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Trauma Traumas can come in all shapes and sizes, but in a classroom…

- - - - Dealing with Grief
        
        Help Younger Students understand what is happening. Do not shy away from words such as 'dead' or 'died'.
        Provide the Grieving Student with Learning Supports. Do not wait before the student begins to show signs of academic struggles, be proactive and create a network of support for the student
      - Tips for Teachers: Helping a Grieving Student at School
        
        "Keep expectations of grieving students reasonable". This might include creating another lesson plan for the student or asking another student or friend to be the grieving student's "study buddy"
        
        Communicate with the student and their family. Be proactive and reach out to them, support them. But remember that the student (and the family) has boundaries.
        
        Remember that grief manifests itself differently for everyone, and for some students grief can express itself somatically. Students might experience physcial symptoms such as headaches, loss of breath fast heart rate, stomach ache, and others. Contact appropriate medical personal and inform the student's guardian.
        
        "Remember that grief is a life-long process. Do not expect a quick return to normality within a few weeks or months. It can take as long as a life time to heal.
      - It can be helpful to address the whole class about the issue of loss, death, and grieving. Some families of young learners might want to explain to the class what has happened, or maybe some older students would appreciate the teacher informing the class before their return to school. Communicate with the family and student about how they want to handle their return. The most important thing is that the student feels comfortable and safe.
        https://youtu.be/6eBjmc5Xwe0
      - Dealing with Grief and Loss: Advice for Teachers and Education Staff
        https://youtu.be/cQk1CWSJWzY
    - - Withdrawal
      - Trouble controlling emotions: out bursts, throwing, hitting, etc.
      - Inability to Focus
      - Disinterest or Disengagement from school work, lessons, friends, lunch, etc.
      - Sudden fascination with or fear of death, illness, hospitals, or doctors
      - Sudden clingy-ness or need for extra attention or comfort
      - Forgetfulness
      - Guilt
- - - - Give them a listening ear
        Allow children to talk and provide reassurance. Create a safe space for them to express their feelings. Arrange one-on-one time to provide support.
      - Encourage them to focus on themselves
        For students who feel they have to take over the responsibility of taking care of their younger siblings, try to redirect their focus back to themselves and encourage students to try out new activities.
      - Sensitivity towards family diversity
        Make sure younger children are included and have supportive friends in classroom and playground.
- - - - Self-Protective Behaviors
        
        Withdrawn (may read as shy)
        
        Aggressive
      - Outbursts
        
        Physical
        
        Verbal
      - Sleepiness
        
        Potentially due to sleepless nights due to nightmares or other sleeping difficulties
      - Depression
      - Anxiety / Overwhelmed
        
        "For many children who have experienced trauma, loud or busy activities can also be overwhelming and may affect their ability to regulate their reactions. This can be especially confusing for teachers if students respond negatively to highly desirable activities."
      - Unaware of Boundaries
        
        Constant need to be in control of the moment
        
        struggle to engage in appropriate play
        
        Touches others without consent
      - PTSD
      - Fear of being alone
      - Inability to accurately express themselves
    - - Don't make false promises (ex: to keep it a secret)
        
        Report to Authorities abide by state/local laws: https://www.childwelfare.gov/state-resources/
        
        Principal / Counselor
        
        Child Protective Services
        
        Law Enforcement
      - Be Compassionate
        
        Meaningful, non judgmental statements
        
        What happened to you?
        
        That must have been scary
        
        It must be difficult to deal with this, but I'm here to help and this is a safe space
        
        Create a Supportive environment
        
        listen
        
        empathize
        
        confront difficult questions
        
        let all students know of who to talk to, not just victims
      - Provide Structure & a Sense of Security
        
        outline daily schedules and give a heads up if activities or the schedule will change.
        
        Create a Safety Plan
        
        School Staff to talk to
        
        hotlines to reach out to
        
        activities to do when they feel low/scared
        
        actions to take when being attacked
        
        Let all students know of what actions are acceptable in the classroom and which are not.
        
        use visuals to make sure all students understand clearly
        
        Daily Check-Ins
        
        Create a great relationship
        
        Ask questions like:
        
        Did you sleep well?
        
        Did you eat already?
        
        How do you feel?
        
        Use visual charts to help
      - Model
        
        Help students understand correct behavior by modeling.
        
