Reflection Time is not working in the way it’s intended to. If it is working, it’s working only as a punishment and a threat, not because it is actually helping students realize the wrongness of their choices.
MISD and MIHS administrators are framing Reflection Time as “restorative justice,” where students reflect on their past actions to act differently in the future.
According to the Washington state OSPI, restorative practices “focus on resolving conflict, repairing harm, and healing relationships through a foundation of integrated and preventative SEL [social-emotional learning] strategies.” WA OSPI issued a recommendation for Washington public schools to institute restorative practices after the pandemic.
During Reflection Time at MIHS, a teacher comes in to tell students how being tardy or causing disruptions impacts their classroom. Following this, each student must write an email to apologize and take accountability for their actions, sending this email to one of the MIHS head administrators, the student’s parent and the teacher where the offense occurred, as well as John-Lewis.
“Restorative justice allows you to take an individual empathetic approach to things, where it’s just not so hard, cut and dry,” John-Lewis said. “It allows you to individually look at the situation and have an empathetic view and to deal with it with empathy and kindness.”
However, this well-intentioned focus on repairing relationships and conflicts to change negative behavior is contradicted by the way the threat of Reflection Time is used by MIHS staff. I have had multiple teachers threaten to send disruptive kids to Reflection Time, much the same way detention is used in high school movies. The way Reflection Time is wielded around like a threat feels much more like punishment than restorative justice.
Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand the need to have a system in place to prevent students from showing up late or skipping class. Reflection Time serves as a significant deterrent, as no student wants to stay back at school for 90 minutes while being lectured about the importance of accountability and proper behavior.
I just hope MIHS administrators understand that if Reflection Time is working, it’s because it is seen as an undesirable punishment by students. All of the organized activities that happen during Reflection Time — the lecture from a teacher, the discussion, forcing students to send an apologetic email — is simply annoying and ineffective. The only thing that is preventing kids from showing up late or using their phone in class is the threat of Reflection Time itself.
