PD: Trauma Responsive Education

The professional development podcast I have listened  to today is "Trauma Responsive Education".  It had a lot of really good and informative information about how to identity trauma in students or "red flags" as mentioned in the podcast.  We then learned the steps we should take when we see the red flags.  For example,  when we see a red flag we should ask the student directly, how we can help and then we should set up a meeting with a school social worker or another member of the school that works with the community.  This was interesting to me because I know schools have social workers and psychologist but I in a way forgot that they are able to help you identify the red flags in students and help find solutions.

One major red flag I want to talk about is ISOLATION. This podcast was given when we were in the middle of the COVID lock down and so students were mandated to take online classes.   The podcast talked about paying close attention to those students with the cameras off because this is a way students are isolating.  They may never turn their cameras on and may not be very vocal during class.  The podcast says to be on the look out for any background yelling that may indicate the student is not in a safe place to learn.

Next, the podcast talked about students isolating in the classroom.  The podcast states this can look different and not always the same.  For example, students wearing hoodies in class are wanting to hide and now that they are required to wear a mask the teacher can only see a little bit of their faces.  Seeing students hiding away in this way may be a indication of depression from the isolation online learning from COVID may have caused. So according to the video this is a major red flag that teachers must be on the look out for.  The podcast also stated to not be afraid  to directly ask the student whats going on: in a more friendly way.  Like, how can I help you?  Then a meeting should be made with a school social worker who can help get to the bottom of the isolation and help the student however they need. 

In conclusion, teachers may be the first ones to notice something is wrong with our students and we should get them the help they need.  We should not ignore it and pretend that it will get better on its own because it will not.  All students are different and deal with trauma in different ways so it is important to pay close attention to them all and learn their baselines so that when something is happening you as the teacher can notice the red flag early on and find help for the student.  The podcast mentioned that no that student are going back to school after online learning it is important to include social emotional support into our lessons instead of jumping straight into academics and the curriculum. Which I think would be of great benefit to both the students and the teacher.