By Mischa Rosenberg, Teacher and Librarian
For three days in mid-February, a record 2,500 attendees, including eight Bing staff members, gathered at The Fairmont Hotel and the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco for a conference held by the Learning & the Brain professional development organization. Titled “Educating Anxious Brains: Creating Calm, Connected, Mindful and Trauma-Sensitive Schools,” the conference featured keynotes and breakout sessions that were able at turns to emphasize the gravity of childhood trauma, elucidate the neural underpinnings of stress responses, and share compassionate, actionable strategies for the classroom. Some sessions focused on the well-being of educators as well, because, as expressed in these sessions, the best ways to psychologically support teachers are frequently the same ways to psychologically support children.
Upon entering the grand expanse of the Masonic Auditorium for the first round of keynotes on Friday, Feb. 14, 2020, attendees saw an enormous screen displaying the image of a toddler, with a quote from W.R. Inge: “The best time to influence the character of a child is 100 years before they were born.” The quote speaks to the idea that trauma lies not only in the recent past, but also in the systemic inequities that have been transmitted through generations of toxic stress, often inextricably linked to race, culture and socioeconomic status. In his presentation on the impact of trauma and neglect on the developing child, keynote speaker Bruce Perry, senior fellow of the Child Trauma Academy in Houston, referred to these embedded issues as part of “cultural DNA.” Perry is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University and co-author, with Maia Szalavitz, of Born for Love: Why Empathy is Essential—and Endangered.
Perry created the Neurosequential Model, which he described as a “developmentally informed, biologically respectful approach to working with at-risk children” that can be used in therapy, caregiving and education. The model is premised on the belief that a family, community or society that values children thrives, while one that doesn’t fails. Perry explained that “each person has a unique pathway to the present and deserves individualized care,” and that a “one size fits all” approach rarely meets the needs of the individual. Stress is an inescapable part of life—and, in fact, a necessary one for a person to build resilience—but some individuals fall into what Perry calls a “sensitizing pattern of stress experiences.” Perry divided these stress experiences into four categories: intrauterine insults, disruptions in attachment during infancy, trauma and marginalizations. Trauma-informed educators need to take this into account when designing a classroom environment and curriculum. For example, a high school teacher could design a course that has an ebb and flow of difficulty and workload, rather than one that grows more and more challenging. Such “differential dosing” of stress could help students increase resilience and learn successfully without overwhelming their ability to cope.
Also on Friday, Nadine Burke Harris, California’s first and current Surgeon General and a national leader in pediatric medicine, presented her keynote, “Breaking the Cycle of Intergenerational Adversity.” As Surgeon General, Burke Harris has brought childhood issues to the forefront—the office’s priorities are now health equity, early childhood and adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress, defined as prolonged or excessive activation of the stress response in the body and brain. Toxic stress can result from a combination of a high number of adverse childhood experiences, a predisposed vulnerability toward a strong stress response and a lack of protective factors such as positive relationships with adults. Adverse childhood experiences have been found to dramatically increase risk for 9 out of 10 of the leading causes of death in the United States, including heart attacks and cancer. Higher numbers of these experiences have been correlated to greater levels of mental health issues, substance abuse and homelessness. However, Burke Harris expressed emphatically that adverse childhood experiences are not destiny. Early detection and evidence-based interventions can buffer the toxic stress response and significantly improve health outcomes. Burke Harris highlighted the role of schools and educators as a critical part of the public health response. Schools are not only places for academics but also central places for children to connect with informed, caring adults and supportive peers outside of their immediate families.
During their Saturday breakout session, Julie Kurtz, the CEO of the Center for Optimal Brain Integration, and Julie Nicholson, the organization’s chief strategy officer, presented “Trauma-Informed Practices and Resiliency Building for Early Childhood.” The two are co-authors, with Linda Perez, of the book Trauma-Informed Practices for Early Childhood Educators: Relationship-Based Approaches that Support Healing and Build Resilience in Young Children. Kurtz and Nicholson explained that young children who experience trauma see the world as a dangerous place. Their stress response systems are continually activated, communicating to them that they are not safe. Kurtz and Nicholson spoke of three areas in the brain that respond to trauma in different ways: The hindbrain—which they also referred to as the “reptile brain” or “alarm center”—is responsible for automatic functions such as heart rate and body temperature. The limbic system is the center of emotion and memory. The prefrontal cortex, or “executive center,” is the realm of reasoning, abstract thought, perspective-taking and impulse control.
Looked at another way, these brain areas move from sensory to emotional to logical. When a child experiences a trigger for past trauma, the child’s brain will become ensnared in the “reptile area,” which may lead to fight, flight, or freeze responses such as yelling, running away or shutting down. In such situations, Kurtz and Nicholson suggested that educators use strategies such as being still and present with the child, using minimal words, and letting them “borrow” the educator’s calm state. Since sensory awareness occurs before emotional or cognitive awareness, Kurtz and Nicholson recommended creating an area in the classroom to help children express how they feel. Such an area might include items that help a child to identify what they sense in their bodies. For example, a shell with rough edges might help a child express that they are feeling prickly, a toy frog could convey that they are feeling jumpy, or a rock could mean that they are feeling heavy. Metaphorical expressions such as “butterflies in my stomach” may also be helpful for children before they can grasp that this means they are nervous or anxious.
On Sunday, Clayton Cook, a professor in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota, presented “Promoting Teachers’ Stress Reduction, Emotional Wellbeing, and Positive Social Interactions through Resilience.” The essential point of his talk was that the best way to nurture children also applies to teachers. When teachers thrive, children thrive. For all, a crucial element for well-being is psychological safety. The concept of psychological safety was first identified by Amy Edmondson, a professor at Harvard Business School. A workplace that embraces psychological safety fosters a belief that one will not be punished or negatively judged for speaking up, for making mistakes, or for being vulnerable about one’s needs. Psychological safety breeds collaboration and healthy relationships, encourages self-efficacy and confidence, and leads to less exhaustion and burnout.
At Bing we are fortunate to work on teaching teams in which we collaborate with other educators. Each team builds a microculture within itself, synthesizing teaching styles, interests and personalities to build an inclusive community. Cook shared that for all members of a team—but particularly for supervisors—humility and acknowledgement of one’s own fallibility are essential. And for all teachers, whether seasoned or brand-new, psychological safety is essential for mental and emotional health. When the members of the team thrive individually, the team will be more effective for the children in our classes.
The keynotes and sessions at Learning & the Brain offered a balance of solid—if sobering—information about childhood trauma, hopeful and practical ideas for addressing toxic stress and countering its effects with compassion in the classroom, and strategies for educators to support themselves and each other. The Bing staff members in attendance—myself included—returned to their classrooms with much to reflect upon and to put into practice.