This year I have been a supply teacher in a particular class a few times so I have built a rapport with the students. On one visit, a student I’ll call Jenna opened up about how she was feeling. Recently her family’s apartment, along with several others, was destroyed by a fire. Jenna went to stay with extended family while her mother stayed in a local hotel and worked with relief agencies to find new housing and get reestablished. They lost absolutely everything they owned in the fire.
The family was relieved to move into a new apartment fairly quickly but Jenna was having difficulty adjusting.
On the day I was supply teaching in her class, 7 year old Jenna got overwhelmed several times and was not able to self-regulate. She was tired from the long walk from her new apartment. She was hungry. She missed her favourite stuffed animal. She had no paper at home to draw pictures because all of mommy’s paper got burned in the fire. Her classmates and I listened and consoled her in these moments but she summed it all up by tearfully saying:
“I’ve learned that sometimes life gives you changes and you have to get used to a new situation very fast. Like what the fire did to me and my family.”
Wise words from the heart of a seven year old. Jenna has had to deal with an enormous change in a short amount of time. She is grieving the loss of her home and belongings but also has feelings of relief that her family members survived and they were able to reunite in their new home. It’s quite an emotional roller coaster to ride. No wonder she was experiencing difficulty with self-regulation.
This experience got me thinking more deeply about trauma informed practices in classrooms. Every child has a story and some of those stories include trauma. We see different types of trauma such as losing a home, the unexpected death of a loved one, a car accident, bullying, and many more, including traumas we will never know about. It’s in everyone’s best interest to have safe learning environments where children know they are protected from physical and emotional harm. A classroom teacher will not know all the details about everyone in their class but they can work to ensure the classroom is a safe place for all.
The students aren’t the only ones who are impacted by life’s tragic moments. It’s very important that teachers recognize those times when they need to seek out their peers or professionals to help them through difficult times. We can’t serve from an empty cup, and neither can our students.
Take care,
Brenda
