Tagged With "education experts"
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Education Related Resources
With the Covid-19 fallout having its toll on school attendance around the world, many persons of all ages and stages of life have been adversely affected. But it has not only been children who have been impacted. Trauma has arisen through separation from playmates and colleagues, loss of access to food from school feeding programmes, loss of safety from abuse within the household, loss of familiarity with the school environment, loss of employment for non-academic staff, loss of income for...
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Question of the Month - Is Child Adversity Linked to Ethnicity?
Hi Community! Here in Trinidad and Tobago, we are probably more diverse in terms of ethnicity than many of our Caribbean neighbours - a callaloo of sorts (Remember the national anthem proclaims: "...Here every creed and race find an equal place..." ) Well, research overseas shows that there is a difference in how children experience adversity based on their ethnicity. In the USA in particular, there are neighbourhoods that are predominantly white and others where the majority of persons are...
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Building a Multi-System Trauma-Informed Collaborative.
Since the effects of childhood trauma do not play out in isolation, an effective response to child trauma should benefit not only children but the communities in which they live. This feeds into what we know from studies about factors that impact a child's growth - they occur within the family, community and also are climate-related. Multiple studies reveal the extremely high percentage of youth in contact with the law and under the care of social services who have been exposed to violence...
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Can You Tell The Difference?
It is the Easter school vacation and online and in person education is on hold. However, this is a perfect time to explore what we know of and apply to our interaction with the children we teach. As persons who are entrusted with the social and emotional learning of the nation's children, are you able to identify and distinguish behaviour which has pain as its genesis? If not, have you treated with it in a manner which has caused greater pain to your students? Your thoughts as educators...
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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - A Season of Diverse ACEs
Hi everyone. While it is rare that we post on a weekend, we want to highlight that for the people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, life has been challenging recently. Yesterday, what has been feared became a reality as the La Soufriere volcano began to slowly release ash, smoke and lava and eventually erupted, after months of seismic activity. This comes after a year of dealing with Covid-19 and the economic fallout from lockdowns and loss of employment. Thankfully, the death toll from...
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Changing Our Response to Childhood Adversity.
"For generations, we have trained practitioners to consider childhood suffering only through the institutional lens of child protection. Through research on the prevalence of ACEs in our most vulnerable children, it has become clear this approach is not enough." This is the introduction to an online event, "Changing Our Response to Childhood Adversity", to be hosted by The Learning Institute (https://www.learninginstitute.co.uk/) of the UK on 30th June 2021 where they will unveil their...
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Wondering Wednesday - Could Your Children Study Here?
Hello everyone! Welcome to "Wondering Wednesday" where we share insights and experiments from across the globe and inquire how they might work in the Caribbean. For many of our territories, there have been waves of the Coronavirus and those have led to periodic imposition and relaxation of various public health restrictions. At present, Trinidad and Tobago is under a 3-week period of restrictions where beaches and rivers are off-limits following the Easter holiday weekend and a spike in...
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Dwynette Eversley
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How Trauma-Informed Are We, Really? [ASCD article]
Good morning everyone and welcome to another Friday. We are offering you an opportunity to think deeply about addressing trauma in education as we move into the weekend. In an article on Trauma-Informed Schools, Paul Gorski shares about his experience at a particular school and asks us to explore how we are seeking to implement Trauma-Informed practice in our school systems. "A major challenge at this school, as in many schools, was the leadership team's habit of embracing shiny new program...
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We Did It!
Good Monday morning everyone. In case you missed it, ACEs Caribbean Community had our inaugural online event yesterday (16th May 2021) in honour of both Mental Health Awarenesses Month and World Day of the Boy Child with a discussion on "ACEs & The Boy Child". Despite technical challenges, we persevered and those who logged in for the livestream received wisdom from our experienced team of speakers. The discussion included our two ACEs Caribbean Community Managers, Adrian Alexander and...
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Re: We Did It!
Good morning. Thank you for your kind comments and your encouragement and support on all social media platforms, @Elizabeth Perry .
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Re: We Did It!
This is such an important conversation. Thanks for hosting. Thanks for recording. Thanks for sharing. If we don't change how we're raising our boys, we're not going to transform humanity. I can't thank you enough for working to address this. Elizabeth Perry Canadian ACEs and TI Network Manager on PACEs Connection @ACEsCanada2020 @PACEsCanada1
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How can student progress in public schools be improved?
