I chose to explore the lessons available at the WE Virtual Learning Center that focused on childhood trauma and how it can affect a student’s experience in the classroom. This topic is extremely important and not often talked about, as many people don’t know how to handle children who have gone through harmful experiences both at home and at school. I was glad to find an in depth course on how to address topics such as domestic violence, racial discrimination, and bullying on this site.

The module I read focused on trauma informed classrooms and the necessity of teachers learning to understand students who have experienced violence and abuse in their home lives. Even if my teachers had read such material during their time in college, none of them were particularly sympathetic or understanding of what my home life was like and how it impacted my ability to hand in homework or focus in class. Brushing up on materials like this module and remembering my own K-12 experiences help me function as a more empathetic and capable teacher.

Included below is a screenshot of some of the information from the module that I found useful. I hope that it will also be beneficial for readers to see so that they can use the information to shape their teaching methods in the future.