Trauma and adversity are increasingly common experiences for*students and educators, with growing poverty, income inequality,*social injustice, institutional*inequity,*and the*global*pandemic*worsening the situation.*Now*more children*are*attending school while*experiencing significant chronic and acute stressors. What*can educators do to support students, help them learn, and ensure*they reach their full potential? Trauma-informed schools are lauded as one way to address this challenge, but trauma-informed pedagogy can be hard to define and,*consequently, difficult for teachers*and schools*to implement.
Trauma-Responsive Pedagogy*explores the research and*practices*around trauma-informed*education in an easy-to-digest, actionable text that elevates the healing and wellness of both the children and the adults in our classrooms. It describes the challenges of a classroom that does not attend to adversity and trauma, then presents the research on trauma-responsive classrooms, and*finally provides an inclusive framework that supports educators in centering the whole child in their classrooms-offering a recipe for what to do next period, next week, and next school year.*Pedagogy that is trauma-responsive*invites us to heal alongside our students*while explicitly elevating evidence-informed teaching methods and practices*and*facilitating the necessary inner work to bring our whole being to the profession in healthy ways. Our students' challenges are not a deterrent to their learning. Together, we can turn wounds into wisdom.*
