Craig Carmoney’s BLOG

I’m Craig Carmoney, an educator of almost 30 years who has personally been through a significant amount of trauma personally, but also witnessed it with the students that I serve. Unfortunately, a significant portion of educators are not trained or equipped to deal with these issues and many may not be aware of the signs or triggers and can unknowingly make things worse. Many that have had trauma try their best to hide it. They may be afraid, feel shame, embarrassment, humiliation, etc. and are likely to protect themselves as much as possible. These students will often struggle with self-regulation. It’s true that not all students who are a victim of childhood trauma will struggle. Some may have compartmentalized the trauma in some way and we may wrongly assume that their childhood experiences have been free of the challenges that present so differently for each child.

As we have largely exited from the pandemic, the traumas experienced by students have certainly become more pronounced. The youngest learners seem to really struggle with self-regulation which is likely the result of missing out on some important developmental milestones not available due to the mandatory lockdowns throughout the county for an extended period of time. Combine that with the struggles of many of the adults during this time and the effects of trauma have grown considerably. When we think about what we need to do to support our children, it requires us to look at the whole child and realize that making them feel safe, giving them feedback, and attending to their social-emotional needs is an absolute necessity. This means that more counselors and social workers are needing in schools to support both the students and the teachers. Unfortunately, with the educator shortage, finding qualified support personnel is not easy for schools. The shortage of mental health professionals in almost every community is a significant issue.

Given this information, it is highly critical for schools to adopt trauma informed practices and get every staff member trained on the techniques that will positively impact every child. The good news here is that it’s exactly like the best instructional techniques, it’s good for every child.