As an incredibly extroverted third year principal I have really taken inventory of my thoughts and feelings about this new reality that we are all attempting to adjust to. I always knew that I drew my energy from people and depended heavily upon my daily interactions with hundreds of people, but I had no idea just how much. So, as I am racking my brain to figure out new and creative ways to interact safely with my people while practicing “social distancing,” I can’t help but wonder how the isolation is impacting our students and their families. Whether we draw our energy from interactions with others or if those same interactions take all of our energy from us, we ALL still benefit from being in community and actively participating in face-to-face interactions.
I am not a psychologist or sociologist and have really no research for my thoughts, other than observations of others and limited interactions with others. The word that seems to be coming up over and over is frustration.
Everyone just seems to be frustrated!
The teachers are working overtime to meet the needs of all students by creating countless video lessons, trouble-shooting technology issues, ensuring that their students basic needs are being met, while also following up with parents of students that have not checked in or completed an assignment in a while. The parents are frustrated. Not only are they dealing with the stress and uncertainty that this virus has added to their work-life and financial future, but they are also adapting to the new reality that they are now a full time, home-based teacher and were given less than 24 hours notice to make the necessary preparations to accept this new role. School and district level administrators are attempting to be in constant communication with everyone to ensure that we are heading to a point of equilibrium and sustainability as we are all starting to understand that this could be our reality for the foreseeable future.
I have no doubt that we will adapt. Human beings have been adapting to new situations since the beginning of time. I guess my concern is what if we actually do adapt? What if our new reality is one without handshakes, high fives, and fist bumps? What if “social distancing” is our new reality? It is my fear that social and personal interaction will go down and that technology consumption will go way up.
One thing that is very important to me, as a middle school principal, is that we are constantly embedding those very important social emotional skills. We teach the students how to make good eye contact while delivering a strong and confident handshake. We teach our students how to take a welcoming and non-threatening posture while involved in a conversation. We understand there are still plenty of opportunities to practice good social skills while social distancing but the prospect of this new reality is really hard to think about.
About the Author
Jason McCauley is the Principal of Palmetto Middle School. He is wrapping up his fifteenth year in education. Jason served as a Spanish teacher for five years, assistant principal for seven years, and just finished his third year as principal at Palmetto Middle School. During his time as an educator, Jason coached baseball and football. He has been married to his wife, Amanda, for fifteen years and they have two sons; Wyatt and Briggs.
By: Addie Laney, South Carolina High School Student
Perspective. Many of us learned this word in art class when we were younger, but didn’t quite understand how it would apply to our lives on a broader scale, not yet. I thought it was an art term, then I learned this word is more than an art term. Perspective is the opinion form around a topic and how you choose to view issues. When thinking about the Coronavirus, the first thing to come to mind are negative thoughts, which is natural. As the cases rise, so does the fear, and so does the trauma that some people experience.
There are questions we never thought we would be asking, like: “What if i get it?” “What if my loved ones get it?” “When will I see my friends again?” Now those are questions we hear everyday. It’s okay to feel this way. No one knows what the next steps are involving the world’s peculiar situation right now.
Even though the level of uncertainty is so high involving the Coronavirus, one thing we can be certain of and have control over is our perspective.
I asked my friends to share negatives and positives they have found during this time of quarantine and social distancing. The video proves the undeniable truth and power of perspective. During this time we can choose to focus on how the stores aren’t open, how we can’t see all of our friends, or even how much we miss stepping into a school building everyday to learn. Or, we could focus on the good. We can spend more time with our families and reconnect with them again. We can focus on other values we have in life, like religion. We can learn new hobbies that help us find out new stuff about ourselves. Most importantly, we can learn how to truly appreciate what we have.
This is how we can view not only the situation involving the Coronavirus, but any situation life throws at us. Focusing on the negative, in a time like this, isn’t going to change anything or how anyone is feeling, it just feeds our trauma. We can choose to turn what could be a traumatic experience into a good, life changing experience and instead choose to heal ourselves, better ourselves and support ourselves. I choose to smile and stay safe. I hope you will too by focusing your perspective not on the negative, but on the positive.
About the Author
Addie Laney is a rising junior. She is the Fine Arts Chair of Student Council, President of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a member of Future Farmers of America, a member of Youth Leadership for her county of residence and the Public Relations Chair for National Honor Society. She is also a member of her high school tennis team and a member of the senior dance in dance academy. She aspires to attend USC and become a therapist.
As the past weeks have unfolded, like many of my students and colleagues, the uncertainty of tomorrow, next week, the fall, and the world have caused me to struggle. I find myself experiencing life in a new way that consistently revolves around questioning my surroundings. For instance, when I went to the grocery store weeks ago, the amount of people walking around without a mask, coughing on others, and even one person sweating profusely caused my alarm bells to ring. I rushed home and realized I was in a state of panic; immobilized by fear of the unknown and fear of this potentially fatal disease. This traumatic experience continues to stay with me, and in fact, I have only gone back to the grocery store one additional time. Although my second experience made me feel safer because so many were wearing masks and there were limits on how many people were in the store, I was still worried and overcome with the feeling of sadness. Such a regular day-to-day situation, going to the grocery store, or any closed in space, has now become an immediate concern for me and a risk that I am not comfortable taking.
These same feelings continue as I watch news sources and read friend’s threads on social media about the loss of so many. When friends share their inconsolable grief at being unable to say goodbye to their loved one, or when I see the extremely long and growing lines at local food banks and the unparalleled call to support our communities, all of these experiences and moments leave me breathless with a sense of sorrow. These secondary traumatic experiences, and my own circumstances can easily lead to little hope. I often find myself critically reflecting, asking questions, and wondering how to get past this fear and enter a sense of calm and understanding. I wonder how others, students, friends, and colleagues are coping through these uncertain times. I am curious as to their feelings when going out in public, to restaurants or even getting a haircut. I question if I am being overly cautious, too cautious, or if my feelings and precautions are “normal.” Most importantly, I wonder when I will feel safe again. Sadly, none of these questions have immediate and definite answers.