Good Monday morning everyone. It is a public holiday here in Trinidad and Tobago for the Arrival Day observance on Sunday but this article just cannot wait. Kudos to our ACEs Caribbean Community member, Mark Nicoll, whose article on ACEs and their impact on children's education was published last week in the Cayman Islands newspaper, Cayman Current. At the time, Mark was commenting on the Education Data Report 2020 that highlighted the poor performance of public schools as compared with...
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Oprah & Dr. Bruce Perry book on Childhood trauma: What Happened to You?
What Happened to You? Oprah Winfrey and renowned brain development and trauma expert, Dr. Bruce Perry, discuss the impact of trauma and adverse experiences and how healing must begin with a shift to asking, 'what happened to you?' rather than 'what’s wrong with you?' Through wide-ranging, and often deeply personal conversation, Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Perry explore how what happens to us in early childhood – both good and bad - influences the people we become. They challenge us to shift from...
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Mental Health and School Reopening for the Caribbean
Good Monday morning everyone. We hope the weekend was refreshing. So across the world there continue to be diverse reports on the way countries are coping with Covid-19. In the Caribbean, there has been a sense of relief after the USA indicated that it will donate millions of doses of Covid-19 vaccines to the region and Latin America. As a consequence, there have been hopeful statements that schools may reopen in September 2021, after having been shuttered since February and March 2020 in...
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How to (Mentally) Prepare for Hurricane Season
Hi everyone! We are well into the Hurricane Season for 2021 and today Trinidad and Tobago was put on a Yellow Alert due to the passage of a weather system. For those interested in learning more about the possibilities of the hurricane season, try to register for the Pre-Hurricane Conference 2021 put on by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies ( IFRC ). It runs from Wednesday 23rd to Friday 25th June 2021. While there is great value in developing a Disaster Plan...
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Gwyneth Paltrow x Nadine Burke Harris: How Does Childhood Trauma Impact Health Outcomes? [goop.com]
From Goop, June 16, 2020 “You can’t grow up Black in America and not feel outraged by the terrible health disparities that are still going on every day,” says Nadine Burke Harris, MD , the first surgeon general of California. GP got on a video call with Harris, who is an expert on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Her book, The Deepest Well , explores the connection between adversity, trauma, and toxic stress in childhood and health outcomes later in life. Much of her work focuses on...
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Building a Restorative Restart to School in the Fall
As we look towards the reopening of in-person instruction in the fall, planning and reimagining for a restorative restart to our school systems that emphasizes student and educator mental health is a priority. In addition, there is a windfall of one-time funding coming to districts from federal and local funds for just this purpose. Recently a wise educator said to me, ‘you know, if you want to get to the hearts and minds of school leaders to make changes for the fall you need to do so by...
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Understanding Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) Communicating What We Know to Communities of Care [bach.health]
Keynote & Expert Panel August 12, 9am - Noon Join an interactive discussion with several nationally-recognized experts on ACEs and the field of early childhood development Learn how to communicate, screen, treat and heal trauma associated with adverse childhood experiences Receive a free social media toolkit to educate your community about screening for ACEs [ Please click here to register .]
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When Self-Care Doesn't "Work"
You can't fail at self-care. If something isn't helpful, maybe you haven't yet found your own way.
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PACEs Champion Dwana Young navigates community-driven ACEs healing centers in New Jersey
In 2020, New Jersey, a state with about 9 million people spread over the rural countryside and dense urban areas like Newark, launched a new entity: the NJ Office of Resilience (NJOR). The NJOR is unusual because it is a public-private partnership. It brings together three private foundations as well as the NJ Department of Children and Families to provide community-driven strategies for preventing, treating, and healing from ACEs. Like a ship’s navigator laying out a course on charts, Dwana...
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Back to School Readiness for Caribbean Children
Good Monday morning everyone. As we are passing the half way mark for the month of August, traditionally, children would be getting restless as their return to school would be a fortnight away. In many of our Caribbean and CARICOM jurisdictions 2020 and perhaps 2021 will be remembered as periods of great diversity. While some territories barely interrupted the education cycle during their relatively moderate Covid-19 fight, others with more alarming infection and death rates closed schools...
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Institutional Child Sexual Abuse: Problem and Prevention
Despite institutional child sexual abuse being a known and alarming issue, most recently highlighted by investigations of the Boy Scouts and USA Gymnastics, little is known about the extent of the problem and best practices for prevention.
Yesterday, PACEs Connection hosted a webinar with Dr. Billie-Jo Grant and Terri Miller, experts in school employee sexual misconduct. They cover the scope of the problem, why it is so difficult to address, and best practices for prevention.
