Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1156982
As the number of students with trauma increases, educators turn to approaches that focus on relationships, empathy F O R 2 0 Y E A R S , Christa Maldonado thought that stu- dents only learned the hard way. When confronted with bad behavior, the social studies teacher and depart- ment chair at Valley View High, a continuation school in Ontario, says a punitive response was all she knew. "I really believed that students only learned from tough consequences," the Associated Chaffey Teachers member says. "If a student didn't have punishment, what would stop them from repeating the behavior? Or worse, what would stop the rest of the class from copying that behav- ior? Without consequences, I would lose all control!" en in 2018 Maldonado, together with her principal and school counselor, attended the Trauma-Informed School Conference hosted by the Beyond Consequences Institute in Denver. ey were so struck with the prac- tices they learned that they went back and trained their entire staff in a trauma-informed approach to working with students. "is approach focuses on regulating students' emo- tions using science-based solutions rather than focusing on students' behavior," Maldonado says. "We realize that behavior is a symptom of a larger problem and that creat- ing a strong relationship with the student is essential to helping them be successful." She points, for example, to a classroom student who got "very angry" with her when she asked the girl to stop using inappropriate language. The girl began cursing at Maldonado. "Before using a trauma-informed approach, I would have removed the student from class for cussing me out, and she would most likely have been suspended. Instead I said, ' You seem really frustrated this morn- ing, is everything OK?' She started sobbing: 'No! I just got these braces and they 're killing me.' I knew I could address the behavior later, when she was in a better place emotionally. The important thing was to make the emotional connection in the moment. She almost lost her Government class because her teeth hurt." Fo r Ma l d o n a d o , t ra u m a - i n f o r m e d t e a c h i n g h a s b e en a re v el ati on , a n d sh e i s n o t al on e . E du c ators across the state and around the countr y have found By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin and Katharine Fong 42 cta.org feature