In many schools, the word 'accountability' is tossed around as a solution. “We have to hold them accountable” becomes shorthand for punishment, detention, suspension, loss of privilege, and exclusion. A question to ask is, “Are we asking for compliance when we are really wanting commitment to the community?” Compliance may quiet a behavior, but it rarely transforms it. Obedience may earn a gold star, but it doesn’t always grow integrity. Accountability isn’t about enforcing control. It’s about cultivating ownership, from the inside out.

In a trauma-responsive classroom, we shift from focusing on behavior management to emphasizing meaning-making. We help students connect their actions to their values, to the impact on others, and to the kind of person they want to become. Not because we force them, but because we believe they’re capable of growth.

Ownership doesn’t emerge from shame. It grows in the presence of safety, relationship, and reflection.