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ACEs, Food Addiction, and What Most Weight Loss Programs Get Wrong According to Dr. Felitti and Dr. Alman
We know a high ACE score is connected to a higher likelihood of “substance-related disorders.” However, sometimes it’s overlooked that food can be that substance of choice, too—not just drugs or alcohol. Learn about food addiction and ACEs, and a weight loss solution that heals from the inside out endorsed by Dr. Felitti, the CO-Principal Investigator of the ACE Study.
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Now is the time for community schools for all
Community schools have been an effective school improvement strategy for over a century, implemented in both urban and rural areas across the country — yet many people have never heard of this dynamic approach to school design. Whole districts have invested in this model over the past several decades, from Oakland to New York City, from Duluth, Minnesota to Tulsa, Oklahoma. California recently approved $2.8 billion in the 2022 fiscal year budget for the implementation of community schools...
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Lead the Fight: Giving Children with Trauma a Voice
You are invited to an international book reading and discussion with children's author and ACEs advocate, Juleus Ghunta. This online event takes place on February 22, 2022 at 6pm EST (7pm Eastern Caribbean Time) on Zoom. Register at http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/regform?llr=gh8ueflab&oeidk=a07eiwfmu7gbb690ff4 Juleus is a Chevening Scholar, children’s writer, a member of Jamaica’s National Task Force on Character Education, and an advocate in the Caribbean’s Adverse...
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We Need Time to Rehabilitate from the Trauma of the Pandemic - Harvard Business Review article
Hi everyone, we trust that you are all enjoying optimal physical and emotional health. As various sectors reopen in countries across the Caribbean, including physical return to school and business activities, this article from David Rock in the Harvard Business Review sends a signal to decision makers to ensure the students and or employees are truly ready for the return. It identifies the possible consequences of a return without adequate physical and mental preparation of students and...
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Stress is Contagious: How to Stop the Spread & Regain Your Health
Stop the spread...of STRESS! Stress is not only triggered by external or internal factors. You can also pick up stress from social interactions – spouse, other household members, colleagues, etc. – usually referred to as emotional contagion. Learn how to stop the spread of stress and regain your health.
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New Podcast Episode! Get to know the Leaders of the Caribbean ACEs Movement
Latchkey Urchins are kids who grew up unsupervised or without attentive emotional care. Latchkey Urchins & Friends Podcast delves into trauma and childhood emotional neglect topics weekly through survivor and expert interviews. We bring a touch of humor to these normally heavy topics—laughing about life's never-ending struggles, even as we quest to create a future free from violence. In this week's episode, cohosts Anne and Alison (me!) interview @Adrian Alexander and @Juleus Ghunta ,...
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SIGNS YOU’RE A COMPASSION FATIGUED LEADER — AND 10 TIPS FOR RECOVERY
By Shakima L. Tozay, (first published @ Govloop.com) Are you emotionally and physically exhausted? Do you no longer feel a sense of personal accomplishment in your work? Have you become more disconnected from your co-worker? Over the last 2 years, the emotional impacts of the pandemic and the exodus of workers in what has been called the Great Reshuffle, has taken a major toll on many leaders. Last year, nearly 48 million U.S. workers left their jobs. Additionally, the “hidden...
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What Does Trauma-Informed Leadership Look Like in Practice?
Trauma-informed leadership is crucial if you want to accomplish trauma-informed change in your organization. Here’s some expert advice on how you can become a trauma-informed leader. 1. Acknowledge that cultural change is just as important as technical change Our problem-solving brains often focus on technical change when we talk about organizational change. We ask, “ What processes can we put in place to prevent this issue?” when we should ask, “What cultural norms are contributing to this...
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Free 8 module adult education course "Childhood trauma, Consequences and Essential Responses"
Good Tuesday morning, everyone. We just learned of this free 8 module course on childhood trauma. It is by Dr. Jane Mulcahy and available for a few weeks, until 31 December 2022. "In this free eight module course, participants will gain an understanding of how children’s earliest experiences and the nature and quality of their attachment to their primary care-giver can impact their ability to feel safe in the world, to regulate their emotions, to trust other people, to learn, experience good...
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Leaders & Experts in Education: We Need You!
We are seeking a few additional leaders and experts in education to join as panelists for a special closed meeting roundtable discussion taking place on 4/9 @ 11:00 am - 2:30 pm (ET). Topics will include equitable access to quality education for children of African descent, the viability of a whole-person education for children of African descent, providing school children of African descent tools for healing and resilience, and ensuring that the education of children of African descent...