This website was really neat. I just learned about this organization. Having never heard of it, I was fascinated. Let me briefly tell you in case you know nothing about it as well. Number one, it’s all free! Right?! I know most things that are really worthwhile aren’t free. Well, this is. This website has a place for teachers to view and learn over 10 modules, on topics like mental well-being, bullying, poverty, social and emotional learning, and youth violence.

I went ahead and read/completed a module that interested me, Trauma-Informed Classroom. Post-pandemic this is necessary more than ever. What stuck out to me was in this module they told you about a trauma-informed classroom, what to look for, and what to expect from students who have experienced trauma but what’s even better was they had a self-assessment for teachers and a worksheet at the end.

Another aspect of this module was that they included other types of trauma that maybe you wouldn’t think of when thinking of trauma. Accidents or disasters could be trauma. When I was in 9th grade my house and all our belongings and our family dog were gone. It was so hard for us. We were offered counseling and the school and community came together to help us get some material things back but I was never the same. I always struggled since then and I think that’s why I’m so drawn to trauma-informed training. I know there are all types of trauma and I want to be able to help anyone that I encounter in my class or outside the best I can.

After modules, you can actually see there are courses available. I didn’t finish a course, but I listened most of the way through Mental Well-Being In the Classroom. What I loved is they touched on what mental well-being is, the risk factors, and then talked about suicide and the warning signs. That’s as far as I got into the video but I think it was really beneficial. The one thing that stuck out to me was the difference between risk factors and protective factors. I think knowing these about your students will allow you to know how to best help and serve your students. Again there are over 10 courses free for you to take, which is amazing.

Those are just two main things I checked out in-depth, but there are also additional resources on well-being, resources for schools, videos, and virtual workshops. I hope you’ll check it out and find something that interests you.