By Richard Reeve
How Schools Can Hurt and How They Can Help…
A NATSAP Conference presentation by Hannah Mariotti and Sarah Wagner from Shortridge Academy in New Hampshire focused on the findings of neuroscience concerning trauma and explored how the general framework in American education can often times create a traumatic environment.
Not only the experiences of violence, bullying and abuse were explored, but also the often times reinforced negative experiences in the classrooms across America. The emphasis on order, conformity and compliance, teacher-centric practices, the predominance of memorization and recall exercises, peer competition, a prevailing belief that ability is fixed, narrow standards of performance expectations, intolerance of differences, tracking, labeling, standardized testing, large classes and large schools, and lack of teacher support were all cited as elements in the educational system that create traumatic stress.
Do we know what trauma looks like in the classroom? A need exists to educate teachers to be on the lookout for and know when to intervene when the symptoms of trauma and the experience of the fight, flight, or freeze response loop, begin to manifest. These can include hyperarousal, dissociation and numbness. It was noted that trauma impacts the students ability to learn, reduces memory volume, and decreases problem solving skills.
A number of solutions that can be implemented by therapeutic programs to promote healing were explored. It was suggested that the impact of the any event or environment depends on the child’s hope and resilience, their capacity to transcend. Primary in the healing process is the educators presence and relationship. It’s the caring person, someone whose crazy about the kid that can move the student into a safe and new beginning. Along with nurturing relationships to extend hope, opportunities for play that foster creativity and imagination were also emphasized.
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