What can happen when a teacher is not trauma-informed?
Listen to the scenarios below to hear the difference between a teacher who is not trauma-informed and one with a teacher who is. Notice that how each teacher views the student’s behavior and responds to the situation, resulting in very different outcomes for the child.
First, listen below to Ms. J’s response to the behavior of a 3rd grade student named Josh:
Ms. J: “Now there will have to be consequences”
Transcript
“Josh transferred into my 3rd grade classroom several weeks ago. I can tell from his school record that he had concentration problems before in his previous school, but I wasn’t prepared for him to be this challenging. He insisted on playing his hand-held computer game this morning. All the students know that is not allowed. I reminded him about the rule and told him to stop, but he just kept playing with his game, disrupting the classroom. He broke a rule and he ignored my authority. I had to set limits and calmly but assertively reinforce my authority. So I took the game away from him and told him he couldn’t play with it until lunchtime. Josh then grabbed the computer game from my hand. I reminded him that there are rules for a reason and that I couldn’t let him play with the game when no other student was allowed to do so. I asked for it back. He could have chosen right then to give the game to me, and the situation would have been over. But instead he kept playing with it. I told him there would have to be consequences for his behavior. He ran out of the room without permission, crying. I’m sorry about that, because now there will have to be consequences for that, too.”
Now, listen to how a different teacher, Mr. N, responds to Josh:
Mr. N: “I need to help him calm down”
Transcript
“Josh transferred into my 3rd grade classroom several weeks ago. I can tell from his school record that he had concentration problems before in his previous school, but I wasn’t prepared for him to be this challenging. He insisted on playing his hand-held computer game in the classroom this morning. All the students know that is not allowed. I reminded him about the rule, but he just kept playing with his game. His teacher at his previous school noted that when he became stressed he often needed to soothe himself by some routine behavior, that it helped him to relax and ultimately to pay attention. He seems to need that computer game more than ever now since I asked him to give it to me. Right now I need to help him calm down, not become more stressed. Once he’s calm, maybe he’ll be able to give me the game himself. I need to talk to him about other ways he uses to calm down. If he won’t talk to me, maybe the school counselor or school social worker could help Josh to identify reasonable objects to have in the room that he could use to calm himself when he starts to feel stressed. Maybe his caseworker or foster parents would have ideas about that too.”
Ms. J assumed that Josh was in control of himself and choosing to disobey. She heightened his stress, resulting in his need to play the game even more. She unintentionally caused Josh’s behavior to escalate by making demands of him that exceeded his ability to adaptively respond. As a result, Josh may be disciplined when this could have been avoided.
Mr. N, however, quickly surmises the purpose that Josh’s behavior is serving. He doesn’t insist on enforcing the rule. Rather, he responds to Josh’s underlying need and keeps the situation from escalating. Then he begins to strategize how he might meet Josh’s ongoing need for calming himself while still keeping order in the classroom.
Now let’s compare the responses of two teachers to another student, Emma. First, listen below to Mrs. K’s response:
Mrs. K: “Emma is suspended”
Transcript
“Emma just transferred in to my 7th grade classroom. I haven’t seen her records from her previous school; I just know that she was placed in foster care in my district. I wanted to make her feel welcome. I moved to put my hand lightly on her shoulder when I was explaining an assignment and she slapped my hand away – hard. Then she stared at me defiantly. Why she decided to slap me is beyond me. I was trying to be helpful. Her reaction was totally out of proportion to the situation. I don’t want to be unkind, but physical aggression of any kind in the school setting simply cannot be tolerated or excused. She needed to learn that right away. There had to be immediate and significant consequences if I’m to maintain order in the classroom and assure the safety of all of the students. The police liaison officer came to take Emma to the principal’s office. Instead of complying with his request, she chose to struggle; she even kicked him. Emma is suspended now and other charges are pending.”
Now, listen to another teacher's response - Mrs. R:
Mrs. R: “I need to make her feel safe”
Transcript
“Emma just transferred into my 7th grade classroom. I haven’t seen her records from her previous school; I just know that she was placed in foster care in my district. I wanted to make her feel welcome. I moved to put my hand lightly on her shoulder when I was explaining an assignment and she slapped my hand away – hard. Then she stared at me defiantly. I’ve frightened her without meaning to. I wish I knew what her triggers might be; obviously I shouldn’t be touching her in any manner. I need to help her to feel safe. Right now she is hyper-aroused and feels cornered; if I put any extra demands or expectations on her she could escalate. I need to find out more about what her needs are from her foster parents and the caseworker. Then we can determine what adjustments I need to make in how I interact with her.”
In the first version, Mrs. K focused solely on Emma’s behavior and assumed that she consciously chose to misbehave. Because of the severity of the behavior, Mrs. K decided that immediate discipline was needed. That set in play a series of events that resulted in Emma being not only suspended, but also re-traumatized.
In the second version, Mrs. R recognized the likelihood that Emma’s behavior was trauma-based and that the fight option of fight, flee or freeze had been triggered. Rather than focusing on the behavior itself, a symptom, Mrs. R began to consider what might have prompted Emma’s sudden self-defensive reactivity. That led her to begin to problem-solve how to avoid triggering Emma’s stress arousal system in the future.
It is not necessary for you to know the specific kinds of trauma the child has experienced in order to respond thoughtfully and effectively. In most instances, that information cannot legally be shared with you. But it is important for you to learn what actions and conditions can trigger the frightening emotions associated with the child’s past traumatic events.