Building Crosswalks in Education

With states passing along the stressful challenge of knowing what to do with traumatized students to districts, and districts to schools, and schools to teachers, it is not difficult to understand why CASEL recently held a Congressional Briefing on Social and Emotional Learning andTeacher Education. The premise shared was that teachers themselves have difficult challenges so addressing these things with their students are presenting a problem.  Panelists shared ideas and initiatives underway in their Teacher Education programs and districts to help teachers, and better prepare them to help their students.

From Policy to Practice

As we consider the responsibility that we are charged with and the needs that surface as a result, it is important to understand that creating and perpetuating fragmentation will never get us where we need to go.  When we have the few making decisions and creating policy that is expected to be implemented and executed by the mass, it can have the result of bottlenecking downstream. Just last week, I attended an Education Committee Meeting at Legislative Hall where they were discussing a bill to place more mental health workers in the schools. On the surface it sounds good and don’t get me wrong, it isgreat, but unfortunately without taking the time to define what we mean by mental health prevention (language in the bill), we create the risk of more fragmentation and a continuation of the cycle of inequity and marginalizing those most vulnerable. 

If I can’t, in some ordered and connected fashion, get from policy to practice, then I need to pause and reconsider.  The symptoms of childhood trauma mimic learning disabilities and masks a child’s true ability.  This occurrence places children at high risk for misdiagnosis and misrepresentation.  However, with a plan and a mechanism in place to identify and intervene early, we can reposition students ready to learn.  We must understand the origins before we can strategically plan for and forecast the outcomes. We have to create a crosswalk and support system for teachers between the maladaptive emotions and behaviors created from childhood trauma that contradict SEL/SEAD standards and lead to mental health issues.   Understanding the origins means involving parents. Children and families are in much need of support.  Therefore, the solutions must be multi-generational and transdisciplinary. Any solution for students not inclusive of parents would be sorely lacking. 

Wagons and Trains

I’ve heard comments like “people are jumping on the ‘trauma-informed’ bandwagon” or “now everyone is going to have trauma”. To not address the topic because people simply want to make it a part of their “speak” is dangerous, especially for those who have been impacted and are waiting for someone to show up with a solution. 

Another comment recently made in reference to the national SE movement was “it’s coming at us like a  ‘fast-moving’ train.”  The problem with a “fast-moving” train is that if we insist on putting students in a box car called “mental health” or a box car called “social and emotional” sufficient, many kids are either going to be placed in the wrong box car or simply fall off the train.  

At the end of the day, we find ourselves in a position of needing, wanting, to make Every Child Whole^TM, while so much remains so very broken.  What can we do?  Below are some suggestions, maybe you have others.

 Be informed….

          Educate yourself. Child Trends just put out a 50-state report on Using State Policy to Create Healthy Schools. You can catch the supporting webinar on YouTube.  Also, if you are interested, one of the segments in IMAGINAL’s course, The Day Trauma Came to Class^TM, is on understanding trauma’s ability to mimic learning disabilities and how, when misdiagnosed, can lead to mental health issues.  If you are interested in receiving your discounted link to that segment, email pd@imaginaleducationgroup.comwith subject line TRAUMA MIMICS.

Be honest….

          Examine yourself.  Maybe you have a need that requires your attention.  Maybe it’s time to put your self-care at the top of your priority list.  If you feel like you are a constant state of reacting and responding, stop and get some help.

 Be a voice….

          Engage in courageous conversations. If you are a part of a decision-making body and you see something that is incongruent, speak up.  You can exercise voice without being belligerent or ignorant.  This is an opportunity to educate someone else and make them aware of something perhaps they didn’t see.  We can’t advocate for empathy and then suppress another’s ability to be heard.  You can even broadcast the message! Check out the SHOP on IMAGINAL’s page and grab an EveryChildWhole^TMtee.

Be a solution…

          Empathize with the state of another.  Humans have three (3) basic needs: (1) to feel competent, (2) to feel in control, and (3) and to be in relationship.  Making another person feel competent and safe is a function of being in a healthy relationship.  When you see another person – be it a parent, colleague, student – and you can help create an exchange or atmosphere that supports these basic needs, YOU are becoming a solution.

Here’s to working together to build the crosswalks for our students, their families, and our educators. 

Dr. Ivy Bonk is Consultant/Educational Psychologist/Trainer with IMAGINAL Education Group. She is the author of The Day Trauma Came to Class and architect of The Lost Child Theory.

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