Being trauma informed in the classroom is an idea that teachers are bringing more attention to in the recent years. Before, teachers wouldn’t think why a student never got any work from home completed or why they were always late to class in the morning. Teachers thought simply about if the student met the expectations or not. Research shows that students that have experienced trauma growing up can have their learning and behavior impacted.
I worry that it will be a struggle for me to recognize if a student has had this experience affect them. It is something that I never had when I was growing up and wasn’t surrounded by it much when I went to school. I think to help with this, connecting with students early can really help in this situation. If a student feels comfortable around their teacher, they are more likely to inform the teacher of these past or current experiences.
There are a couple strategies that I want to try to use in my classroom to help with this. Learning about student’s strengths and interests can help the teacher create activities and assessments that the student will enjoy. A strong structure and routine is also something I want to work on in my classroom. If students know what their day will look like and its consistent day to day, they will feel more comfortable. Being thrown curve balls each day can disrupt students and can make this difficult for them.
TravisEDU 