Thread by @karenraycosta, A trauma-aware teaching thread.Let's start here, with particular attention to principle 5: [...]

A trauma-aware teaching thread.

Let& #39;s start here, with particular attention to principle 5: choice, empowerment, and voice.

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https://www.cdc.gov/cpr/infographics/6_principles_trauma_info.htm">https://www.cdc.gov/cpr/infog...

I& #39;m also going to weave this in. Remember, we are educators, not counselors. Boundaries are a really important part of this work, for ourselves and our learners.

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Being a trauma-aware educator means recognizing that trauma is in our classrooms. It& #39;s in our students and in us. It was there before COVID, it& #39;s here now, and it will be here in the future.

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We don& #39;t need to investigate to determine if it& #39;s there. It& #39;s there. We are not the trauma detectives, as @AlexSVenet reminds us. We don& #39;t need to interrogate our students to know that they& #39;re experiencing trauma. They are. So are we.

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Those of you who know UDL know that we don& #39;t need to ask if someone needs captions in order to provide captions, right? Or alt text, or other accessibility measures. And we don& #39;t need to ask if our students are traumatized to create trauma-aware classrooms.

I see a lot of folks inquiring about students trauma, and tbh, that concerns me.

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Choice, empowerment, voice.

There& #39;s a difference between creating spaces for students to express what they& #39;re dealing with, if they so choose, and making them feel as if they have to reveal their trauma to you and to each other.

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If you ask a student, "Tell me what challenges you are facing this term," let& #39;s walk through how that might land for a student experiencing significant trauma...

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1. They don& #39;t want to talk about it with you, a complete stranger, someone they don& #39;t know or trust, but they feel like they have to, because you are the authority figure, so they swallow their own needs and tell you.

Not good.

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2. They don& #39;t want to tell you about their trauma, but you& #39;ve asked, so they lie and tell you they are fine, which doesn& #39;t feel great, because for most of us, lying doesn& #39;t feel great.

Not good.

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3. Some of them may be able to say, "I don& #39;t care to share this information," and I celebrate those students, but many won& #39;t feel like they can say that to you, an authority figure with the power in this relationship.

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So we just want to be really mindful here of how we ask. A great question is this:

"Is there anything else you& #39;d like me to know?"

That& #39;s it. That puts the power in their hands.

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And to weave in this question that @Bali_Maha posed earlier, these principles apply to COVID-related assignments too. Choice. Empowerment. Voice.

Anyway, just be mindful here. We aren& #39;t counselors. I really want to emphasize this: we are not trained to treat trauma. Empathy is within our scope of practice. Counseling is not.

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And sometimes, (see that scope of practice slide again), we can become overly focused on our students& #39; trauma as a way to avoid our own.

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Want to know my #1 recommendation for educators who want to create trauma-aware classrooms?

Take care of yourself. Notice and name your own trauma. Ask for help. Take care of yourself.

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