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Trauma can affect a student’s ability to focus, organize, and process information. It can also have effects on their problem-solving and planning skills, affects attention, memory, and cognition, and results in overwhelming feelings of frustration and anxiety. (Karlyn Keller, Ed.D) This is because trauma can affect a child’s executive functioning abilities. We made a connection to ADHD in students. Like children with ADHD, trauma “...affects children’s memory, their ability to pay attention, plan, think things through, and other executive functions” (Miller, Child Mind Institute n.d.). We must be cautious that sometimes students can be misdiagnosed with ADHD and that trauma may be the cause for struggles.

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Not only can impaired executive functioning affect students’ ability to learn and retain content, but this can also affect student behavior. Students with impaired executive functioning may be impulsive and lack the ability to self-regulate their emotions. According to Mental Health America, some signs of this in the classroom may include aggression, excessive anger or irritability, defiance, running away, alienation from peers, or risky behavior (e.g. substance abuse). As we saw in the documentary Paper Tigers, directed by James Redford, adolescents who are faced with traumatic life experiences can exhibit these behaviors. In the documentary, we learn that adverse childhood experiences can affect brain development. In the documentary, we met young Dianna. As a result of a traumatic home life, Dianna struggled with anger issues and work avoidance in school. Dianna explained that this was a coping mechanism and a way to protect herself. Viewers also met Steven who struggled with defiant behavior. Steven altogether avoided school. One common thread between all of the students was that due to their traumatic experiences, they were unable to function healthily.

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Through Paper Tigers, we learned firsthand how crucial it is to support students that are facing these challenges. With support from their school, Dianna, Steven, and the other students were able to learn healthy coping mechanisms to help them be more successful. An astonishing fact we learned was that one single stable adult in a child’s life can make all the difference.

Teachers should aim to support their students through their traumatic experiences because it is our job as educators to help them reach their full potential, keep them safe, and foster their education.

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Tips to support according to Classroom Strategies to Support Students Experiencing Trauma by Nancy Perez, REL Appalachia:

-Create a safe environment with stability and transparency: Teachers can ensure their classroom layout is welcoming inviting. Also, teachers can be transparent with students about expectations, fire drills, etc. Honesty provides stability for students and helps teach them how to trust in others.

-Collaborate with peers: Teachers can foster a classroom community by modeling behaviors of acceptance and inclusivity.

-Give students a say: Teachers can give students the power to make decisions. This encourages independence and confidence.

-Consider cultural and historical perspectives: Teachers should educate themselves on their students' backgrounds. Knowledge is power! This can help give teachers a better understanding of situations, motivations, triggers, and more.

-Avoid re-traumatization:  "Recognize students' reactions to triggers and respond in trauma-informed ways by communicating that students are safe and that you are there to support them and providing choices to guide them to a safe or quiet area if appropriate. Keep schedules and rules as consistent as possible to avoid surprises." (Perez, 2021)

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HOW ARE TRAUMA AND SOCIAL JUSTICE RELATED?

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HOW ARE TRAUMA AND SOCIAL JUSTICE RELATED?

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Social justice is defined as the elimination of systematic oppression and institutional barriers with the goal of ensuring equitable access to opportunities and resources for all. (Graybill et. at. 2018) In order for social justice to be an extension of trauma it needs to be understood that trauma is both individualized and systematic. Students who are a part of marginalized groups experience higher rates of individualized trauma. This includes abuse and inequality, police violence, hate crimes, forced migration, and intergenerational trauma. To fight these social injustices it takes all school personnel to help make changes in the system and fight back against trauma. There are principles that schools can incorporate to assist in helping students deal with trauma. These are creating safety, trustworthiness and transparency, peer support, collaboration and mutuality, empowerment, voice and choice, and cultural, historical, and gender issues. Incorporating these allows schools to come up with more holistic approaches to help support students and family issues. They can be implemented within the classroom as well as the overall systems of the school such as policies, school climate, and professional development. If all staff personnel are on the same page in dealing with social injustice it can help minimize the effects on students in schools.

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As individuals who have chosen to work in the teaching profession, we feel it is of the utmost importance to support our students not only academically, but socially, emotionally, and behaviorally, as well. It is clear that childhood trauma can affect all areas of life, especially educationally. According to the Child Mind Institute, trauma can manifest in children in many ways. It is not always the occurrence of one singular event, but sometimes “ongoing exposure” ( Miller, Child Mind Institute n.d.). This trauma can be caused by abuse,  neglect, homelessness, domestic violence, or violence in general ( Miller, Child Mind Institute n.d.).

Childhood trauma can lead to many issues in the classroom. This is because trauma can affect students academically and behaviorally. It is important for teachers to know what trauma can look like in the classroom, so they can support their students. According to Mental Health America, trauma can manifest in different ways and can differ by gender, culture, race, location, and other factors (“How Trauma Impacts School Performance” n.d.). Teachers must understand that trauma responses can look different and teachers should assess the signs they are seeing to determine the best methods of support.