Trauma Informed Schools Make a Difference

by Shylo Garrett, 5th Grade Educator, Cassia County School District 

I taught 5th grade at Rupert Elementary in Minidoka County, Idaho for 9 years, and I will be making a transition to Raft River Elementary School in Cassia County, Idaho next fall. My previous district dove into trauma-informed school ideology in the last couple of years, and I took part in a book study on Connections Over Compliance written by Lori L. Desautels, Ph.D.  Although I already deeply valued my connections with my students, this book study got me thinking and analyzing and gave me better insight into why students might be acting the way they do.

Regulating Yourself First

It is very important to regulate yourself BEFORE you try to regulate a dysregulated child.

In doing this book study, I wasn’t shocked by the statement that you must first regulate yourself before you can help regulate a child’s emotions. However, I was surprised the presenters told us it is ok to ask for help and walk away from the situation until we have gained composure and have evaluated our own emotions. In the past, it had always been widely accepted to just deal with the issues with your students and that asking for help carried a stigma of weakness. This book study cohort really turned that thinking around for me and I was able to be ok asking for help and taking a walk without feeling like I would be judged or thought poorly of. I have learned the art of the pause and evaluating my own emotional state before responding to student behaviors. 

Connections Over Compliance 

This book discusses how the “norm” for discipline is not working and how some of the most vulnerable children are failed. It brings to light that a lot of behaviors we are seeing are not a “choice” made by a student, but a “stress response” from the state of their brain. The author provides scientific evidence that trauma at early ages can, and in fact does, affect the actual anatomy and development of the brain.   

Furthermore, Dr. Desautels explains how consistency, compassion, and guidance are more important than discipline. Children who are just disciplined start to believe they will always be in trouble and that they are a problem. They believe no one genuinely cares about them and they don’t understand what they are experiencing within themselves. When you try to understand them and the behaviors, it confuses them at first. Most know they have acted poorly and are just waiting for the consequence. Showing them compassion softens them and then they are more apt to accept the guidance through the situation. 

It is so rewarding when those hard to reach students open up, trust you, and know you are trying to help them rather than punish them. We could quite literally change the world using these things. 

Additional Information can be found here. Book can be found here.

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