Every teacher can do something

And still be a teacher (and not a substitute parent or therapist)

Photo: Freepik

‘If only there had been a teacher who had talked to me, then my rude behaviour would have quickly stopped, then I think I would have been “broken” immediately and I would have told what I was going through.’

‘If a teacher had talked to me, I wouldn’t have been so lonely. I had a hard time but was invisible in the classroom. It wasn’t until I was in the fourth year of pre-university secondary education that a mentor really saw me. From group 3 onwards, no one at school had ever really seen me.’

While writing my book De traumasensitieve school, I heard them, the stories of children (now often (young) adults). They told me about how they were beaten, humiliated, abused, misused or neglected. Often by their parents, family members, classmates or neighbours. They told me about how their mother was beaten or how their divorcing parents hurled curses, threats and household goods at each other. They told me about how they lay in bed: waiting, never knowing when disaster would come. They said that they hoped in vain for a word of pride from their parents. They told me that at school you just had to ‘go along’, because no one was allowed to notice anything. They were afraid of destroying the family or were afraid that they would get into even more trouble. This had a great impact.

Although the impact of traumatic events is very drastic, especially if they occur in early childhood, our brain is able to make new connections that overwrite the old ones. Teachers can therefore contribute to ‘rewiring’ the brain, if they adjust their attitude and expectations to the child, want to offer support and express trust.

Children who suffer from early childhood trauma are extra sensitive to the physical environment. This is due to the constant vigilance and difficulty in regulating stimuli. [1] In these children, the living environment with negative stimuli can be a stimulus to develop more stress. Which in turn leads to more unwanted behavior and reliving of traumas. The influence of a teacher should not be underestimated in this. A teacher who acts in a trauma-sensitive manner can be worth its weight in gold. Conversely, a strict teacher who often reacts angrily can be a trigger for a child who experiences similar things at home. Suppose a child is beaten at home by his father, the teacher’s strict behavior could make the child recognize his abusive father in it. That in turn could lead to an outburst of anger from the child that no one saw coming, or to a fearful, withdrawn child whose teacher does not understand why he acts that way.

What teachers should not want is to recognize, detect or try to heal trauma. Teachers should teach. What they can do is create a safe, structured environment with attention to the relationship with the child. The teacher as co-regulator.

A trauma-sensitive classroom integrates explicit strategies to help children regulate themselves and calm their dysregulated stress system. It is a classroom where the teacher establishes warm and ‘healing’ relationships with students. Relationships built on respect, support and warmth.

Study after study shows that a supportive environment helps against traumatization.[1] [2] [3] Good attachment relationships help protect us from threats. Relationships matter. [4] When a child is traumatized, loving connections with family members, but also the teacher and classmates help. Our brain is made for the connection with our fellow human beings; that wiring has to develop (again). At the same time, you must realize that a child who is traumatized will have difficulty forming relationships again. So, it requires patience and repetition. In addition, children often show externalizing behavior or distrust, which causes stress and powerlessness for the teacher. Knowledge of trauma and ACE’s can help them.

Literatuur: https://tinyurl.com/2cbpw478