I teach middle school Special Education in eastern New Orleans, Louisiana. This area is one of the most violent in the city, and also one of the most devastated during Hurricane Katrina.
I know the ACEs Study used the most common sources of childhood trauma, but would it be relevant to tweak the questionnaire to include Gun Violence and Natural Disaster for my students?
1. Gun violence is part of every day life for my students. Nearly all have had a family member, peer or family friend injured or killed by gun violence (for some, it has been multiple people). Some have had guns pointed at them, survived being shot, or witnessed someone getting shot. All of them hear gunfire on a regular basis in their neighborhood, and most have had to run from gunfire at least once and/or had a shooting resulting in injury or death within 5 blocks of their home.
Each year as Mardi Gras approaches, and our school marching band prepares for parade season, the inevitable question comes up..."what do we do if someone starts shooting?" Some kids love band dearly, but will not march in parades out of fear, or memories of being directly affected by gun violence during what is supposed to be a time of revelry.
The recent media attention on school shootings has been very interesting to watch play out at my school. While others say, "I should not be afraid to go to school", for the majority of our 800 students, the school building is the ONLY place they do not have to be on constant alert for gun violence. We had to evacuate buses during dismissal once due to an active shooting across the street, and go into hard lock-down as police searched for a shooter in the streets surrounding the school. But even then, our building was the safe haven.
That changed a few months ago when a gun threat was written on several stalls in the middle school boy's bathroom. Tension ran high as students grappled with the idea that the one safe place in their lives might not be safe anymore. However, the appearance of police officers and an armed guard was more traumatic for students than the reason they showed up on campus. Kids in this area of New Orleans are both terrified of police and don't consider them a source of protection. Comments like, "why they got a white cop here...he just gonna drop his gun and run if something goes down cuz he don't care about us" or "I'm afraid they just here to look for somethin' to pin on me" were on most tongues and nearly every mind. Those sentiments have lasted, while the initial fear of a school shooting dissipated within a few days.
2. Even though my students were only between 2 and 3 years old when Hurricane Katrina sent up to 15 feet of water into New Orleans East, some remember being carried through flood waters or being trapped in the Superdome with no electricity or working bathrooms. The area has been one of the slowest to recover. It is rare to drive more than a few blocks without seeing an abandoned house, apartment building, business or shopping center that was destroyed in Katrina.
The trauma narrative surrounding Katrina runs deep (to the point that children who were not even born yet talk about the hurricane as though they experienced it). The stress level in the area runs high between June and September each year, tension turns to panic when a hurricane enters the Gulf, especially for our students' families who know that, just like last time, they do not have the means to evacuate. Many don't even have the money to stock up on emergency food, water and supplies to ride out a storm.
For a good two weeks surrounding August 29, the stress is palpable in New Orleans East. People talk about the loss, devastation, death and fear frequently, and grief clouds most faces here. Families become exhausted just getting through the anniversary. Absenteeism increases. Outbursts, meltdowns and conflict among students at school skyrockets. Students report more arguments at home between adults, and parents who become withdrawn, angry, anxious, depressed or have crying spells. Doubtless, drug and alcohol use in households with substance abuse issues goes up.
How should teachers in areas with childhood trauma experiences like these adapt ACEs surveys? Even though many of our students already have high ACEs scores, these two issues are widespread, and have significant effects on their lives.
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