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We can help Billy while he is in our classrooms feel valued. However, there are so many demands on our short time with children on a daily basis, Billy will not get all he needs from one teacher. The system is not focused on helping Billy as it does not focus on mental health but on test results and teaching curriculum. Also, our school has numerous Billys and often in one class, which continues the challenge. Billy is also an example of an enormous societal problem that gets dumped into "school can fix it" and if school cannot, then school is to blame. There is not a teacher in this building who doesn't care or want to impact children in positive ways.

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We can help Billy while he is in our classrooms feel valued. However, there are so many demands on our short time with children on a daily basis, Billy will not get all he needs from one teacher. The system is not focused on helping Billy as it does not focus on mental health but on test results and teaching curriculum. Also, our school has numerous Billys and often in one class, which continues the challenge. Billy is also an example of an enormous societal problem that gets dumped into "school can fix it" and if school cannot, then school is to blame. There is not a teacher in this building who doesn't care or want to impact children in positive ways.

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We just have so many Billy's but the demands on our time overwhelm us to the point that it is hard to get to know all kids not just the "Billy's" that sit in front of us everyday. It is not we don't want to but more a matter of the plate is to full to have time too which is a sad but true fact of our everyday school life.

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As I read the article, I began to think about the times I have created connections with students. I do believe that creating student-teacher relationships is a very important part of the classroom community. Sometimes it is hard for me to put myself in other peoples "shoes." I grew up with a very supportive family, and I was a good student who did not struggle academically, socially or behaviorally. Yet some of our students come from broken homes, experience traumatic events, and may struggle academically, socially, and or behaviorally due to their experiences. I think it is important to create those student-teacher relationships so we can put ourselves in their "shoes." Yes this is not the end all be all to solving all of the "Billys" yet it can show our students that we care. But by putting ourselves in our students "shoes," we can be their biggest advocators.

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The article definitely speaks to a high percentage of the students that we work with. I do believe that many of the behaviors we see are largely due to experiences that our kids have been exposed to for prolonged periods of time.  It is obviously important to develop a strong rapport with a child such as “Billy” to have any chance of positively impacting him or her.  I’m sure everyone would like to create a regulated environment that reduces stress and promotes growth for all students.  However, managing “Billy”  or a room full of “Billys” in an environment where time is a significant factor is an extremely difficult task.  I think it’s good to be reminded of the fact that all kids come with baggage, some more severe than others, and hopefully I’m able to be more patient and nurturing with students like “Billy”.

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Before even reading this chapter, I had a student in mind.
I feel like if I had read this chapter last year, or any other given year, my response to you would have been different. I would have said that connections and relationships and sense of belonging and being a part of the classroom is essential, and often benefits the whole. I would have said that this is often the most important role of a teacher, to foster these relationships, regardless if that child is a “Billy” or not. These are children in front of us, and they need to feel that you care, that the school cares, and that they are “wanted” in their classroom and have friends. I would have answered it wit optimism, sincerity and hope.
Yet, I am reading it this school year. And though I still believe in what I write above, I am now adding a new piece. My new piece is that when a classroom has a “Billy”, make sure that teacher only has ONE. A teacher can work wonders with one Billy, and a classroom of supportive students that help nurture that child. When you add multiple students with significant needs to an already large general education setting, you are not allowed to do everything you know is “right” because the children in this kind of need require an extraordinary amount of constant attention. Too many Billies, and a teacher is drained.
So my message is, find the Billy. Keep data on that Billy, and place that Billy in a classroom of non-Billies. That will allow the teacher to truly make a huge impact.
Katie

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"unequipped to self-regulate", "grossly ill-equipped", "Fight or flight", "hyper-aroused", "due to early life experiences live more chronically in a state of dysregulation than in a state of regulation."  The list goes on and on.   How many of these kids sit in our classrooms?  Where is the intervention, IST, BIST that focuses on helping these students to build up their coping skills and emotional maturity so they can perform and function in their academic lives?  We pay so much attention to their scores and trying to bring up their scores... maybe the kids need self-regulation and coping skills in order to set aside their trauma and be able to focus on their academics.  I know this is a layered issue and there are many factors.  I just wonder if we started to look at kids in trauma and interventions like we do reading levels, state scores etc. we may see improvements in all areas.