As each day passes, I am constantly attempting self-care, as Kathleen Pennyway described in her post last week. For me this means taking time to get lost in a good book, catching up on a recorded tv show, or calling a friend to share experiences. I quickly learned that by sharing my experiences – my fears, my successes, my failures, and my daily situation, I felt a better sense of hope and calm. I was able to understand that although my experiences are my own, many can relate. Some offer words of wisdom and others relate their own experiences. None provided judgment. This relates to what Elizabeth Dutro shared in her post, and in her very important book, the concept of reciprocal witnessing. Although I did not know this term until recently, I have always understood the power of sharing our stories (testimonies) and having others listen – really listen and provide empathy, is powerful.
Navigating Student Trauma: The Importance of Connection to Heal
In our book, Teaching Hope and Resilience for Students Experiencing Trauma: Creating Safe and Nurturing Classrooms for Learning, Doug, Nancy, and I discuss how teachers can leverage literacies as tools to help our students navigate their lives, building capacity to respond to troubling times. We share how collaborative and meaningful discussions, using texts, and writing can build children’s and adolescents’ resilience. These ideas not only allow teachers to support students’ well-being and social-emotional learning, but they also address required content. But what could this look like in an online environment?
Ways to Leverage Literacies as Tools to Help Students Navigate Their Lives
Discussion to build
Of utmost importance when implementing any of these, is the ability to be a warm-demander, building upon already created teacher-student relationships in an online format. Peer relationships are just as important online, as in person, too. Although different, community can be built and developed. Salena Davis discussed in her post the importance of communication. This not only relates to what Dutro shared, but also aligns with the need for discussion with our students and for them to discuss with their peers. This may relate to sharing their stories, but we can also encourage discussion related to our own content and what they are learning or reading. For instance, I use Voicethread to share my lesson, embedding additional material, such as links to videos. On each slide, I provide my lecture, but add specific questions related to the content or ways to promote connection among the group. Students can respond to me or one another via audio, video, or text. These discussions are asynchronous but allow students to continue building community. Often, my students bring up their own personal connections to the material and relate it to their own lived experiences.
Another way to support student learning and choice is within our text selection. I recently had a teacher ask me about what book she could assign to her students now that they were remotely learning. My quick response was “what do they want to read?” If there are specific types of analysis questions that this teacher wanted to use, then she could provide an open theme or topic and let students choose their book. By giving her students options in what they read, she can still focus on analysis, the main goal, but also support student motivation to continue reading. Her students could synchronously meet with her and their classmates weekly (more or less) and share pieces of their book that has excited them, things they questioned as they read, or even how the student may have related to the situation, events, or characters. For instance, maybe a student reads about a character facing the death of a loved one. The student may share her own experiences that relate. Or, another student may read about inequities and ask questions of her peers (and the teacher) related to the inequities in her own life or within this current pandemic. Inquiry-based learning is a great way to provide choice in research for classrooms that do not use literature.
Writing to remember
Over the past few weeks, I have had quite a few students, all current teachers, wanting, more importantly, needing to share their experiences. Some created a running online journal with me, where they record their thoughts, feelings, and questions, and then I either respond, ask my own questions, or share my experiences. This may not work for all students, and it could be time consuming for a teacher to journal with all students. Therefore, we can encourage our students to support their own healing through private autobiographical writing. They can then choose if/when to invite other adults or peers to listen. As Kathleen Pennyway mentioned, having an open door, or in these days, an open email policy, is important. We want to ensure that our students and colleagues have a way to reach out and share, ask questions, or tell their stories.
Outside experts and a plan
While we want to communicate to our students that their voices count and can create constructive change, not accepting unjust realities, we must also remember that topics may inadvertently trigger memories or reactions related to additional traumas. It is important to have a plan to monitor students’ unease or if the topic may be too much in the moment. It is important to remember what we learned from Guy Ilagen’s post – our school counselors are available. As educators, we need to keep in mind our state’s mandated reporter requirements as we continue monitoring our students and their situations. If there is reason for concern, we need to reach out to our more trained peers. More importantly, we can reach out to our fellow colleagues and check in on them.
As I wrap this up, I want to emphasize that we can promote student empowerment and agency. I have found that by asking my students what they want or need is powerful. Through these discussions, we co-constructed knowledge and negotiated ways for students to demonstrate their learning and growth. Our students faced many hardships and traumatic experiences prior to this pandemic. Now, we are all experiencing this together. It is vital that we provide the time and space for our students to safely share their concerns and be human. This process starts by first sharing a bit of ourselves. I will never forget the moment of relief I noticed in my students when I shared my grocery store experience. It was like a huge weight was taken away from each of them. Although this did not allow for immediate conversation related to content, I found that these teachers needed to download their fears and connect with one another. These teachers shared their fears, connected and asked questions about transitioning their own classrooms to online, and ultimately realized the similarities and differences occurring across lives. Although all of my students were adults, they needed to know that the proverbial door was open.
Finally, I feel it important to thank all of my friends, colleagues, peers, fellow teachers and students for all that they are doing during these unstable times. Most importantly, I want to thank everyone reading this for bearing witness to my own traumatic experiences as I shared a piece of my story. I want every person reading this to know that it is okay to feel uncertain. I challenge each of you to reach out to someone and share your thoughts and feelings, inviting them to reciprocate.
About the Author
Dr. Rachelle S. Savitz is an assistant professor of adolescent literacy at Clemson University having been a K-12 literacy coach/interventionist and high school reading teacher. She is the recipient of Association of Literacy Educators and Researcher’s Jerry Johns Promising Researcher Award, American Reading Forum’s Gary Moorman Early Career Literacy Scholar Award, finalist for International Literacy Association’s Timothy and Cynthia Shanahan Outstanding Dissertation award, as well as Secondary Reading Council of Florida’s Reading Teacher of the Year award. She has published articles on inquiry-based learning, analysis and use of young adult literature, and response to intervention.
My classroom was fully invested in the practice of trauma-informed teaching. I was confident in my ability to build relationships with students that were based on honesty, listening, and mutual respect. I used those relationships to strengthen my students’ academic and social-emotional abilities. We had regular meditation practice in my room for all of my students. I had a couch in the corner that students frequently used to calm down if they needed to decompress from a stressful situation, and snacks in my office if anyone had forgotten breakfast. There were signs in my room celebrating diversity and respect for all, and my students regularly had conversations about race, police brutality, sexism, gender and sexuality, and other issues of social justice. I had agreements with other teachers in the school that if they needed a student to cool down for a second, they could send that student to me. Each of these strategies was designed to center my students’ needs, and to help them to deal with traumas such as violence, home instability, and poverty.
