My Question: What can teachers do within their classroom to improve the overall experience for students who suffer from a form of trauma or who are exposed to an unhealthy home life?
What Caused This Inquiry?
As a young developing teacher, it can be overwhelming to discover what I am initially passionate about within my profession however, I believe that is crucial for that passion to be a priority regardless of the career. As a teacher, I am lucky that my passion for making a difference can be practiced everyday. While it continues to be a priority, I often question whether I am making a substantial impact in all of my student’s lives. My inquiry is primarily targeting the students that may lack emotional and social empathy from their teachers when they need it the most. I am fortunate to be able to conduct research to help improve my teaching practices and help students who are not provided with the same stability, security and support outside of the school that an average student is given.
What You’ll Learn.
On my blog, you will find different methods of how to effectively teach a classroom with students who have encountered trauma. You will also read about the discoveries that have been found through research regarding the behaviours these students may demonstrate while being at school.
Defining Trauma.
I ask myself, what can teachers do within their schools to improve the classroom specific experience for students who have suffered trauma or who are exposed to an unhealthy home life? Trauma, by definition, refers to a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury (Marriam-Webster, 2015). This could be a child who has experience neglect, extreme academic pressure, additional adult responsibilities, or a child who suffers from anxiety or depression. The definition of trauma can vary from child to child and fluctuate in severity. Post-traumatic stress disorder and antisocial behaviour feature strongly in youth who have been exposed to war and the stressors associated with conflict (Willis & Nagel, 2015) which could mean conflict with a sibling or parent, academic pressures, witnessing violence or experiencing it themselves.
What is Means to be Trauma-Informed
To understand the ways that violence, victimization, and other traumatic experiences may have impacted the lives of individuals and how to apply the that understanding to design a system to accommodate those who have survived that and help them with the healing and recovery process (Carello & Butler, 2015)
Helping Our Kids: Background on Children Dealing with Trauma