In the wake of the school shootings in Florida, and well, around the country over the course of the year, I wondered to myself, are we giving enough to our students? Yes, we go home exhausted, and we plan for much, and sometimes see little complete; but are we doing enough?
At Whaley School we wrap our students in positive incentives throughout the day, we offer an SEL infused, innovative school day, we hold Parent University in order to give tools to families to be successful with behavior and academics, and we work tirelessly to create a positive culture within our walls each day. Are we doing enough? I often stay awake late at night wondering what else I can do, short of creating a 24-hour environment where students feel safe and connected. As @bethhill2829 stated in her post about what our students bring into school and what we as educators should do everyday. . . . notice them and love them instead. Are we doing enough? We are a trauma-sensitive school, our staff understand what our students bring in each day, and hope to lighten that load as they walk out. We only get 6.5 hours to help students overcome obstacles that we may never know ourselves; how do we accomplish that? Our job at Whaley school is mentally demanding each and every day. We, however, make sure that each day, each period, or each hiccup along the way is refreshed and we don't take things personally. Our staff is highly trained in interacting with students in a trauma-sensitive way. . . we live through it with our kids when they tell us their stories. Look at the following statistics: One out of every 4 children attending school has been exposed to a traumatic event that can affect learning and/or behavior. Here is what we can do to help students who experience trauma:
What if you do all of these things every day, individually to all students, and our changes are minimal? It’s ok, we are doing enough for kids, we are working around the clock to provide the best environment for kids, we are becoming the innovative schools that kids deserve, we are changing the end result; whether it’s in small or large increments at a time. While I’d like to think that there is never enough we can do to help those who need us most, we are doing enough each day and we ARE the CHANGE!
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