My students frequently commented the drama room was the place they felt safe, and I wore that accolade with as much honor as the awards we won at state competition. And there were many teachers at my school who were doing these things – I was only one part of a committed group of teachers who were working towards trauma-informed practice as our goal. Our school was making leaps forward, with plans for student and teacher wellness rooms, a good amount of teacher buy-in, and successful professional development opportunities. In short, there was momentum building in trauma-informed practice.
And then, the virus charged through our country and ripped apart everything that we had built.
I don’t know that I have ever felt as lost as an educator as I have during the past six weeks. I felt I was working harder than I have ever worked, and simultaneously I was failing at my job in reaching students. There were many times when I felt like giving up in despair. But I didn’t. As educators, our mantra is monitor and adjust, so I did. I made many mistakes over the course of learning how to teach theatre virtually, but I believe I have arrived back where I belong, with trauma-informed practice at the center of my teaching.
Here’s what I have learned.
1.Keep relationships at the center of your job
In the normal world, my classroom is constantly filled with of young people. From before the first bell rings, to long after everyone else in the building has left, there is theatre happening in Room 133. But more than that, I have worked hard to make the drama room a space where my students feel comfortable and safe. Whether kids needed a nap on my futon, a minute in the costume closet to cool down, or a chat in my office, they came to the drama room to find it.
Part of trauma-informed practice is creating a physical space that helps students relax and be able to learn. The loss of the physical space of my room left me without a huge tool to check in on students who are struggling academically and emotionally. The relationships built in school are grounded in the physical space of our classrooms. In a COVID-19 world, reduced to Zoom meetings and virtual assignments, our ability to connect and build relationships suffered. One of the things I miss the most about school is the ability to connect with my students easily and naturally on a human level. To say “Hey, I read that book you told me about,” or “What did you think of this scene in a play?” or “Have you heard about the new video game?” and hear about their interests and their dreams and who they are as people.
As online teachers, we need to be more intentional than ever in our efforts to build and maintain relationships with our students. Some of the things I did to maintain those relationships included starting weekly Instagram posts where I would pose a silly theatre related question that students could respond to. I hosted watch parties of plays on Zoom and virtual “lunches” in the drama room. And I started reserving time in our Zoom classes to ask my kids to share things that were going on with them – what they were watching (a lot of Tiger King), whether they missed school (surprisingly yes) and whether they were sleeping on a normal schedule (definitely not). These non-academic pursuits brought back several of the students who had gone no-contact, and I was able to use them to convince some of those same students to complete some of their academic work.
It is easy, in the world of eLearning, to reduce a teacher’s job to academics. This is a trap, and we dare not fall prey to it. For many of our students, we are a stable and welcome presence in their lives they may not find at home. This presence is as valuable as the content we teach. I know many of us are worried about test scores, the summer slump, AP Exams and college preparedness. I understand this worry, but it cannot take precedence over our relationships with our students.
2. Encourage self-care in your students, and practice it yourself
Students and teachers alike are experiencing some sense of anxiety, loss, grief or trauma right now. The news of the virus alone is enough to keep anyone awake at night. Many of our students are experiencing economic hardship due to the pandemic as well. And there are losses that are small to adults but loom huge in the lives of our students. Prom. Graduation. Spring performances.
These are losses and your students deserve to grieve them. When a student tells me about something they are upset about, I don’t placate or tell them there are people who are worse off. I don’t tell them they shouldn’t feel the way they feel. Learning to recognize and regulate our feelings is an important part of trauma-informed practice. I frequently tell my students feelings are never right or wrong, and controlling what we do with our feelings is more important than the feelings themselves.
At the same time, we need to make certain we are practicing what we preach. As I mentioned earlier, I had an extremely difficult adjustment to eLearning. There were times when no matter how hard I struggled, I barely felt like a teacher. In addition, I was caring for a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old who were also experiencing some regression due to the pandemic. My spouse and I were both working from home, and there were many days where I felt like a failure as both a teacher and a mother.
I eventually came to the realization that I was allowing my students flexibility that I did not allow myself. I needed to make changes – adjusting my Zoom schedule to coincide with my younger child’s nap schedule, for example, or creating time to do yoga and work in my garden. Many teachers have strong senses of empathy, and teachers who work with students who are dealing with trauma can suffer from secondary-PTSD. In addition, many teacher families are dealing with the same stressors that our students are dealing with. It is important to build routines of self-care so that we can maintain the emotional stamina to help our students. Our students deserve no less than our very best effort, and we cannot give them our best if we do not take care of ourselves.
3. Create hope, and involve students in a plan for the future
My students have many questions I cannot answer. Will we go back to school in the fall? Will we be able to do a musical? Will we be able to perform next year? It hurts my heart to have to tell them I don’t know. All students, but particularly students who have experienced trauma, need routine and structure to feel safe. So many of our routines are gone now. Nonetheless, I respect them too much to lie to them and promise them everything is going to be okay.
I cannot tell my students what the future holds, but I can give them some control over some of their circumstances. My student leadership board is currently in the process of choosing scripts for next year, as well as coming up with alternate plans in case the virus decides to make a resurgence. Young people are capable of coming up with those plans, and they deserve to have a seat at the table when those decisions are being made. There is very little we can control at this point in time, but offering our students the chance to help plan our future is one way we can give them some measure of certainty and agency. COVID-19 has transformed our reality in a matter of months, but one thing that has not changed is that we as teachers must put our students at the center of our practice. Whether we teach in classrooms or in packets or through Zoom, we can use trauma-informed strategies such as relationship building, self-care, and student-centered processes to better serve our students and ourselves as teachers.
About the Author
Kathleen Pennyway has been a professional drama educator, actor, and director for the past thirteen years, working for such organizations as the Windy City Players, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Childsplay. She has taught and performed in nine different states and worked with hundreds of young people. Ms. Pennyway graduated with a BA in Theatre from Northwestern University, and received her MFA in Theatre for Youth from Arizona State University. She currently teaches theatre at Dreher High School, and lives in Lexington with her husband Dee, her children, Harrison and Rosie, and her dog, Lily.
