As a long time teacher activist, "owner" of my own ACEs collection, and passionate believer in grass roots activism, I want our voices actively engaged within this network. I am deeply concerned that dissenting voices may be silenced here ... and that silence literally sucks out the opportunity to hear the deep truths behind the current ACEs research. Please remember that we in the 'recovery movement' knew about ACEs the hard way ... we lived them. Our analysis is probably light years 'ahead' of rank and file. So, please 'see' this debate "from the inside".
Using SAMHSA's Guiding a Principles of Trauma informed care (http://www.samhsa.gov/samhsaNe...ding_principles.html) and adapting it to my "neck of the woods" (education)...
1- SAFETY -Schools need to be physically and psychologically SAFE **for ALL**. That means that even though "trauma informed schools" is a step in the right direction, it's both a small one and it's not on target. You need to "own" the reality that there are massive problems in public education today - and everyone is hurting. It's NOT 'just' the students . These programs assume that education institutions are full of benevolent people who all love kids. Wrong. Go read Blase and Blase's book, "Principal Mistreatment of Teachers". Check out National Workplace Bullying Coalition or Workplace Bullting Institute. Read the tragic story that led to Ms. Jennifer Lenihan's (Bassett USD) suicide. Connect with the Badass Teachers Association. Get a sense of the massive largesse of problems as seen "from the inside".
Our survey - http://www.aft.org/sites/defau...urveyresults2015.pdf
2- PEER SUPPORT AND MUTUAL SELF HELP - Bullied teachers need connection with their teachers who deeply 'get' the experiences introduced in #1. But the existing mental health system (PPO, HMO, EAPs per employee contracts) provide NO access with trained peers who deeply 'get' #1, and have learned some wellness skills to help teachers. According to our unscientific data, the MAJORITY of teachers are stressed. Big Pharma LOVES this, for we are a never-ending golden goose for them. Teachers take antidepressants like candy. ... Back to Jen Lenihan and her fellow teachers... despite the high school staff knowing the bullying that led to her suicide (imagine the trauma!!!) the LA County Office of Education EAP provided NO crisis intervention for those teachers until the day AFTER I confronted them - 3 months after her suicide! A "trauma informed curriculum" will do NOTHING to address #1 and #2.
3- COLLABORATION AND MUTUALITY - Our survey found that the majority of educators held Masters degrees, yet were regarded as subservient to administrators (who held ... Masters degrees). This is NOT a healthy environment, especially when we teachers know more about nuts and bolts education than administrators. Those "trauma informed programs" need to be based on collaborative efforts, not as a ploy to validate high stakes testing (which is an oxymoron)
4-EMPOWERMENT, VOICE AND CHOICE- Our survey found that teachers with "protected status" (I.e., disability, age, color, race, age, religion) experienced more bullying than non-protected status teachers. Looks like the federal civil rights laws need to be "worked on" within education. Much work needs to be done here. Teachers with disabilities, teachers of color, LGBT teachers, teachers with many years of experience... bring diversity to education. Learn to respect our voices.
5- CULTURAL, HISTORICAL, GENDER - Learn to examine a school's "culture". Last year, Los Angeles County Office of Education hired Cross and Joftus to investigate why LA county school districts were leaving their special education services. The report was NOT good. It basically told the County to either fix things up in one year, or get out of special education ASAP. Over and over it cited the County's "bureaucracy" and "culture" as obstacles in delivery of services, Things like - classrooms consistently the least desirable/oldest ones; old furniture, no curriculum/materials. I taught there for 21 years... while we teachers can paint/decorate/spend money, we can't relocate ourselves within the mainstream, access comparable furniture, curriculum or professional development. But you'd never know the bureaocracy's complicity - for on its own page, it's "solutions" (because the report went public- Ooops!) are designed to 'fix teachers'. That's a bandaid on an abscess.
SOOOO... ACEs folks... when you 'think' a solution is a good one, be mindful of ALL the people. In education, listen to the entire community. In ACEs itself... listen to the respected people within the Recovery Movement. We have lived ACEs before they were 'investigated'. Our research didn't come from money but via blood and tears. I have far more trust in the integrity of people within this recovery movement than in all the well-meaning yet unintentionally myopic "research" where our voices aren't heard. (Excuse me, but wouldn't you rather hear what really needs to work, than what works in some research?)
THIS is how schools become "trauma informed". Read how we took grass-roots trauma and grew legislation ... http://badassteachers.blogspot...lace-team-meets.html