Many K–12 students are experiencing ongoing life stresses. Recognizing this can help educators respond effectively to their needs.
Looking at Felitti and colleagues' list of adverse events (which includes experiences like a parent going to jail, the death of a loved one, or substance misuse in the home), teachers will likely realize how prevalent traumatic experiences are among today's students. The ACEs study has been replicated over time and has since included looking at the impact of ACEs on children.2 As education professionals, we can no longer ignore this issue and its impact on student learning.
Recognizing the trauma woven into some students' lives is part of educating for the whole child.3 Caring educators know that understanding and responding to what's causing distress at home is part of keeping each young person healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged (ASCD's Whole Child tenets).
When a student is operating from a state of stress, he or she is unable to access higher functioning aspects of the brain that allow people to think and reason. When students are stressed, they are dysregulated and operating from the survival part of the brain, also known as flight, fight, or freeze. When a student is dysregulated, he or she is not learning-ready, and our jobs as educators are affected.
Six Ways to Reach Your Students
Identify what need a behavior is expressing.
See the worth in each student and build from his or her strengths
Remember, kids can't learn if they don't feel safe.
Work from a team perspective.
Consider whether a basic need isn't being met.
Give students grace
To read more on the six ways to reach your students in Kristin Souers' article, please click here.
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