By: Salena Davis, South Carolina High School Social Studies Teacher
It’s spring, and I have to say that I’m missing the spring sounds of school—you know, prom chatter… concerts and plays…baseball… Instead, I’m sitting at home in my “new normal” pjs with every commercial reminding me about these “times of uncertainty” while I try to figure out how they are going to put fewer kids on busses, how it will affect my class sizes and will the students be able to take off their masks, if they end up eating in my classroom? Yes, I am way past sensory overload.
It has, however, helped me appreciate how difficult e-learning has been for my students. My daughter told me this week that she had over 1,300 school emails in her inbox—800 of them she never even opened. (We agreed that “delete” is an awesome button, and we could go look through the trash if there really was an email she desperately needed.)
Even the youngest among us are not immune. My elementary son brought me his school Chromebook this morning with at least ten tabs opened trying to figure out what was due today. It’s Monday…10:00am. I’m pretty sure I didn’t schedule our mental meltdowns until at least Tuesday afternoon this week.
Literacy during Covid-19
Many of our educational challenges have been logistic—do my students have a computer? Internet access? Printer? This week’s packet? If those were our only challenges, we would be doing pretty well. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. I would argue that our most significant challenges have been directly tied to literacy.
Literacy is more than defining terms and understanding of syntax. Literacy is first communication. Communication is easier when we are with our students. They can decode our messages through our expressions, animation and feedback. Our proximity and interaction help keep their minds focused and in sync with the material. With distance learning, they lose the audible, tangible, visual aspects of communication and have only the words to process—a skill which requires more mental focus and more self-discipline.
Comprehension occurs in the quiet of the mind. Students flit from texts to Instagram to Snapchat to whatever else pops up on their screen. They need a teacher (or parent) to actively keep them focused in order to understand what they are learning, especially if it is a skill they don’t necessarily desire of their own accord. It would be interesting—perhaps horrifying—to know when they last sat quietly and did one thing—whether that was playing an instrument or reading a book or painting a picture.
What can we do to help students with these literacy challenges as they navigate their own trauma?
Now add a layer of COVID-crisis—with parents losing jobs, and social distancing, and caring for siblings, and worrying they may catch the virus… No wonder they’re struggling. They have lost their normalcy and much of their support network. We need them to discipline their minds and create routines, yet many of them have never done so without the structures of school and don’t know where to start.
Ask them how they are doing. Many of them they need the encouragement of knowing that someone cares before they are willing to do the hard work. (ex. https://bit.ly/2zemIjb )
Give them options. In a time when people lose control in some aspects of their lives, the ability to make a choice can help alleviate discomfort. (ex. https://bit.ly/3cz2cYU )
Limit communications. This may seem counterintuitive, but remember those 1,300+ emails in my daughter’s inbox? When people are feeling overwhelmed, less can be more. Consider doing one post with all of the assignments. The visual impact of having one new item in Google Classroom can be less discouraging than five new items for each class each week.
Encourage students to make a hand-written checklist or calendar to organize their assignments. Tabbing through multiple screens adds anxiety to students who are already feeling overwhelmed.
Remember they may be facing more hardship with fewer coping mechanisms. One of my students has not turned in any assignments, but she did fill out my “Checking In” Google Form. She told me she’s been a little busy—her grandmother, who was her only guardian, passed away. Maybe social studies isn’t going to be at the top of her list right now.
I believe this experience gives us the opportunity to reevaluate our goals for our students. While we may be in a temporary period of coping with COVID, the lessons we are learning can help us re-commit to our literacy goals for our students. When we go back this fall and get to hear those beautiful sounds of school again, let us continue to help our students learn how to find the sweet spot of their minds where they can focus, engage, learn, persevere and grow.
About the Author
Salena Davis has taught social studies and communication courses for 26 years on the elementary, middle, high, and post-secondary levels. She holds three Masters degrees in Secondary Educational Leadership, Political Science with a Comparative Government emphasis, and Dramatic Productions.
Toward the end of 2019, I was invited to write a column on the theme of teaching in troubled times. Sitting down to write that piece, I felt overwhelmed. I write often about the complexity of trauma in K-12 schools and the kinds of relationships, witnessing, and advocacy that difficult life experiences demand in literacy classrooms. So, it is not as though I hadn’t written about hard times before. But, that day, given all that had been and was occurring in the US, the troubles felt too heavy, the inequities too stark, the governmental accelerations of injustice too horrific to convey in words on a page. I think back to that time and try to reabsorb the explicit, violent, and policy-driven racism, xenophobia, and economic precarity that was already impacting so many youth and families. Trauma, inflicted by human-created systems, was all around us (while, whiteness, once again, like it always does, shielded me). Eventually, I moved my fingers across the keyboard and got some words on the page for that column about seeking hope and justice in teaching during troubled times. That was just a handful of months ago. We had no inkling of what was coming for us.
Now, here we are, and how do we even begin to approach the idea of trauma in a pandemic that is wreaking havoc on our communities, states, nation, and world? Trauma is always a complicated term that defies singular definitions. But, now, as teachers, students, and families face the emotional, financial, and physical devastations and anxieties of COVID-19, considering trauma is all the more crucial and all the more complex.
Literacy educators will need to think together about questions such as: What varied kinds of challenges are students bringing to their learning? How do we acknowledge and harness the pandemic as a shared experience, while recognizing the very different impacts it has inflicted? How is trauma both personal and political and how does that help us think about issues of justice in our classrooms, schools, and larger educational systems? How can we craft classroom communities that center compassion and care? How are teachers being positioned in discussions of students’ trauma during this time of crisis?
Positionality of teachers in discussions of students’ trauma
These are all questions I’m anxious to consider with fellow literacy educators over the coming weeks and months. For this post, though, I’ll turn to that last one, as I feel its importance in my bones as this crisis unfolds and see it in teacher colleagues’ eyes in our conversations on my screens.
By virtue of living through this time, teachers are facing overwhelm, fear, and anxiety. In addition, many are facing loss, grief, and financial upheaval. So, when we ask how teachers are being positioned in discussions of trauma and schools right now, teachers’ own humanity has to be integral to that question. One thing we know about many approaches to trauma-informed schooling is that teachers are often positioned as healers and helpers.
