Educators play a crucial role in shaping students’ emotional and educational experiences. One vital aspect is understanding the stress response related to trauma and how it affects our students, as well as what we can do to support them.
What Is Trauma?
Trauma can take many forms, but at its core, it involves a perceived threat to a person’s emotional or physical safety. This threat activates the body’s stress response, which can be protective but may lead to long-term challenges. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences defines this prolonged stress response as “toxic stress,” which can disrupt brain development and lead to cognitive and emotional difficulties later in life.
Common sources of trauma include:
- Abuse (physical or sexual)
- Domestic violence
- Bullying
- Community violence
- Natural disasters
- Economic hardship
How the Brain Responds to Trauma
Different brain parts work together to help us react to our environment. The brainstem regulates essential bodily functions, like breathing and heart rate, while the limbic system processes sensory information and evaluates potential threats. The limbic system also encodes sensory fragments of traumatic events into implicit memories—images, sounds, smells, or sensations that can later retrigger a stress response even in safe environments like a classroom.
For example, if the sound of a lawn mower running was present during a traumatic event, hearing the sound of a lawn mower outside the classroom could trigger the brain to sense danger, even when none is present. The student’s nervous system responds as if they are back in a threatening situation.
Recognizing the Stress Response
Children who have experienced trauma may frequently activate their fight, flight or freeze responses, even in what we, as teachers, perceive as safe situations. When a child’s system is constantly activated by their stress responses, over time, it can cause their neurology to be more easily triggered. Here’s what these responses might look like in the classroom:
-Fight Response: A child might become verbally or physically aggressive, argue with peers, or appear visibly anxious.
-Flight Response: A child might run out of the classroom or avoid engagement, hide under tables or desks, show signs of anxiety, or want to go home.
-Freeze Response: A child may seem immobile, have a “deer in the headlights” appearance, ” struggle to start tasks, or frequently respond with “I don’t know.”
-Fawn Response: A child may excessively please, agree with, or compliment you or other children, have difficulty saying no, or will put other’s needs before their own.
Why This Matters in the Classroom
Recognizing trauma-related behaviors and understanding the fight, flight, freeze, or fawn response can help teachers better support students who are struggling; when the nervous system is on high alert, a student’s ability to focus and learn is diminished. By creating a safe and supportive classroom environment, teachers can help regulate students’ nervous systems, allowing them to feel secure enough to learn and engage.
Supporting Students
Recognizing these responses is the first step in helping students feel safe and secure. Here are some strategies from the 1-2-3 RESET™ framework you can implement in your classroom:
R – Relationship
Use your intonation, position, and nonverbals to regulate your students. Talking in a slower, lower voice can help move children out of a stress response. Position yourself at eye level with them so as not to be overbearing. Use non-verbal communication such as pointing, gesturing, or exaggerated facial expressions to engage with children when overwhelmed since their language processing diminishes when stressed.
E – Environment
Set up the environment to be a safe and regulating space so it is not overwhelming for their visual or auditory systems. Only display items on the walls you regularly refer to, limit extraneous noises from the hallway by closing the door, and allow students to use sound-blocking headphones when working independently if they are distracted by sounds.
S – Self-Regulation
Incorporating mindfulness, movement, breathing, and rhythm/music into the school day as a proactive strategy can help students feel more comfortable—experiment with what activities your students like to do and when. Mindfulness or breathing activities after lunch, recess, or an assembly can help your students transition to listening and learning.
E – Empowerment
When children feel seen and heard, it is empowering. When a problem arises, actively engage the child in collaborative problem-solving by asking them how they think the problem could be solved or asking them open-ended questions like “What do you think?” or “How can we do things differently next time?” Remember, they need to be regulated to have this discussion, but it’s a great way to reflect on a challenging situation and plan for when that happens again.
T – Task
Modify the task to meet the students where they are. If the student is having a bad day, shift your expectations to require less work or the expectations of how they show you what they know by allowing them to draw, create a slideshow, or tell you the answer(s).
Conclusion
Understanding trauma is essential for creating an inclusive and supportive classroom. By recognizing the signs of the stress related to trauma and implementing strategies to support affected students, we can help them feel safe, allowing them to focus on learning and thriving in school. Your role as a teacher is not just about imparting knowledge—it’s also about nurturing resilience and emotional well-being in your students.
To learn more about 1-2-3 RESET™, visit www.1-2-3reset.com.