The impact of trauma on students' emotions and behaviors in school

Abstract

To say teachers and other school staff are overworked and underpaid is an understatement. Teachers play the role of counselors, mentors, comforters, disciplinarians, security, and educators to large groups of children, sometimes up to 20 or more in a single class. It is also an understatement to say that teachers want their classrooms to run smoothly, with minimal emotional or behavioral challenges to disrupt an already busy school day. When students act out, it can be easy to see the child as the behavior and judge them accordingly without considering the function or root cause of that behavior.