Dealing with Trauma

The vast majority if not all of us have at one point or another experienced some form of behavioral issue in our classroom. From my own personal experience, one of the most common points of commiseration among teachers, and one faced widely by those of us in urban school systems in particular (such as Baltimore City and County) that have high rates of minority students, is that of behavioral challenges in school. As a chronic issue, it is one that deserves to be considered under the lens of school reform. If we use suspension rates as a proxy for behavior, we see that urban districts have higher than average amounts of “misbehavior.” While the average suspension rate in counties across Maryland is 6.8% of students (46% persons of color statewide), with Montgomery County and Howard County coming in at lows of 2.6% and 3.3% respectively, Baltimore City’s 2010-2011 year showed a rate of 9.1% of students suspended at one point or another (72% persons of color citywide) (Baltimore Sun - Suspensions)(Maryland Demographics). And, to be frank, not all of the students that I personally might have recommended for suspension were ultimately suspended, and I know that the case was similar for many others.

But why is it that students are suspended, or “misbehave,” at higher rates in metropolitan areas, and where there are higher rates of minority students? The National Child Traumatic Stress Network reports that one out of four children in the United States will experience a traumatic event before the age of 16 (Curtin, 2008). However, Parson (1994 - link to pdf) found that black children in the inner city experience traumatic events at more than 3 times the rate of children nationally, with 84% of elementary students saying that they had seen someone physically assaulted.

There may be a correlation between trauma and suspension rates, but then the question of how effective suspensions are in actually decreasing “misbehavior” in schools and classrooms is asked. The answer is disheartening. Jane Ellen Stevens, in a recent article on the Huffington Post, reports that one suspension triples the likelihood of a child becoming involved with the juvenile justice system, and doubles that child's likelihood of repeating a grade. And then when it comes to the classroom, it was rarely my experience that students were better behaved, motivated, or adjusted when they returned from their suspension.

So what is an acceptable alternative to suspending chronically “misbehaved” students who may be dealing with some form of trauma?

Trauma-informed improved plans are a new way of addressing these issues. School districts in Massachusetts, Washington, and other states have begun to adopt such plans which include courses for teachers on how to teach traumatized children; whole-community involvement in informing schools about and responding to students who have experienced trauma; and the positive behavior interventions program.

As communities continue to change, it is impossible for students to learn and for teachers to teach if the students’ basic needs are not met. Providing outlets and productive alternatives to punishing “misbehaved” children should ever be towards the top of the school reform agenda. 

Links:

Main Article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-ellen-stevens/traumasensitive-schools-part-two_b_1632126.html?utm_hp_ref=education 

PBIS: http://www.pbis.org/school/default.aspx

Trauma-Sensitive Schools: http://www.istss.org/source/stresspoints/index.cfm?fuseaction=Newsletter.showThisIssue&Issue_ID=80&Article_ID=1353

Inner City Children of Trauma Report PDF: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&ved=0CGcQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.giftfromwithin.org%2Fpdf%2Fparson.pdf&ei=1u3wT9nvKKGC6QGwvvG6Bg&usg=AFQjCNFexXFOKaSLAUc_fV44nIYOyUDphQ&sig2=1PSiMfzwO_pRXmF0tHSOmw

Demographics: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/24/24510.html

Baltimore Sun- Suspensions: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-12-25/news/bs-md-co-school-suspensions-20111225_1_suspension-issue-suspension-rate-stricter-discipline-codes