        "It may be confusing for a student who witnesses sexual violence at home to understand that violence is an inappropriate strategy at school. Help students find alternative responses and be clear with them about what is acceptable behavior at school."
- - - - Frequently reports headaches, stomach aches, feeling sick
      - Shows little interest in spending time with friends and avoids social situations
      - Eats less or skips lunch
      - Reports belongings or clothes lost or damaged
      - Seems uninterested in learning and schoolwork
      - Becomes aggressive and unreasonable
      - Gets into fights
      - Refuses to talk about what is wrong
      - Has unexplained bruises, cuts, scratches
      - Falling school grades
      - Is seen alone often
      - Appears insecure or frightened
      - Shows a change in their ability or willingness to speak up in class
      - (Boston Children's Hospital, 2020; Victoria State Government, 2018)
    - - Fostering a culture of inclusion in the classroom
        
        When you see a student include others, reinforce that behavior by praising the child and encouraging others to do the same
        
        Foster a sense of community in your classroom can lower bullying incidents and facilitate healing for targeted students
        
        Teach kindness and empathy
        
        (Lesley University, n.d.; Prosolutions Training, n.d.)
      - Consider reading books about bullying in your classroom
        
        With young learners use a picture books. Picture books are a good way to introduce the subject to your students and explain why the behavior is hurtful and unacceptable.
        
        Be sure to ask questions as you read, such as, "How do you think that made her feel?" or "How would you feel if someone treated you like that?"
        
        (Prosolutions Training, n.d.)
      - Model good behavior yourself
        
        Be positive and avoid singling students out in front of the class for bad behavior.
        
        (Prosolutions Training, n.d.)
      - Refer to school rules regarding bullying
      - Notify colleagues and parents
      - Follow up and intervene as necessary
        
        Support the bullied child and the bully, enabling them to vent feelings and recognize their own behavior. The bully may need to learn new methods of using his or her power and influence in the classroom.
      - Try and stop the bullying immediately
        
        Impose immediate consequences
        
        Wait until all parties have calmed down. Do not require that students apologize or make amends that may be insincere. The consequences should be logical and connected to the offense. A first step could be taking away social privileges i.e. recess or lunch in the cafeteria.
        
        When you spot bullying, address it right away.
      - Support the bullied child
        
        Create an environment where your students feel safe talking with you. Empathize with how they are feeling and provide ideas for overcoming bullying. Make a commitment to help the victim resolve the issue.
        
        Make sure you schedule a safe time to talk with the victim when the bully will not be aware of the meeting.
      - Offer guidance to bystanders
        
        Encourage them to stand up against bullying behavior or to report it to you or another adult. Remind them that research has shown that bullying ends when one person takes a stand. Then provide safe and confidential ways that they can report bullying incidents.
      - Speak With the Bully Separately
        
        Don't allow them to blame the victim. Instead, encourage them to own their behavior. Address the bullying behavior and administer the appropriate discipline.
        
        Give them ideas for behaving differently in the future. You may even require them to research bullying and write a report about it.
        
        The key is to teach kids who bully others how harmful their behavior is to other people.
      - Provide guidance from the school counselor for both the victim and the bully
      - (Gordon, 2019; Teaching Tolerance, 2020)
- - - - Students who lived in a household at the bottom 20% of income, were five times more likely to drop out of high school (Rumberger, 2013)
        
        Poverty is linked with many traumas including:
        
        Homelessness
        
        Hunger and food insecurity
        
        Parents who are in jail or absent
        
        Domestic violence
        
        Drug abuse
        
        (Rumberger, 2013)
        
        Shonkoff and Gardener are sourced in (Rumberger, 2013) and illustrate the relationship between these toxic stressors as a result of financial difficult and long-lasting academic and behavioral challenges
        
        Specifically trauma as a result of financial stress can lead to:
        
        Low academic performance
        
        Higher rates of drop outs
        
        Chronic absenteeism
        
        Non-cognitive skills
        
        (Rumberger, 2013)
        
        How can a teacher help students with financial stress?
        
        Clearly, a teacher can't alleviate problems in students' bank accounts and provide financial stability, but they can take steps to help students' performance in school. Eric Jensen posits these solutions in his 2009 book "Teaching with Poverty in Mind".
        
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  - - - Depression can set in (China and Japan have a high rate of suicide due to family pressure)
        
        One reason for Chinese is because of the one-child law (although recently changed to two). Because they are the only child in the family - all the desires of the family are directed at that child. If they fail, they may feel very bad. Especially with what I call the "lose face syndrome" they have.
        
        What can teachers do?
        
        Discuss with students possible futures (good and bad). Let them know that many successful students didn't go to college or graduate from one at the beginning of classes.
        
