{"id":2164,"date":"2019-04-24T13:52:24","date_gmt":"2019-04-24T17:52:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/edt431-531\/?p=2164"},"modified":"2019-04-24T13:52:24","modified_gmt":"2019-04-24T17:52:24","slug":"our-students-are-resilient","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.miamioh.edu\/exemplary-science-teaching\/2019\/04\/our-students-are-resilient\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Students Are Resilient"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sitting in our classrooms is dozens and dozens of students with a variety of backgrounds.\u00a0 We don’t always know what kinds of homes they come from or what their family life is like.\u00a0 For some, home is a place of comfort and love.\u00a0 For others, being away from school is a nightmare.\u00a0 What is the cause of this discourse?\u00a0\u00a0Trauma.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But what is trauma?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The definition of trauma is pretty straightforward: “An exceptional experience in which powerful and dangerous events overwhelm a person’s capacity to cope.”<\/p>\n

This means that any number of events in a student’s life can have a major impact on how they react or behave to situations.\u00a0 Events such as:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Abuse<\/li>\n
  • Divorce<\/li>\n
  • Incarceration of parents<\/li>\n
  • Substance abuse<\/li>\n
  • Death in family<\/li>\n
  • Mental illness<\/li>\n
  • Moving<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    These can all have a significant impact on how student’s perform in the classroom and how they act outside of school.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    What does this mean for teachers?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    For us teachers, we need to acknowledge where our students come from.<\/p>\n

    “Educators have long known that what happens outside of school can have a profound effect on what happens in school.” (Souers, 2016)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    We know what is happening outside of school in our student’s lives.\u00a0 But if we don’t do anything about it… are we contributing to our student’s trauma?<\/em><\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

    What can we do?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
      \n
    • Allow a welcoming safe space with a judgment-free zone<\/li>\n
    • Provide additional resources to students<\/li>\n
    • Be friend and a mentor<\/li>\n
    • LISTEN TO THEM<\/li>\n
    • Don’t shame them<\/li>\n
    • Be cool and calm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      There are so many things we, as teachers, can do to help students with their learning in school, but we can also help them through the hardships of life.<\/p>\n