The Re-Set Process
It began at TSS In February 2021, I had the honor of moderating Dyane Carrere’s session, “A New Way to Respond to Challenging Behavior: The Re-Set Process” at ATN’s virtual Trauma-Sensitive Schools (TSS) conference. Carrere’s approach to and heart for children from hard places impressed me. So much so, in fact, that I ordered her […]
Supporting Students and Staff After COVID-19
A new book for trauma-sensitive educators Returning to school this year has been stressful for school leaders, educators, families, and students, whether they’re engaged in face-to-face, distance, or hybrid learning. My new e-book Supporting Students and Staff After COVID-19 is a resource designed especially for administrators, teachers, instructional coaches, and support staff. It provides *right now* […]
Teachers Are Heroes
Teachers are Heroes Being a teacher is more challenging than ever before. Teachers have long been the adults who care for, protect and inspire the next generation. This year, they’re laying their lives on the line and innovating like never before. In short…teachers are heroes. The impact a teacher can make is more important than […]
Let’s Thank Our Teachers
Teaching then… Long before COVID-19, social distancing, or mask mandates, we had teachers. Every August, after a few precious weeks of summer and many projects left unfinished, they showed up in empty classrooms to prepare for the new year. They rearranged furniture, made name plates, and decked out bulletin boards for a brand-new set of […]
Of Hats and Children and This Coming August
So many hats… The teacher hat Like so many of you, I wear a number of “hats” every day. Since March, I’ve worn the teacher hat often. This isn’t foreign to me—I spent ten years in early childhood education—but being Teacher-Mom is a whole new classroom! Two of my students have autism. For them, communication […]
NOW ACCEPTING WORKSHOP PROPOSALS THROUGH JUNE 30, 2020
Calling all trauma-informed educators and community leaders interested in presenting at the 4th annual Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools Conference, currently scheduled for February 14-16, 2021 in Atlanta, GA. This conference hosts over 1700 teachers, counselors, administrators, parents and child advocates from across the United States – the largest gathering of trauma-informed educators in the world! Our Call for […]
Trauma-Sensitive Learning Goes Online
by Dr. Ryan T. Woods for Respectful Ways When learning went online When the threat of COVID-19 arrived, schools responded quickly. Administrators hustled, principals made announcements, and teachers developed lesson plans. In a matter of days, students were learning from home. As any instructor knows, academic content represents just one facet of education. Developing social […]
Akin, Trauma, and Mindfulness in School
A Mindfulness room gone wrong About a month ago, I read Emma Donoghue’s novel, Akin, the story of an unlikely duo, both touched by childhood trauma: an 11-year-old boy named Michael and his great-uncle, Noah. Michael’s father–Noah’s nephew–died of an overdose, while his mother is imprisoned for a drug-related offense. Overnight, Noah finds himself the […]
My Son’s Brain in School
A neuropsychologist said of my oldest son: “His brain is not organized the way the world wants it to be, so he has problems functioning. But he doesn’t have behavior problems. His brain doesn’t do those.” My youngest son also has a brain that doesn’t fit the world he lives in, but his brain does […]
Child Trafficking: How Teachers Can Help
Child trafficking: from victim to advocate In 2019, I found myself in front of an auditorium full of school staff members from 70 Colorado school districts, speaking at a training on how to identify child trafficking. Several years earlier, my therapist had told me, “One day, you will be addressing the systems that failed you. […]