Supporting students to read novels that may remind them of their trauma histories

Ivan HaskellMember

Our language arts curriculum directors approached me with the following question: What is the best way to support students who have a history of trauma when their class is reading a novel that includes content that may remind students of their own trauma histories?

A couple of examples given: in one book a protagonist has DV in his/her family and one of the family members murdered--not described in the book but alluded to; one book is set during the Rwanda genocide; one book refers to sexual abuse of the protagonist, etc.

Would folks suggest that we have teachers provide a disclaimer about content at the time they are assigning or beginning the novel in which they mention (in a general sense) that some of the content may be upsetting to some students and ask students who have concerns to approach them after class. Should we allow students to opt out and provide a substitute text?

At the elementary level, classes read the books together out loud. At the secondary level, sometimes passages are read out loud so that the class can work on analyzing the text together. This means that if students opt out, they may have to leave the classroom for these discussions, which may lead to feelings of stigmatization.

Thanks. Any advice is appreciated.

6/11/147:11 AM

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Rebecca RuizMember

Ivan,

Thank you for posing this question. I have done some research to see what resources on this topic might be available for educators. Though the concept of trigger warnings has come up in the media over the past month, I actually wasn't able to find any formal discussion or study of it appearing in a reliable medical, scientific or pedagogical source.

It appears as though many educators -- at least in higher education, according to this New York Times story -- are improvising their responses to requests for trigger warnings. This Huffington Post piece has a list of similar stories, some of them critical. You may have seen these links already, and they may or may not be useful to you.

It would be great if other educators might share their thoughts on this topic. I wonder: Are trigger warnings inherently "trauma-informed," or is there a way in which trauma-informed practices can most effectively shape the response to the concern of re-traumatizing students in the classroom?

Rebecca

6/12/144:31 PM

Ivan HaskellMember

Thanks Rebecca! I appreciate the advice. I was aware of the 5/17 NYT article, but not the others. I think these types of articles, our own teacher experiences, and our discussions about moving towards becoming a trauma-informed school network are the factors that have led to this issue being raised right now. The articles capture some of our own internal discussions--we do not want to be alarmist and to overly protect our students. On the other hand, we want to be sensitive to individual students' needs and responsive to them. We also realize that to the extent that our students have triggers for traumatic experiences, they are going to encounter these triggers outside of school, so being exposed to possible triggers in a much more supportive environment could ultimately be a better situation.

6/13/146:53 AM

Joanna WeillMember

Hi Ivan,

I just stumbled upon this discussion again. I was wondering if you and others at your school had made any decisions or progress with this? This is such a hot topic these days, I'm curious how it's playing out for you now that the school year has started.

- Joanna

10/3/143:03 PM

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