October IL Professional Development
Posted on 10/11/2023
Indian Lake educators are learning more about how to help students who have experienced trauma.
Akron Children's Hospital trauma expert Missy McClain worked with staff members during the recent 2-hour delay. This is her second meeting with Indian Lake staff members to help them understand how to be empathic, but still educate students who are having a hard time because of difficulties in their lives. She explained the impact of trauma can be physical, cognitive, emotional, and social, either separately or, more often, all at once.
McClain explained, "The problem is that in some cases we may never know what they're going through. So our actions have to be different."
McClain continued, "Because sometimes kids are communicating to us in languages that we don't understand. They don't write it out and they don't talk about it in their play or show us in their art. They just tap, tap, tap, tap, tap on that desk all day and we lose our empathy."
With McClain, the staff worked on strategies to be patient, diffuse behaviors and, ultimately, let students know that they are loved and capable of learning.
McClain will be on campus for more professional development sessions throughout the 2023-24 school year.
In addition, Christine Gibson from Collins Writing training worked with elementary staff members and even led a few lessons in classes to demonstrate the method.