Being deemed a healer implies that it is students who are the wounded. We, of course, know this is a false dichotomy. We know through our own lives and our friends’ and colleagues’ experiences that teachers bring pain, sorrow, fear, and struggle to our work. It couldn’t be any other way. No one goes through life unscathed.
But, teachers are often told that trauma is something students bring to school. No wonder it can be hard to shake the idea that, as teachers, we are expected to convey only that we are fine, we are well, and our sole vigilance is toward students’ lives and learning. No wonder the focus on trauma can and does exacerbate pathologizing narratives about students. It is not that those messages of needing to be attentive to students’ traumas are false, but it is that those messages are simplified and incomplete. Indeed, the healer vs. wounded ethos surrounding teaching and trauma is so entrenched, in part, because so many teachers are so committed to supporting students that acknowledging one’s own struggles can feel self-indulgent or inappropriate. But, I believe we have to wrest free of that dichotomy because it is harmful for anyone, teacher or student, to be stuck on either side of it. We can embrace a more reciprocal approach to what it means to witness one another.
So, how might teachers reframe how they position themselves and students in relation to trauma?
In my book on centering trauma as powerful literacy pedagogy, I share an analogy related to this question that I have found helpful in my own thinking and teaching. I’ll share a version of it here.
At times throughout my life, I’ve had a chance to be around recently hatched baby chicks. And when invited to hold one, I don’t hesitate—I didn’t as a 5-year-old and I don’t now. I step up and hold my hands out, cupped and ready to cradle the tiny, fragile, cheeping ball of yellow fluff. My heart leaps a little with what it will require—care, gentleness, keen attention. It is a moment suffused with responsibility. Yet with some coaching and support from those who surround me, even 5-year-old me can step up, willingly, and nurture, not harm. And given the chance, I could do that every day. Each time would require the exact same measure of care and attention. But it would, at the same time, become more familiar, something I could come to expect and assume as part of my everyday experience.
At this point in my description of this metaphor, I need to be clear: students in our classrooms are not the baby chick. The chick is the difficult experiences, the traumas, that anyone in the classroom community carries into that shared space. To position students as the fragile creature is central to the problem of how students and teachers are often positioned in relation to trauma. Viewing students as the chick implies an adult as the only participant with agency; an adult who, in this metaphor, is not only the strong one, but also looms largest as the protagonist in the story. One reason I include my child self in this image is to emphasize students as active subjects in reciprocally sharing and witnessing the kinds of hard stories that will accumulate for them and their teachers during this crisis. In being allowed to witness teachers’ vulnerability—their stories of challenge, fear, grief—students will know those stories belong in school and that their experiences will matter in how they are seen, heard, and valued in the classroom. The students, and the teacher, are the hands that gently, but without trepidation, cradle those stories in their classroom.
In being allowed to witness teachers’ vulnerability—their stories of challenge, fear, grief—students will know those stories belong in school and that their experiences will matter in how they are seen, heard, and valued in the classroom.
In whatever capacity teachers and students are together next year, everybody that enters the literacy classroom or accesses a screen will be bringing stories that require critical care and humanity. Some of those stories will be shared in explicit ways through discussions, writing, art, digital creations, one on one connections with between students and teachers. Other stories will be shared through an empty desk, a bowed head, a missed login, a quavering voice or trembling hand, a simmering sense of rage. And, as we know, some stories from students’ lives are shared and circulated in schools in ways beyond a students’ view or control. As literacy classrooms fill with stories of this crisis, let’s ensure that teachers’ experiences are present too—as signal of reciprocal witnessing, as opportunity and invitation to bring lived knowledge to school literacies, as source of connection and humanity, as acknowledgement that it can be hard to focus when feelings are overflowing, and as reminders of the far-from-equitable impacts of this crisis.
About the Author
Elizabeth Dutro is professor and chair of Literacy Studies at University of Colorado Boulder and former K-12 classroom teacher. She collaborates closely with teacher colleagues and youth in her research on the intersections of students’ lives and literacy classrooms, particularly critical approaches to trauma, and issues of justice and equity in K-12 classrooms, teacher education, and policy. She is the author of the recent book, The Vulnerable Heart of Literacy: Centering Trauma as Powerful Pedagogy (Teachers College Press). She would love to connect at Elizabeth.dutro@colorado.edu; elizabethdutro.com; or @lifeasstory on Twitter.
By: Dr. Guy Ilagan, Associate Professor of Counselor Education at the Citadel
It has been about 40 days since Ms. West learned that her workplace closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. West is an experienced school counselor in a middle school. She is married and has three young children. She is known and respected as a humble, helpful, effective school counselor. She is active in her state organization for school counselors and is beloved by her peers and the graduate students she has mentored along the way. She loves her students and her school and reports that she has an effective relationship with the school principal.
I asked Ms. West to reflect on her experiences since the school closures and specifically about the most difficult aspects. She said her biggest concerns were for her student’s unmet needs, e.g., “availability of food, abuse, neglect, and witnessing domestic violence.” She paused and added, “when we return, we’ll be dealing with their concerns and trauma. Right now I have no control, no real way to help them.” As she spoke these words she paused and added, “and there will be no decrease in workload when we return, and see the results of these concerns.”
Ms. West also cited concerns about the suicide risk assessment (SRA) process. Ms. West and her peers have noticed that when conducting risk assessments via teleconference, caregivers are not always willing to permit the students to have privacy (by leaving the room) for parts of the risk assessment. Thus, they have little control over the assessments, especially where privacy is concerned. Also, some schools require a second counselor or staff member to be present during the SRA, which adds a time consuming logistical layer. Whereas, at the school they can promptly find a second staff member and ask caregivers to step outside for a moment. Also, district administrators currently send messages over weekends and after hours that a student needs a “check-in.” Check-ins are prompted by keywords in search or communication functions of their school-provided tablets.
Ms. West is connected to other school counselors via peer groups. She is in a peer group with peers from across the US. She also connects with local school counselor colleagues throughout the week. Some of her peers found support groups on social media or initiated informal local groups. In her peer group she noticed one school counselor in another state was told not to talk to students or do anything else. Otherwise, Ms. West’s US peers are all working harder now. Some of them are micromanaged. Many are required to call each student who is not completing their academic work.
