First, it is important to understand why educators should address trauma in the classroom.

Then, explore how to use strategies learned on the previous page.

Why should we, as educators, care?

TRAUMA AND ACES:

As educators, it is crucial for us to understand our students may be coming to us with one or more ACEs. The number of students experiencing ACEs is increasing and this increase leads to the increased probability that a person will engage in unhealthy behaviors that are shown to decrease the ability to learn (Murphey & Sacks, 2019). For this module, we have used the following definitions:

ACEs: adverse childhood experiences that occur in childhood, from ages 0-17. Can include direct events such as violence, abuse, or neglect, or witnessing those events. Can also include indirect events that impact the child's environment, such as having an alcoholic parent, or instability due to a guardian being in jail, for example (CDC, 2021).

Compassionate care: Showing students compassion in the classroom can manifest in many ways, such as genuine praise, assuming positive intentions, speaking to students in private rather than in front of peers when there is an issue, employing sincere forgiveness, and understanding students' perspectives (Marshbank, 2017).

Trauma: a singular or series of shocking, scary, or dangerous events that can affect someone physically and/or mentally and emotionally (NIMH, 2020).

Trauma-informed strategies: intentional practices and interventions used to approach challenges with executive functioning students may face (McInerney & McKlindon, 2014).

BRAIN SCIENCE:

In a typically functioning brain, the hippocampus is responsible for learning and memory. It's plasticity allows it to grow and make new connections - but its plasticity that lends itself to learning also makes it particularly susceptible to damage caused by traumatic events (Anand & Dhikav, 2012). The amygdala is responsible for helping individuals to regulate their emotions and drives the "fight, flight, or freeze" response to stimuli (Sukel, 2018). The amygdala is responsible for our survival responses associated with fear and stress. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for decision-making and other executive processes (Funahashi, 2017).

Together, this trio of brain parts allows us to learn and remember, process events, and behave and express emotions appropriately for the situation.

However, when a person - especially a young person - experiences trauma, one, two, or all three of these parts cease to function normally. The hippocampus may weaken in its ability to store, process, and recall memories and may actually shrink in size (Thatcher, 2019). The amygdala turns on and up into overdrive, seeking to protect the individual from real or perceived threats that exposure to trauma may bring (Sukel, 2018). The prefrontal cortex may no longer be able to regulate appropriate responses to stimuli, meaning an individual may act inappropriately for given situations (Thatcher, 2019).

If the brain stays in overdrive due to repeated exposure to traumas, then it becomes more likely to diminish in function.