        Another reason is that China does not have enough high schools or universities. So, if they don't get in then they feel that they are a failure.
- - - - Anxiety
      - Depression
      - Concerns for their own safety
      - School's climate and
        culture can
        become damaged. Schools loses the view of a "safe haven"
      - Psychiatric disorders
      - Lower academic achievement
      - Slower or decrease in social and emotional growth
    - - Prevention
        
        Suicidal thoughts, anger and access to guns are usually involved in a school shooting. To prevent school shootings, being able to identify students who are at risk or in despair is very important.
        
        Build a supportive, and safe
        school climate
        
        Students feel safe to talk to each other
        
        Create trust and respect among students and staff
        
        Health Care Providers
        
        Help to identify youth at risk with behavioral health screening tools
        
        Programs & Policies
        
        Programs that address physical, social and cyber aggression
        
        Decrease isolation by integrating peer activities
        
        Greater mental health access
      - Tips for Crisis Management
        
        Understand the school and community's culture before responding
        
        Return to routines as quickly as possible. This may help with the healing process to recover.
        
        Effective local intervention and support
        
        Training from national or international experts. Training could include how provide immediate, intermediate and long-term programs for the community.
        
        Ongoing consultations from experts
    - - Many schools will close or entirely renovate their campus. Some families will relocate to decrease the traumatic reminders of the event.
- - - - Preschool children have not yet developed the cognitive skills necessary to understand and manage trauma associated with a disaster. Therefore, this age group displays their responses based on how surrounding adults react to the situation.
        
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFJHbCMV7kc
        
        the child will not be able to articulate how they feel. Instead of attempting to have the child verbalize feelings, it is advised that play-based activities be incorporated to parse out emotions (i.e., utilize painting, clay sculpting, drawing, or other age appropriate activities)
    - - The students have developed more advanced cognitive skills than preschool aged children. Certain activities, however, may help this age group express their feelings more effectively than candid conversations about the disaster.
        
        engaging in play sessions, having the child paint and/or draw their feelings, writing in a journal, or even participating in reading and discussing relevant stories may be beneficial.
        
        drawing is considered to be one of the most effective activities. As an educator or parent, have the child draw what was scary and good about a particular event. Once the drawing or painting is complete ask the child to describe the image. Remember to never judge or blame a child for how they react to a disaster.
      - Older students would benefit from having a group of peers experiencing the same thing. They could be each other's support system
        
        Having a reliable and understanding adult (example: counselor) the student can vent to and the counselor can establish a rapport with the parents to help their child at home.
    - - “It's okay to have the feelings that you have today” or “It's okay not to be okay in this situation”
      - Employ relaxation techniques to help the students feel secure (e.g., deep breathing, listening to music)
    - - works together to ensure students receive the emotional and physical support necessary to move forward following a traumatic event. The crisis response team should include individuals such as the principal, assistant principal, school psychologist, social worker, nurse, counselor, teachers, and security personnel.
        
        Member Roles
        
        Principal
        
        leads the team, addresses family members, and functions as the liaison between the school, superintendent, and district administration
        
        Asst. Principal
        
        Assists the Principal by serving as a liaison between the support staff and the Principal. Additionally, the vice principal is able to take charge of the Crisis Response Team in the principal's absence
        
        School Psychologist, Social Worker, Nurse
        
        maintaining the emotional well-being of those exposed to the crisis. This includes coping mechanisms, screenings, and group sessions.
        
        Teacher
        
        Chosen to be on the team act as a liaison between the team and the faculty. Further, the teachers can refer students who appear in need of additional emotional support.
        
        Security Personnel
        
        job functions of assisting the injured and maintaining a safe environment.
      - "It is important to understand that every child, regardless of age, will advance through the healing process at different rates."
- - - - How Teacher's can aid the student
        
        Plan assignments so children can keep up without having to take work home
        
        Give choices when appropriate to counter the loss of control experienced in their own lives
        
        Allow personal possessions and keep in mind that any possession may be the child's only one
        
        Provide structure and adhere to a daily routine and clear, concise rules
        
        Pair the student with a buddy in classroom
        
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  - - - Teased by other students about homelessness, hygiene, and inabilities
        
        Misunderstood by parents
        
        Difficulty adjusting to new a school, magnified by situation
        
        Developmental delay results in augmented feelings of failure
- - - - A multitude of mechanisms has been recognized accounting for SUDs parent-child transmission; they include environmental, biological and genetic factors.
        
        (Parolin et al, 2016)
  - - - It's ok to talk about home. It's not snitching. Just because they do this does not mean they don't love you.
        
        If you ever feel unsafe, call a trusted adult or 911