Office hours for Ms. West are set from 8:00AM to 4:00PM. She emailed each household about office hours and contact information. She was also required to provide social emotional curriculum to students and continue to conduct Individual Graduation Plans (IGPs). Throughout the closure, Ms. West stated other school counselors she had spoken with described their current roles as “vague, having received minimal direction” and an “open-ended hot mess.” Many of her peers feel “pretty lost,” especially with connecting and collaborating with peers.
“If this continues into the Fall semester, I cannot mentally sustain,” she confessed with a laugh. She told me about her usual process of figuring out who will watch the kids when she and her spouse have conference calls at the same time. She knows she is deep into compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is a secondary traumatization that affects our mood, health, and regard for our students and work. Providing empathy and understanding to students in crisis can lead to compassion fatigue. “There is just not enough time in the day,” she said. “I’m not on my A game, more like a C game.” Without hesitation she said that due to her workload she has been unable to assist her own children in completing their school work.
When asked what has sustained her in her work thus far, she paused and referred to her support group with peers. She also said “finding breaks from the kids (her own).” In one of our video chats, I noticed a very human and touching moment when one of her children came into view. The child did not want to be apart from her mother at that moment. Finally, she said with a look of accomplishment that working out and eating healthy has helped her keep her mood up. She seemed pleased that she was using the time at home to boost her wellness and restart a few good habits.
Ms. West was relieved to have her real name excluded so that she could feel more freedom to discuss her experiences.
About the Author
Guy teaches graduate students in The Citadel’s Counselor Education Programs. He earned a PHD from Clemson University, Master’s Degree from The Citadel, and Undergraduate Degree from College of Charleston. Guy has been a counselor in a variety of educational and community settings and has published studies on counselor effectiveness, suicide prevention, and the mental health effects of wilderness backpacking on college women. Guy, his wife Jill, and their dog Dottie reside in Charleston, SC and enjoy riding bikes, going to the beach, watching TV, and camping.
The world has not seen a school shutdown on this scale before. According to UNESCO, roughly nine out of ten schoolchildren are out of school worldwide. As many school districts shut their physical doors for months, or the remainder of the year, there is an understanding that these closures are a serious threat to children’s academic progress, safety and social lives.
To alleviate these concerns, there is hope that shifting to online learning will provide opportunities to lessen these losses and support learners. The challenge is not all schools, educators, parents, or children are equipped to effectively learn in digital spaces. Many of these challenges disproportionately impact low-income students and those with special needs.
Research suggests that 4 in 10 U.S. teens say they haven’t attended a single online or virtual class since schools closed.
With many millions of Americans working or attending virtual school from home during the coronavirus pandemic, the longstanding gap between those who have reliable, affordable internet and those who do not has never been so clear. Much has been made about the efforts to make sure students have the devices and internet access they need for online education. Yet in actuality, signing up for free, or low cost internet service is difficult, leading to students sitting in school or library parking lots to connect online.
US Schools Deploy Wifi Buses Amid Virus Pandemic
The vast majority of households with children have broadband internet, but there are still big disparities by income, race and the education level of parents. Many families are likely to rely on smartphones for Internet access and children in those households may not be able to use learning software that requires a tablet or computer. It is not unusual for students to try to complete schoolwork on a single cellphone. Educators need to be careful about expectations that all students can go completely online.
Digital Divide
There are many ways to define “digital divide” as it relates to technology usage and equality, and it also has very specific meanings in the United States, as opposed to the remainder of the planet. Digital divide refers to the growing gap between the rich and poor as it relates to Internet access. The rich and educated are still more likely than others to have good access to digital resources. When it comes to education, the digital divide has especially far-reaching consequences.
Many of the reasons for the gap in the digital divide focus on access, education, income, as well as a number of demographic and socio-economic characteristics. To address the challenges of a digital divide, it is often helpful to think about the connections involved as we connect to the Internet.
What kind of technology? To what does the subject connect: fixed or mobile, Internet or telephone, digital TV, broadband, etc.
Who is the subject? Who is the subject that connects: individuals, organizations, enterprises, schools, hospitals, countries, etc.
Which attributes matter? Which characteristics or attributes are distinguished to describe the divide: income, education, age, geographic location, motivation, reason not to use, etc.
How to connect? How sophisticated is the usage: mere access, retrieval, interactivity, intensive and extensive in usage, innovative contributions, etc.
How to Define the Digital Divide
Due to the growing amount of information on the Internet and people’s increasing dependence on information, internet skills should be considered a vital resource in contemporary society. Complicating these issues of connection, are the problems that educators, parents, and students have with moving learning environments to online spaces. Recreating a classroom online is a logistical challenge that comes with a learning curve for students, teachers and parents. For children in low-income school districts, inadequate access to technology can hinder them from learning the tech skills that are crucial to success in today’s economy.
Rural areas have an additional obstacle when it comes to digital access where high-speed internet can be sparse and expensive, or sometimes not even an option at all. In many rural areas, the only Internet options are near-obsolete DSL, satellite, or even dial-up. These internet access methods are often more costly, despite being less reliable and more easily affected by poor weather or infrastructure.
Research suggests that even as technology becomes more ubiquitous, rural Americans remain less likely than urban and suburban Americans to have and use various digital technologies. This data suggests that rural users are less likely to have home broadband. Rural users increasingly use mobile devices, but rarely own a desktop or laptop, and even more infrequently own multiple devices. Lastly, this research suggests that rural Americans go online less frequently than their urban and suburban counterparts.
Much of the mythology of rural America emphasizes the challenges and hardships that exist, even as we recognize the lack of educational and economic opportunity for residents. As we increasingly move to a globally connected society, there is a need to consider whether we are unfairly hindering rural youth without providing them with the access, skills, and knowledge necessary to survive and compete in today’s economy.
The report suggests digital learning initiatives, directed by the state, or local, district/school programs can help alleviate some of these challenges. Specifically, they give guidance on four broad categories of online and blended learning options that can help rural schools and students. These include state virtual schools providing supplemental online courses and other services, course access programs, fully online schools, and consortium or regional service agencies.
To address these concerns in real-time, educators need to once again remember that not all students may be able to access and connect to digital learning spaces. A certain amount of creativity is needed as you make these transitions. Before you worry about specific tools to use, or automatically jump to video conferencing because you think it is expected, Stephen Merrill suggests the following mindsets:
Expect trial..and plenty of error – There will be mistakes made. Make peace with it.