We need to help the "Billys" while not forgetting about the needs of "Andy" as well.

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Jackie
Supporting the “Billys” of a classroom are challenging on both ends. While it is imperative to make these children feel comfortable, safe, and connected, it is also absolutely necessary for those that teach these children to feel supported. The pressure to “get it all in” takes over the life lessons that are the most important part of teaching and connecting w the students in front of us every day.

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Many things stood out to me while reading this article. I was left pondering these big ideas that honestly are not new and have been discussed for years now in East Irondequoit. I believe in the teacher-student relationship, however the demands that are put on teachers don’t always allow for this to easily occur. Relationships take time, trust and by-in on both ends. Our highly managed schedule and growing class sizes almost make this feel unattainable at times. I guess I feel like I do my absolute best to connect with my students and would love guidance on how I can better support the BILLY’S in my classroom. I’d like to find the balance between academics and relationship building.

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As I read, I continued to visualize "our Billy"....the student who doesn't fit the norm...the student who our typical bag of tricks doesn't help....We don't lack caring teachers...we lack caring systems. When I think of life's necessities, people always respond with , "Food, shelter and clothing" because that is what we have been taught for years and years. I think we need to add "relationships and connections" to our list. We can't undo the trauma of "our Billy" but if we could take time to help him feel safe and supported, the minutes slotted for academic growth would be better served. The goal for children to succeed academically supplants minutes devoted to emotional wellness and coping skills.....to be healthy and whole our system needs to shift...

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On page 11 it says "The reality is, for Billy to learn and achieve academically, he must also be engaged at the relational level." Relationships are at the heart of every interaction we have with students. Poor relationships outside of school lead to trauma induced behaviors in school, positive relationships in school are what will heal these patterns in the classroom.

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Bottom line is to connect with your kids so they feel valued.

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Something that stuck out to me is how often we classify students as "normal" and who we classify as "normal".  Yet what is considered "normal" is based on one's opinion. When looking up the definition of "normal", Google defined normal as "conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected." "Normal" isn't something that can be evaluated nor can it define the children that walk into our classrooms. Billy's "normal" is not the same as Andy's "normal" and that's okay. I believe we need to come to terms with accepting what "normal" can become if we open our minds as much as we open our hearts for our students.

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This information many of us have heard over the years, we spend time building relationships, modifying what we can. There are things we can’t change, the pace of our curriculum, the amount and difficulty of testing, the tight schedule, number of students. I think we do our best with the resources we have often using kid gloves. We bring students food, clothing, and what they need, often using our own money. We also have to maintain a classroom environment where all students can learn with out the extreme disruptions. Sometimes students need therapeutic settings or counseling outside the school setting.  Having a continuum of settings is important.

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What really made me stop was the quote, "whether or not the trauma is going to have a lasting effect on the child depends on the how well the fundamental needs of physical, safety, emotional connection and predictability are met for the child. So many of our children do not have their fundamental needs met and it is becoming more challenging with the expectations we have as educators to ensure they feel success in the classroom. What I feel is important is building a strong relationship with the child and helping them feel safe and secure at school.

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Something that stuck out to me is that we often label disruptive children as ADHD without always knowing their history.  These children struggle to self regulate and this struggle increases as the rigor of the grade level increases throughout the school year. I think that it is important to take the time to build relationships with these students and help them to feel safe in our classroom.

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The part that struck me the most was when they talked about increasing Billy's window of stress tolerance.  If you place him in an environment that keeps him within his window without reaching his breaking point, he has the chance to increase this window.  If his needs are met and he has positive relationships and experiences he can change.  This is encouraging.

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The part that struck me the most was when they talked about increasing Billy's window of stress tolerance.  If you place him in an environment that keeps him within his window without reaching his breaking point, he has the chance to increase this window.  If his needs are met and he has positive relationships and experiences he can change.  This is encouraging.

