The entire education profession is often undersold and underappreciated. The extensive behind-the-scene work that teachers, administrators, and counselors participate in help to maintain a healthy and happy educational environment for your children. Unfortunately, in recent years, education-based professions have had to participate in seminars and attend classes not necessarily needed a decade ago.

Schools are not only required by their district to practice a certain number of lock downs, but some districts are now requiring their employees to attend some form of trauma-sensitive trianing explaining the specific signs of trauma that students may show and how to deal with it.

Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, are becoming more and more common. In one study, more than one in five students reported three or more ACEs. These can be experiences such as homelessness, hunger, emotional abuse, domestic violence, etc. Other studies claim 90% of students will experience at least one death of a loved one by the time they enter high school. Middle school and early high school-aged students often have an identity crisis when faced with emotional situations they don’t know how to deal with. They lash out against other individuals and may self-harm.

Teachers are made aware of these issues because students need to feel loved, valued and appreciated. Teachers provide encouragement and act as a role model understanding how to respect authentic responses to traumatic situations. They are taught to teach the proper and healthy ways to deal with stress while still balancing the ability to recognize teachable moments and when to let a child have an outburst due to their lack of reception in the height of emotions.

To read more on how to support traumatized students click here.