Acknowledge the extraordinary – Focus on enrichment and meaningful activities.
Reduce the workload (for yourself and your students) – Focus on “need to know” and not “nice to know” in your courses.
No person is an island – We’re all in this together. Keep in contact.
Everyone thinks they can’t, before they can – You know how to teach. You will figure this out in time.
Mind the gap – Your work will be hard, but there are students facing more severe challenges.
Stay Connected
As our schools, communities, and systems close down, we cannot assume that all learners will be able to engage and connect online. We need to be intentional in uses of technology, and push for more informed, thoughtful instructional uses of technology. We need to advocate for privacy, security, and more informed uses of our data in these spaces. There is a need to educate, empower, and advocate for ourselves and our students.
Together we can use this as an opportunity to forge a future for all that is more accessible and approachable. I also examine these questions from a parental lens at the Screentime Research Group and on my blog. Lastly, my weekly newsletter provides a weekly glimpse of the changing landscape in a rapidly changing, technological society. Together we can use these experiences to identify the broken parts of our system and hopefully build new ones to support all learners.
About the Author
W. Ian O’Byrne, PhD is an assistant professor of literacy education at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. His research focuses on the dispositions and literacy practices of individuals as they read, write, and communicate in online and/or hybrid spaces. O’Byrne is the author of many journal articles and book chapters focusing on initiatives ranging from online and hybrid coursework, integrating technology in the classroom, ePortfolio systems, and supporting marginalized students in literacy practices. Ian is a former middle school and high school English Language Arts teacher. He can be found on Twitter (@wiobyrne) and his work can be found on his website (https://wiobyrne.com/). His weekly newsletter (https://digitallyliterate.net/) focuses on the intersections between technology, education, and literacy.
Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education, College of Charleston
By: Elinor Lister, Glenview Middle School English Teacher
Teacher-parent life or parent-teacher life?
Being a mom and a teacher has always made life interesting. There are many perks. Being off on holidays and breaks when your children are also off is probably the biggest perk. A teacher also understands the system and has an advantage, usually, when helping with school work and participating in teacher meetings and things.
One negative that is ever-present, though, is the inability to participate in your child’s school day as easily as other parents often can. It’s not always possible to walk your child into school on the first day because it’s also your first day of school. You need to be in your own classroom greeting your new and nervous students. You aren’t able to attend all of the parties that take place throughout elementary school. To take off, create plans for your students, and figure out how to leave your classroom to attend your child’s party is often more difficult than the thirty minute party is worth. And don’t even think about joining the PTO or other committees because most take place during the school day. You have to worry about all of your extra children, so oftentimes your own child takes a back seat.
Now, there may be supermom teachers out there who disagree with me. They may take off to be present at all of their child’s events. If you can, that’s amazing. I salute you. In my experience of teaching for twenty years and being a mom for fifteen, I have found it to be very difficult. I adore teaching; it is my passion. I adore my children; they are my whole heart. However, there are instances every year where I have to make choices between my personal children and my classroom children. I imagine most mom teachers feel the same at some point.
Then, COVID-19 hits…
This changes the entire Mom Teacher, Teacher Mom experience and daily life. I’m still worried about my own children, but now that worry takes on an entirely different format. I have three children around me all day, trying to complete school work. At the same time, I am preparing lessons and working with my students only through my computer. The separation of my two lives is now gone. The two lives that I live have now merged into one – literally.
The two lives that I live have now merged into one – literally.
Initially, this brought about a few days of complete craziness. Every child of mine needed help with work, while I was creating lessons for students and answering emails for what felt like the entire day. This insanity was not sustainable. As have most homes across our state and country, I needed a solution and a schedule.
My district set my office hours from nine to twelve every day. During this time, it has worked out very well for my children to complete any school work alone that they can do without help. After twelve, we get lunch, and then I help each one of them complete their work. It’s a long process, but it has been working for us.
Teacher-Parent, Parent-Teacher Tips
Throughout this process I have learned a few things that have been very valuable:
Embrace the fact that my children can complete their lessons at any point in the day. One positive of learning at home is that it’s flexible. If we want to stay up late watching a movie as a family or doing something else fun, why not. They can sleep in. They can do some work and take a break to go play or get a snack. (Although in truth we’re all snacking a bit too much at my house.) This truth allows less stress for both them and me. If I’m busy with something for school or something for the house, they can do other things until I’m free to help them.
Embrace the fact that my students also have very different schedules right now. Even though my office hours are from 9-12, many of my students are not working then or maybe aren’t even awake then. I get emails from students in the afternoons and evenings when they’re actually working. I have decided to check my email once in the afternoon and once in the evening and answer whatever has come through. I also know that there will be late work turned in. In the midst of what’s going on, there are students who just don’t want to do work on some days. There are also students who are watching siblings and handling other household responsibilities. Many homes don’t look like mine, and I need to allow for that flexibility with my students. As teachers, we can’t say, “Well normally they would have to complete this homework at home,” or “Normally they would only have two days.” There is nothing normal about this time and this way of learning.
Teachers often want more freedom, and now … we have it.
Embrace that this lack of normal should mean my lessons aren’t normal. Students are not sitting in class, able to focus on me or an activity like they typically would. And let’s face it, even sitting in class, that focus is sometimes sketchy. At home, they have siblings, food, phones, pets, televisions, video games, any number of things that to them beat out school work. Many of them also have working parents who may not even be home during the day. Their entire schedule is upside down. As a teacher, why would I offer something that I would struggle to get them to do or focus on if they were sitting in my classroom? State testing has been lifted!!! This is the time to engage our students. Allow them to explore and research, to be creative, to actually enjoy learning something about a subject. We should use interactive websites, create hyperdocs, give creative projects, find interesting articles and stories to read, and let them write expressively. Teachers often want more freedom, and now a positive in all of this is that we have it.
