are \u201cedgy\u201d and \u201ccontroversial\u201d and to use prompts that solicit \u201cmore intimate exposure.\u201d The idea is to incentivize, reward and encourage self-disclosure, confession and personal vulnerability.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>Supposedly, these circles prevent misbehavior by providing emotional support. In reality, they are a clear example of pop psychology leaking into school rooms \u2014 an ongoing shift from schools administering academic services to providing emotional support, with the teacher as therapist.<\/p>\n<p>To which the American Enterprise Institute\u2019s Robert Pondiscio<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/blank\"> <\/a>asks: \u201cAt what point does a school\u2019s concern for its students\u2019 emotional health and well-being, however well-intended, become too personal, too intrusive and too sensitive to be a legitimate function of public school?\u201d Indeed, the circles run afoul of ethical, practical <em>and <\/em>political concerns.<\/p>\n<p>First, the ethical. The American Psychological Association\u2019s code of ethics discourages counselors and therapists from practicing outside their area of competence. In managing the volatility of human emotions, experience and expertise matter. Teachers have a basic grounding in child psychology, yes, but nowhere near the competence to manage the tenuous scenarios the circles can create. They\u2019re experts in academic instruction; deputizing them into a counseling role far beyond that expertise risks adverse outcomes.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/classrooms-1.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Students attend class at Montrara Ave. Elementary School in Los Angeles. \" class=\"wp-image-21923672\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/classrooms-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/classrooms-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/classrooms-1.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Students attend class at Montrara Ave. Elementary School in Los Angeles. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Xinhua <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> Agency via Getty Ima<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The practical issue: Do they work?<\/p>\n<p>Circle conversations are a key part of an increasingly popular philosophy of discipline that involves \u201crestorative justice,\u201d curbing a school\u2019s dependence on punitive discipline \u2014 suspensions, detentions, expulsions. Yet when restorative justice nudges out punitive discipline, misbehavior flourishes; classroom disruptions, bullying and violent behavior all increase.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>Meanwhile, as schools phase out suspensions for small infractions, many end up assigning more total <em>days<\/em> of suspensions; they assign fewer suspensions but for increasingly severe behavior with more days of punishment, so kids wind up spending more days outside the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, the political. To no one\u2019s surprise, many of the circle topics reach far into left-wing politics. A resource site for Oakland Unified School District has a workshop called \u201cTransforming Whiteness.\u201d The Berkeley manual has questions based on the writings of Ibram X. Kendi and Robin D\u2019Angelo, and it lists \u201ccolorblindness\u201d and \u201cinvocations of meritocracy\u201d as microaggressions to avoid.<\/p>\n<p>Progressive buzzwords abound across the sites and manuals \u2014 intersectionality, equity, social justice and so on, alongside countless activities and questions that center reflection on immutable characteristics.<\/p>\n<p>At best, these circle conversations create a discussion format that gets inappropriately personal for a classroom and bears little-to-no good results, as untrained teachers tinker with the psyches of their students. At worst, they\u2019re a shoo-in for fringe, radical politics. In either case, they don\u2019t belong in the classroom.<\/p>\n<p><em>Daniel Buck, a teacher, is a senior visiting fellow at the Fordham Institute.<\/em>\n                        <\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/15\/community-circle-classroom-fad-likely-to-do-more-harm-than-good\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;&#8216;Community circle&#8217; classroom fad likely to do more harm than good&#8221; America\u2019s classrooms seem focused lately on just about everything except educating kids: progressive politics, social fads, psychological tinkering, fringe ideologies. Alas, we must add group therapy to that collection of non-academic pursuits: \u201cCircle conversations\u201d are appearing in more and more public schools, and even&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":433009,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/classrooms-2.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[128047,113531,74212,69286,76005,72875],"class_list":["post-433008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-4-15-22","tag-classrooms","tag-public-schools","tag-schools","tag-suspensions","tag-therapy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=433008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/433009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=433008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=433008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=433008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}