Trauma Affects Children More Than We Know

"Any child old enough to laugh and experience pleasure can also experience grief and trauma. Children need not understand what is happening to be terrorized. Grief and trauma are what we experience, not what we know, understand or comprehend."

- Dr. William Steele

This is a great article that really makes you think about where our students are coming from and what baggage they bring to the classroom with them.

(Click on the above blog title to be taken directly TO this brief article.)

Sometimes teachers may perceive some children as behavior "issues" to be "dealt" with. We think some children are just morbid, sad, or even "odd" and we just don't know why.

What if we could be a fly on the wall in the homes of our students? What would we learn about each child's upbringing that would make us more compassionate towards them in the classroom?

It is so easy to lose our patience with the "difficult" child or to throw our hands up (figuratively speaking) and to say in frustration "I give up...I don't know what to do with that student!"

While we do see our students for a large part of each day, we are not with them each evening, on weekends, and on vacations or summer break.

Thankfully, most have a home life that we would consider good. Some have an adequate home life. However, sadly, there are others who have an unsuitable home life and who are sometimes largely unprotected from those who might bring them harm.

Our duty as teachers is so much more than teaching: To love, to serve, to protect. That sounds similar to an oath a police officer or other community servant might take. I think that we as teachers have the same obligation to our students: To love, to serve, and to protect all children.

If you do not know where to start, begin by becoming more informed about the signs of child abuse and also by being more aware of each student's emotional wellbeing. Watch for any actions or speech that would be quite out of place for that child. Then, take action to begin to bring protection to that child.

Keep your eyes open and talk with your students. Most child abuse prevention programs tell children to talk with a trusted adult, like a teacher. Be the kind of teacher that your students can trust! You might be the one and only person to help save a child in real danger!