Adult literacy teachers know that trauma is often the silent, uninvited and trouble-making guest in the classroom.

What is Trauma?

Trauma is the fight, flight or flee response to situations that overwhelm our coping skills. Many students experience current, acute trauma, such as domestic violence, eviction, homelessness or hunger. Others have experienced trauma in educational settings of their pasts, such as being humiliated or injured by teachers, told they wouldn’t amount to much, or being subjected to unsanitary, dangerous conditions at school, and returning to an educational setting may trigger a reliving of the trauma. Others may have experienced or witnessed trauma as children, such as the loss of a parent or other relative, been a victim or witness of violence or been uprooted from their homes and separated from family. These early childhood traumas can be some of the most difficult to overcome. Some students have a disability, either a visible one, such as impaired mobility in their legs, or an invisible one, such as being bipolar, and the school setting does not properly accommodate them, so they may struggle repeatedly to access the classroom or bathroom, see the board, or be subjected to overwhelming sounds that make it impossible for them to focus. Some may not conform to society’s expectations of them and experience discrimination and derision on an ongoing basis.

This may sound overwhelming, but there is a lot teachers and counselors can do to support students experiencing trauma so that they can remain focused on their studies.

Trauma and poverty

One major contributor to trauma is poverty, and all the conditions that poverty creates – unstable housing, scarcity of food, and interactions with law enforcement, to name a few. In New York State, 1 in 9 people suffer from hunger. In New York City, one fifth of the population lives below the poverty line, set at $24,300 for a family of four. Many people above the poverty line are living in temporary shelters, or struggle to meet basic needs such as access to healthcare or adequate food. Many adult literacy students are living in poverty, though as teachers we don’t always know about the challenges they face on a daily basis. I remember a student who always came to class and made a beeline for the bathroom, and stayed in there for quite a while, every class. When I asked why one day, he explained that he lived with 14 other people in a two bedroom apartment with one bathroom. In the classroom, we don’t always think about the challenges our students face on an ongoing basis.

How does trauma work?

When people suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) their brains stay in a heightened state of emergency, often being on edge, hyper-vigilant (always looking over one’s shoulder), having frequent angry outbursts, unable to sleep, eat or participate in regular routines, have disruptive nightmares or fears. PTSD is treatable through various therapies. It can be debilitating left undiagnosed and untreated. Below are symptoms that some people who suffer from trauma experience.

Not everyone who experiences trauma develops PTSD, but many do. So what does trauma look like in the classroom?

Trauma can take many forms. One student coping with trauma may appear very agitated, irritable, and unwilling to work with partners on group projects or discussions. Another student experience trauma may put his head down on the desk and sleep, seem confused, disorganized and does not complete assignments.

How can teachers and case managers address trauma without opening a can of worms that cannot be closed?

1. Addressing emotions doesn’t make you a therapist. Don’t be afraid to note your observations privately to a student. “You seem…” statements are a good way to get the conversation going in a non-judgmental way. It’s a way of noting that you’ve noticed something different without making incorrect assumptions. For example, “You seem distracted/worried/down today/in a great mood.” If your guess is wrong, the student can correct you. It is a way to open the conversation, and let students know that they can talk to you about what they are experiencing. It’s also a way of letting them know that you see them and they matter to you. Sometimes that alone can go a long way in making connections and building trust.
2. Ask questions. Students generally want to meet expectations, but may need assistance in doing so. Ask questions to try to uncover what the barriers are, and how you can mitigate them. It may be as simple as asking if they need to sit closer to the board to see, or pair them with a peer with whom they generally get along and are productive.
3. Build social-emotional tasks into academic ones. All students should be pushed outside of their comfort zones, but that will mean different things to different students. For one student, a big step may be to sit in a group without leaving the classroom, even if they don’t share their ideas. For another student, pair work might need to happen before group work is possible. Each student is an individual. Consider the non-cognitive, or social-emotional work they need to do, not just the academic work, and build it into classroom routines and academic tasks. When students develop stronger social-emotional skills, they will be able to take on more challenging academic work.
4. Consider the reasons behind the behavior. Don’t label students as oppositional or defiant. You may have a student who doesn’t want to join a group, doesn’t want to turn and talk, doesn’t want to read aloud. They may be sleeping in class or frequently leaving the room, but their attendance is good. That is a sign that they are getting value out of the class, even if it doesn’t seem like they do. They want to do well, but may not have the skills to do so. This is a student who is challenging to work with, and it can be hard not to feel slighted or feel like they just don’t want to learn. All students want to be successful. What this student lacks is a feeling of security and confidence. Ask yourself how you can support their learning. What needs do they have that are different from the needs that other students have?

Using the images above as a metaphor for a classroom, the students on the left all receive the same kinds of supports. Each student, regardless of their heights or abilities, is given the same sized box to stand on. This results with some students being able to see the whole game, some students being able to see some of the game, and others not being able to see the game at all. In the image on the right, all students can see the game, given different sized boxes, or none at all, to support them. How does this image apply to your class? How can you work with the challenges you see, and the challenges you don’t see to support all students in being able to focus on their academics?