Helping Students Feel Safe in an Uncertain World

When you hear the phrase “trauma-informed,” you might first think of students struggling with a traumatic event in their individual history. But we and our students live in a world where trauma happens in the present, and isn’t limited to a onetime event. Potential sources of ongoing trauma can include instability in the home, danger in the neighborhood, national or global instability and conflict, or a health crisis in the body, as well as experiences of racism, ableism, transphobia, or other forms of oppression.

Healing-centered engagement advocate Shawn Ginwright once noted that the “post” in “post-traumatic stress” isn’t accurate for many youth of color and could be replaced by “persistent.” When stress and trauma are persistent and widespread, teachers and caregivers often experience the crisis right alongside students. That means kids need more support, and our adult capacity to provide it may be depleted.

Unfortunately, there’s no magic strategy for living through hard times. In fact, one of the first things we can do to help children in ongoing unsafe environments is to acknowledge that we actually can’t fix or control the world. As the grief writer Megan Devine says, “Some things cannot be fixed, they can only be carried.” A trauma-informed educator’s job is not to try to solve all the problems of the world, but to help our students carry it, even if just a little.

When we help students carry stress, we increase their capacity for resilience. Not all stress becomes trauma, and one of the mediating factors is a child’s adult support system.

4 WAYS TEACHERS CAN CREATE SAFETY

Teachers can’t be expected to fix the things that make the world unsafe, but it is in our influence to create small moments of safety. These moments of safety are like the water stations along a marathon route: They don’t take away the difficulty of running the marathon, but they give runners fuel to keep going.

1. Safety through relationships. Genuine and caring relationships with adults are among the biggest sources of safety for young people going through hard times. Micro-moments of relational safety should help students feel seen, valued, and known. These moments should also affirm to students that you are on their side in the face of injustice and send the message, “I got you.” Here are some ways you might create micro-moments of relational safety: 

• Making a point to slow down and connect with students, whether in little moments throughout the day or in a structure like a start-of-class check-in.
• Simply acknowledging that it’s OK to be struggling right now.
• Reminding students of all the people and places who are there to support them. For example, reintroducing the school counselor to the whole class, inviting parent and caregiver volunteers into the classroom, or hosting a staff person from a youth drop-in center to tell students about community resources. 

2. Safety through routines. When the world feels unpredictable, small experiences of predictability matter. This doesn’t mean ignoring reality—sometimes an ongoing crisis requires that we change our routines, such as pausing to acknowledge a loss in the community or to help students plan when a disaster has impacted expected plans.

But we can help create safety by finding small moments where students can feel settled by knowing that, at least for a small part of their day, they know what to expect and can feel a sense of normalcy. These routines might look like the following:

• Building consistent breaks into the school day so students know they will have chances to pause and take care of their minds and bodies.
• Using and reviewing visual schedules to help compensate for the diminished executive functioning we may experience because of trauma.

3. Safety through meaning-making. When we can construct meaning out of our stressful experiences, we can find a sense of control during uncontrollable times. Teachers already help students make meaning in the world, so this is a natural role we can take on during an ongoing crisis. Here are some ways you can help students make meaning:

• Helping students access accurate, age-appropriate information about crises impacting them. For example, after public acts of violence, mis- and dis-information floods the internet; you can help by finding reliable, non-sensationalized reports. Pro tip: Work with your school librarian.
• Giving students opportunities to craft narratives about their own experiences, whether in class journals or through creative projects. Telling our stories can help us reclaim agency during hard times.

4. Safety through hope and joy. When we experience overwhelming stress, it can be hard to feel like the future is worth looking forward to. For young people, this is especially true when the source of the stress is something like climate change, political instability, or war and conflict. Students’ worries about the future are real and justified, and we shouldn’t use empty words like “It’s all going to be OK.”

Instead, we can aim to find time to help kids set down those very heavy things they are carrying for brief moments of hope and joy. Here are some ways you can find hope and joy:

• Embracing the natural silly and goofy moments that come up in your classroom. Write down memorable inside jokes or funny situations and drop them in a jar so you can revisit them together throughout the year.
• Planning for art projects, time outside, dance parties, or games so kids can just enjoy being kids during the school day.
• Pointing out moments of growth and hope that you notice in your students, your community, and the world. Help students see there is good news in the world. It doesn’t cancel out the bad, but it’s just as important.

As you work to support students through hard times, recognize your own limitations as a classroom teacher: It’s not your job to become a therapist. If you notice that particular students are struggling, don’t hesitate to refer them for additional support. And if you notice that you are struggling, reach out for help yourself.

Remember, the goal during ongoing crisis is not to try to fix or save our students, but to help them carry the load. When we create a web of support, we help protect all children’s well-being.