Childhood Trauma and Classroom Resiliency ((3 Credits))

Catalog description

Aversive Childhood Experiences (ACE) may cause a student to have academic problems, acting out behaviors, and poor relationships with classmates and school staff. The negative effects of ACEs lead to deficits in attention, learning and retrieval, language and communication skills, and memory recall, thus affecting students' academic performance and social skills. According to the Center for Disease Control, the number of ACEs one has experienced has a direct correlation to the education level one achieves. When teachers are trauma informed, learn effective responses to student trauma, and how to help foster and instill resiliency skills necessary to thrive in the classroom, children have better learning outcomes: building foundations for better health, success, and positive interactions - in school and in life. This course will present the core concepts of ACEs, stress, trauma, restoration, self-care, and provide research-based strategies and practices to enhance resilience in the classroom environment. Class participants will be taught to avoid secondary traumatic stress or compassion fatigue by being aware of personal self-care. According to the National Child Stress Network, compassion fatigue is "the emotional duress that results when an individual hears firsthand about the trauma experienced by another."