Profile Information
Location
Cream Ridge, NJ
Country
United States
Postal Code
08514
What is it you do for a living? (Parenting, volunteering, CEO of social service organization, etc.)
Educator
What organization(s) do you volunteer or work for?
Bordentown Reg. School District
What is your interest in PACEs and resilience science?
As an educator I care about how students respond to different stimuli in and out of the classroom (some of which could potentially be stressful and/or a trigger) for children who cope daily with memories and flashbacks of adverse childhood experiences. As an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse I have a deep seated empathy for these children because I not only recognize how it affects my life as an adult but I also now recognize how much it affected my childhood ability to learn, handle stressful situations, trust, engage in meaningful relationships, and establish a a sense of self worth and purpose. Art is what made me feel safe as a child. I could express myself without fear of being told I was wrong, not good enough, or lying. A child needs to feel safe to learn, and the only way we can make a safe learning environment is if we as educators are willing to truly change our perspective and understanding; caring less about what is "wrong" with a child and more about "what happened" to a child that so greatly affects his or her ability to learn effectively.
