What Do We Mean by Trauma? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As educators, we must prepare for trauma. It will be something we will face in our careers and continue till the day we retire. It will be present every year and is something we must embrace versus ignore. Trauma is when individuals experience such powerful and dangerous events that their minds cannot properly cope and deal with them (page 15). It’s a real concept that is very prevalent in many classrooms today. It doesn’t only affect students mentally, but physically and socially. According to Hall, the children we encounter are resilient and with positive learning environments, they can learn to grow and succeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
How Can We Determine Trauma in A Student?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A common method used to determine a child’s level of trauma is called the ACE score. This refers to the level of Adverse Childhood Experiences that a person has had. Adverse Childhood Experiences can refer to physical or emotional abuse afflicted someone, growing up in poverty, encountering traumatic events, or having family members pass. There is a wide range of different aspects that can factor into an ACE score. This is why we must consider trauma as being unique to a student. Not all trauma is the same so it must not be treated the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Why does Trauma Even Matter? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trauma matters due to the fact that it can have such a negative impact on our students’ lives. Trauma leads students’ brains to form new connections that focus on fight or flight responses. This deters them from their brains focusing on growing into young scientists. The 4 f’s that students go through in response to trauma are fight, flight, freeze, and faint. These behaviors are directly correlated to the classroom as the students cannot have the ability to shut it off when they come in. This often leads to behavioral issues within the classroom that can severely limit their educational experience. So trauma matters because it can have a direct effect on the quality of education that a student receives IF left untreated. There are ways we can give our students strategies to help them cope with their own personal trauma in their own ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n