Embrace that I truly can be Mom Teacher and Teacher Mom right now. Not every teacher is a mother or still has children at home, but this lesson can apply to all of us. Yes, being stuck at home stinks. Yes, we miss our students terribly. Yes, we really wish we could go back to normal life. BUT, when we have no control over the situation, we need to focus on what we can control and focus on what is good about the situation. I have been able to spend more time with my children in the last four weeks than I have in a long time. Yes, I live with them, but we have been able to stop and breathe and enjoy each other’s company. I am still teaching, and they are still learning, but we are able to also just be. We have done art projects, had baking contests, put together puzzles, watched movies, read books, and played outside. We are normally going a hundred miles an hour from one thing to the next – soccer, guard, volleyball, church, homework, dinner, etc. But right now, I get to be a little more mom than teacher. I am still a teacher; I am still preparing engaging lessons and helping my students. For once, though, I’m not having to choose between the two.
Teachers are often the worst about taking care of themselves. We worry about everyone else first. During this time when things are not normal, how about we work on self-care, enjoying some downtime, and making memories. Our normal school lives will be back before we know it. For now, let’s make sure we are okay, our children are okay, and our students are okay.
About the Author
@elinorlister on Twitter
Elinor Lister has taught high school and middle school English for twenty years and currently teaches eighth grade English in Anderson, South Carolina, at Glenview Middle School. She was the District Teacher of the Year for Anderson Five for the 2018-2019 school year. Elinor holds a Bachelor’s in English from Erskine College, a Master’s in Educational Technology from Lesley University, and a Master’s in Administration from Gardner Webb University.
By: Elizabeth McCauley McDonald, Manning High School Social Studies Teacher
Students A and B are in 11th grade. Student A reads at a 9th grade level and Student B at a 7th grade level. Student A has internet access at home and has transitioned to e-learning. Student A experiences some challenges understanding the work; however, they are able to attend virtual meetings with the teacher to get additional help. Student B does not have a reliable internet connection at home, so Student B’s parents go to the school and pick up a packet, so that their child can continue to learn. Student B opens the packets and begins to…
Right now in South Carolina, and America as a whole, middle and high school students are forced by circumstances to become their own teacher.
Some students are even teachers to their younger siblings. In many homes, parents of elementary students are able to support their child’s learning, but that is not always the case for students in middle and high school. Fortunately for some middle and high school students, they have access to reliable internet and can attend Zoom meetings with their teachers, email teachers, or even look up tutorials or videos explaining content. But notice that I said some students. The reality is that many middle and high school students do not have that luxury.
During this time the inequities of our school systems are laid bare.
Some folks are content pretending that everything is alright and the children will be just fine, but what if they aren’t?
Many schools have switched to an e-learning platform to provide instruction and instructional materials for their students. But what about students that do not have access to these platforms?
Many students are faced with the reality of these teacher created packets we see folks talk about on personal and school district social media pages.
Well, it varies from district to district, school to school and sometimes teacher to teacher. There is one commonality found in most packets – reading activities. The goal of the reading activities seems to be for students to review and/or learn new content.
For science students, packets may include articles related to the field of science or secondary source material explaining science content. For history students, packets may include primary source documents, like letters or journals for analysis, or secondary source materials discussing content students need to review or learn. Math packets may include word problems allowing students to make real world connections to math concepts. English packets may include short stories or opportunities for students to engage writing with various prompts.
For some students these types of activities are manageable. So, let’s talk about why these types of activities are manageable for those students. Well, if you’re like me, you teach content area literacy strategies in your classroom. We read daily in my class and use literacy strategies when we read. On my board when you walk in my classroom, you’ll always see a section titled, “Daily Reading Moment.”
Many teachers are engaging in literacy practices in their classrooms. Teachers have students activate prior knowledge before reading texts, utilize activities while reading to increase student comprehension, and utilize activities after reading to assess comprehension. Many teachers focus on building vocabulary for students to be successful readers. Many classrooms across our state are classrooms where students are learning the literacy skills they need to tackle texts in the absence of their teacher.
I’m a social studies teacher, but I am a firm believer that literacy is everybody’s business, but unfortunately not all educators feel the same. Some folks feel as though it’s the job of English or Language Arts teachers to teach reading and literacy skills. And, maybe these teachers have been able to get by with that mentality for a while, but what about now, when teachers expect students to read and learn information from packets?
Let’s talk about access
Let’s go back to Student B that we read about in the beginning of this post. What happens when Student B attempts to read the various materials in the packet, but lacks the reading skills and vocabulary knowledge to be successful? What happens when Student B comes face to paper with this touted packet, but has never read in the safe space of the classroom from which this assignment hails?
What do we do now?
I know you care about your students and you want the best for them. The way for students to get the best is for teachers to give their best selves.
Here is my charge for all of the educators across our state:
Invest in your own professional development, during this time of self-distancing, to strengthen your implementation of literacy practices in your classroom.
Expand your repertoires of practice to include literacy strategies that will empower your students with the tools they need to deconstruct texts and gain meaning.
Enroll in a class about content area literacy.
Do a Google or YouTube search and learn about various literacy practices and literacy strategies.
Read the research. There are many research articles about best practices.
Reach out to folks that you know deliver professional development around content area reading strategies.
My charge for educators knowledgeable in content literacy strategies:
If you have delivered professional development in content area reading and writing strategies, deliver a virtual professional development for your colleagues.
This is a call I will also need to answer. Why should we wait until our various summer academies to learn with and from our colleagues?
In South Carolina, we know one of our biggest mountains to climb in education is increasing student literacy. We also know that our greatest tools we have to climb that mountain are the educators in South Carolina classrooms. When we enter our classrooms again, will you be a part of the change? Will you help us climb the mountain? Let’s do the work…together!
If something of this magnitude happens again, we do not want to leave our students to fend for themselves. Instead, we want to leave our students with the knowledge and practices necessary to take ownership of their learning.
About the Author
@MrsEM_McDonald on Twitter
Elizabeth McCauley McDonald is a high school social studies teacher in Manning, South Carolina, where she served as District Teacher of the Year for 2018-2019. She holds a Bachelor’s in Secondary Social Studies from Clemson University, a Masters in Education from Anderson University and a Masters in Educational Administration from the University of South Carolina. Elizabeth is currently pursuing a PhD. in Literacy, Language and Culture at Clemson University. Elizabeth also edits blogs for LiD.
If you are a South Carolina educator, complete this survey developed by LiD to learn more about the literacy teaching and learning in secondary classrooms in our state. (Link).