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I think it is important when dealing with a student like Billy, to take step back and remind yourself to be patient. Remember what this child has gone through in his/her life and that they may need more than redirection in order to improve in your class. I think developing a positive relationship is a step in the right the direction. If you find yourself constantly telling "Billy" don't do that, stop talking, sit in your chair...etc and they continue to do those things, then maybe we as teachers need to find a better alternative and look at the environment we are providing for "Billy". The way we interact with "Billy" may need to change in order for the behaviors to change/improve. 

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I think it is important when dealing with a student like Billy, to take step back and remind yourself to be patient. Remember what this child has gone through in his/her life and that they may need more than redirection in order to improve in your class. I think developing a positive relationship is a step in the right the direction. If you find yourself constantly telling "Billy" don't do that, stop talking, sit in your chair...etc and they continue to do those things, then maybe we as teachers need to find a better alternative and look at the environment we are providing for "Billy". The way we interact with "Billy" may need to change in order for the behaviors to change/improve. 

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This chapter makes sense and isn't surprising to me that relationships are important.  It does give me some hope we can help these students who have suffered trauma, however it also provides added stress in the classroom as a whole in the meantime.  What worries me is that the sentence "Unfortunately, for many students their window decreases over the school year, instead of increases." is true.  Academic demands inherently increase, meanwhile the traumatized students have a hard time handling it.
I'm wondering what else can be done externally/environmentally to help these students regulate.

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An "Aha moment" for me was prioritizing helping Billy emotionally and handling his lower stress threshold. This is what leads him to engage in the classroom like other students. On page nine, the author states that, "His fundamental level of reactivity must be addressed first to equip him to be able to sit in the classroom and be engaged and motivated student achieving academic success." Guiding this child to find an appropriate regulatory system for himself and providing him a nurturing environment to learn how to regulate in, is necessary to help this student, "change the window" (page 14). Building the child up emotionally through a strong rapport and caring environment or classroom system prepares this "Billy" student to be more like an "Andy" student.

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The line that stood out to me is, “Billy’s behavioral issues in the classroom are thus no longer behavioral issues. They are manifestations of trauma.” This is undoubtedly true. Unfortunately, behaviors like the ones
described in this chapter have very complex implications on the overall culture of the classroom, including often times, a direct impact on other children and their ability to learn in the type of environment that multiple children like Billy can create. I completely agree that supportive relationships are key to helping students like Billy widen their window of stress tolerance. Teachers are also human though, and as such, our energy and our own stress tolerance is not boundless. Our ability to absorb stress and create the idyllic conditions necessary for allowing the re-wiring of trauma-induced neuropathways is not unlimited. This is not to say that we shouldn’t endeavor to try....but the expectation should feel realistic and teachers should be but one member of a much larger team to address the multi-layered challenges of helping students like Billy thrive.

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The part that spoke to how adults react to situations is something that spoke to me.  I am a firm believer that students (and adults for that matter) feed off of your energy and reactions.  Not always an easy thing to control in the heat of the moment, but it is pretty powerful.

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The part that spoke to how adults react to situations is something that spoke to me.  I am a firm believer that students (and adults for that matter) feed off of your energy and reactions.  Not always an easy thing to control in the heat of the moment, but it is pretty powerful.

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Something that really stuck out to me was the idea that events are not necessarily traumatic based on the events themselves, but more so because of the response to the events based on the caregivers. It is important to remember each person is shaped differently based on their upbringing and life experiences.

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Something that really stuck out to me was the idea that events are not necessarily traumatic based on the events themselves, but more so because of the response to the events based on the caregivers. It is important to remember each person is shaped differently based on their upbringing and life experiences.

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I understand what the article is telling us but keep in mind there are 24-25 kids in a class making it hard to meet all their needs.  In addition, what is being done to support teachers in the same situation as Billy-each person has their own struggle going on.

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I understand what the article is telling us but keep in mind there are 24-25 kids in a class making it hard to meet all their needs.  In addition, what is being done to support teachers in the same situation as Billy-each person has their own struggle going on.