LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Teachers at Bompas Elementary School in Fort Simpson may be ditching traditional discipline methods in the future as the school moves toward instituting restitution.

The concept of restitution was the focus of a talk teachers and parents took in on Oct. 20, led by educator and restitution trainer Judy Anderson. According to Principal Kelley Andrews-Klein, the talk focused on recognizing what type of educator a person is.

"(We talked about) different positions you can hold as a person. There are five positions of control: punisher, guilter, buddy, monitor and manager," Andrews-Klein explained.

"We want to be a manager rather than a monitor, and we kind of weave back and forth between those things."

But the core of restitution focuses on the student, getting them to take responsibility for their actions.

"We're looking for kids to develop that internal motivation to make the right choices, and then when they do make bad choices, making that right," Andrews-Klein said.

"Instead of discipline being guided by rewards and consequences, this is more about students finding within themselves to make the right decision."

Restitution ties in with self-regulation, an initiative teachers at Bompas Elementary School have been developing for the past year. Self-regulation involves a student being aware of their mental, emotional and physical state and learning how to deal with that in a positive way.

"It's all tied together because it's really about self-monitoring," Andrews-Klein said.

The roll-out for restitution will be slow, she added. First, the school needs to develop a belief system derived from the Dene Laws, which Bompas already uses.

"Every school struggles with discipline and discipline policies. Our policy over the years, we're not happy with it. It's not helping kids," Andrews-Klein said.

"Restitution has its roots in aboriginal child-rearing practices . We're not saying rewards and consequences won't ever be used but we're going to try to minimize that."

One of the first steps for the school is making sure all teaching staff is on the same page. Andrews-Klein says the school is still learning about restitution and hopes to develop resources and plans, which would also be sent home for parents to know about.

Currently, the school is utilizing RealRestitution, a website specializing in restitution, through which Anderson came to Fort Simpson.

"We want to make sure this is done right, and I think it requires a lot of collaboration amongst our staff," Andrews-Klein said.

"We want to create an environment that's really positive, where kids are taking responsibility for their actions."

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