The main ideas of the book:
- Because recent years have seen an increase in traumatic experiences, leaders need to develop their understanding of trauma’s impact and promote understanding among staff.
- With trauma-sensitive strategies in place, schools can step into a supportive role for trauma-impacted students, enabling them to learn and thrive.
Why I chose this book:
I’m hearing it more and more these days, and I bet you might be too: “I just don’t understand why they act like this.” Trauma-impacted students can perplex and overwhelm educators with their challenging behavior, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Since the first schoolhouse opened, there have always been students who have shown up to school having experienced trauma. But in recent years we have come to more fully understand the effects that trauma has on the brain and on student learning and behavior.
Newer still is the understanding of the degree to which the COVID pandemic has led to increased incidences of trauma and stress among our students (and staff). This book provides school leaders with the framework needed to both understand and respond to trauma’s impact in a way that promotes emotional well-being and supports learning. While this book certainly contains classroom-level strategies as well, teachers may also find further information on developing their practice in another book by the same authors, Trauma-Sensitive Instruction.
