90% of the World’s Students Need a New Trauma Informed Strategy

During this Covid-19 pandemic, more than 90% of the world’s students were displaced from attending school. Absolutely, mind boggling! I am more than grateful for the influx of free trauma informed care training online to support hurting students and their families. Details are below.

My Two Cents: We Will Need New Lenses

Perhaps even more critical than these last few weeks of school is preparation for start up in the fall. I do not believe in the “get back to normal” notion. We need to embrace a new trauma lens. It will be critical to prepare our educators, service providers and organizations for short and long term changes to our systems.

Retooling for School Students in the Fall… Hopefully Post Covid-19

For many months and years to come, our children will remember and respond in many ways to “The Great Covid-19 Shutdown of 2020”. Some resilient students with lots of support will seem to bounce back and perform well academically. The trick is… our students will not all bounce back. Many vulnerable kids are depressed and despondent during this lockdown. We have heard of the increase in drug use, self-harm and aggression to manage their pain. In addition, many successful students who smile and seem fine may be harboring their pain inside. All students deserve opportunities to process their emotions in order to promote long-term wellness.

Good News

The good news is we have learned it is possible to develop the emotional health of students. It is completely doable if schools and organizations prepare to put on a new lens: trauma informed care.

The free course provided by Starr Commonwealth is a good opportunity for a limited time when using the code TRAUMAINFORMED (all caps).

From their site:

“This course provides detailed information and concrete actions that answer not just the “why” but also the “how” to create the best classroom and school supports for traumatized students and the school professionals who serve them.”

The course covers many topics including:

resilience

core values and beliefs exploration

trauma’s impact on children 

fostering connections

social and emotional skills

safety 

play

Enjoy!!

Heloise J. Ridley, MBA, MA