Trauma And Adversity

Over the past year our nation’s youth has been exposed to an alarming increase of troubling times. Directly and indirectly our youth is witnessing misogyny, hatred, and bigotry. These events are impacting the lives of our students. As educators we have an obligation to keep our students safe and nurture their social emotional well being while creating inclusive school communities.

The way I see it, teachers are on the frontlines. Students start their day and end their day with a teacher. Teacher are masters of the universe. Teachers are advocates, mediators,magicians, actors, and healers. Wait healers? On any given day a teacher can witness a student trying to make sense of tough stuff in life in their life. As teachers, we all have

When we do this, we learn about hidden parts of our students’ lives. Sometimes we find students that are trying to come to terms with an adverse experience or traumatic event. These experiences are not always transparent. Trauma has no barriers. Trauma and adversity can occur within and across any social identity. There are different degrees of adversity and trauma. These experiences can impede academic progress, relationships, and behavior.

With more and more student facing adversity and trauma, I wondering how teachers, who are on the frontlines can shift daily practices to support bridging the gap between what is, and inclusion of an individual's life to support a healing process. Truthfully, as a classroom teacher I have found myself thinking about how the educational system and curriculum positions students into assimilation, lacks choice, and mutes their voices. Our most children vulnerable children; children of color, students with special needs, students who are economically disadvantaged, and students who embrace an identity that does not fit perfectly into the agenda of a curriculum map are facing paralysis in the classroom. How can one succeed on someone else's terms especially when students have experienced trauma or other adverse