In My Experience:

Notes for Educators (A Blog)

Teachers: I support you!

Teaching is an art. An art that wears many hats and requires many talents. Content knowledge. Instructional knowledge. Human behavior understandings and skills. Planning. Organization. Assessment. Record Keeping. Public relations. And above all - the “F-” word: FLEXIBILITY. (LOL. Not what you thought I was going to say, was it?) Every day is different. Every day is busy. Every day involves hundreds—if not thousands—of interpersonal communications-with students, sometimes as many as 160 or 170 students a day for high school teachers, as well as communications with other teachers and administrators, and with parents. Electronic communications have only added to these interpersonal demands. It all can take a toll. And all of this in a very challenging social/political climate. I’m not sure I’ve seen a time when educators were under so much attack and so much stress.

When I began teaching (over four decades ago), teachers were mostly supported and respected, seen as professionals, along with doctors, lawyers, nurses, and such). The country largely valued public education and supported teachers. Less resources, sure, but also fewer students. Less professional demands. Unfortunately, in the last decade or two, I’ve seen the profession change dramatically. Teachers have come increasingly under attack—mostly because, in my view, economics are challenging, and citizens pay our salaries. But also, disrespect for the profession has grown; after all, everyone’s been through school and lay people run our Boards of Education, so why shouldn’t everyone think they know as much as we do? Sigh. Besides economics, politicians have increasingly become involved—in standards, in assessments, in professional requirements, in funding. We are one of the few professions whose work is mandated not by fellow educational professionals (think law firms and the BAR, medical professionals and their governing bodies), educators and school systems are governed by non-educators, publicly elected representatives with their own agendas. We bounce between administrations with varying agendas that change what we can teach, how we can teach, and how we’re going to fund it—or not fund it.

My point here is not to blame anyone for or to state a particular judgment on the state of education. That’s not my job. My point is simply to acknowledge that teaching has become more and more difficult, as evidenced by the growing numbers of educators leaving the field, and the lower number of students enrolling in university teaching programs. And to let you know that educators, I love you. I value you. I see what’s happening, and I’m here to help, however I can. I’m here to say I support you. I’m here to post on topics that may help you - using both research and my experiences as a classroom teacher, an instructional coach, a content specialist, and an experienced professional development leader. I’m here to provide courses (more courses will be added throughout 2026), and I’m here to provide teacher coaching if you want to take advantage of that service. I hope you find what I post to be insightful, helpful, maybe even artistic: the art of teaching. If you have a topic you’d like me to discuss, please use my contact information to reach out and ask.

Trauma In the Classroom

My adult son told me recently that he was growing tired of everyone talking about “trauma”. He said, “It’s everywhere, and it’s everyone’s excuse.” As a trauma-informed trainer, I had mixed emotions. First, I was somewhat thankful that the concept of trauma has entered the mainstream. For so long, we knew little or nothing about trauma and its effects. But I fully understood his frustration that such casual talk about trauma seems to be negating the seriousness of discussions about the reality and effects of trauma and used as a handy excuse for one’s own bad behavior. Trauma, “Big T” trauma (as Dr. Gabor Mate calls it) is something that I wish someone had taught me when I began teaching over four decades ago. I remember my first training in trauma, almost eight years ago now, and the dawning of understanding that came to me. I still remember being taught that instead of asking “What’s WRONG with that kid?” the better question is, “What has possibly happened to this child?” when I first heard it and how it changed the way I looked at my students and, in actuality, how it changed the way I thought about people in general. We are all the products of the things that have happened to us, and we are rarely conscious of how those experiences have impacted us, mentally and emotionally and often, even physically. Unresolved trauma drives behavior in both adults and children, who often feel out of control and confused by behavior they don’t understand and can’t seem to control.

I am fortunate, if I can call lt that, that I had gained some insight into this area because I had developed very close relationships with my high school students over the years, almost like a second mom to some kids and in some cases, the only mom figure some of them had ever had. So I heard a lot. I listened. I empathized. I called Child Protective Services more than I ever imagined I would have to. And I called upon our school counselors a lot. But I knew in my heart that even though I was a deeply committed English teacher who loved the standards and valued high level learning and wanted my students to be better prepared academically than I had been when I went off to college—even as a top 10% student—that some of my students could not begin to learn if they were experiencing emotional, mental, or physical trauma in their lives. I often wondered why that one student who never did one iota of work in class, but simply came to class and slept, even came to school. Why even get out of bed and come to school, I wondered, if you aren’t going to do any work? Until I understood trauma and learned that school was the safest place he had to go to escape the awful conditions at his home. And realized he was exhausted and possibly dissociated as a result of what he had experienced.

The fact is that trauma is prevalent in our society. Wayyy too prevalent. And trauma (both “Big T” trauma, that I mentioned earlier, but also “little t” trauma) has very real impacts, not only on a child’s emotions and behavior of course, but literally on that child’s neurobiological development, on the developing brain, on the learning centers. Trama training is something every single teacher that enters a classroom should have. I encourage you, if you are a teacher or know one, get the training, if not here or from me, find a source. It will make you a much better teacher, and in general, a much better human being. I will be adding a trauma-informed educator course this year.

Teacher Stress = Classroom Stress = Possible Dysregulation

I have read countless reports of how stressful teaching is now, some sources ranking it right behind nursing and/or public health careers. In my opinion, after nearly four decades years in the classroom, it has always been stressful; after all, teachers work with young, developing minds from all kinds of backgrounds: socio-economic, cultural, educational. Add to that the sheer amount of work preparing lessons that meet standards and assessments, grading papers, providing feedback, communicating with parents, and add to it the growing list of common daily factors: grade-level team meetings, growing numbers of students impacted by stress, the threat of poor student performance, continuous professional development, and more. As a young ELA teacher, I remember reading that ELA teachers (with approximately 125 students per day at that time) had over 1,000 interpersonal interactions every day. That was before students became much more vocal and “connected” to teachers, family discipline trends became more relaxed, and email, text, and social media outreach from families, administrators, and others became a serious part of teachers’ day-to-day routines. And then increase that number of students per day by approximately 50%. (There were years when I had 184 students a day!!!!). No wonder we are exhausted. Then administrators say, “Greet every students at the door every day”. Compound those daily interactions that stress us out mentally and emotionally.

But let’s also remember that teachers are also humans living in a fast-paced world. We have our own collection of daily challenges, family issues, financial concerns, and relationships. The entire world has increased in the amount of stress that people in general most experience.

So let’s talk about the dangers of stress to us personally and (listen to this calmly, without stressing even further), but also consider the effect of our stress on the children in our classrooms. Studies done of teachers’ cortisol levels (cortisol being one of the most pronounced hormones involved in stress), showed that if teachers were highly stressed or burned out, their students had higher than normal cortisol levels as well. So if teachers are stressed, so are their students. That stress becomes an integral part of his/her classroom and the students in it.

Very real implications surround stressed students: first, reactive behavior, as the executive decision making part of the brain is off line when chronic stress is present. Second, learning and memory issues result because parts of the brain are also off line when high stress is present, but muscles and organs are activated because the body thinks they need to be ramped up to prepare for survival, thus making the possibility of physical aggression more real. The result: triggered by stress, students are frustrated and unable to learn while also ready to fight or run away or even completely dissociated/shut down when overwhelmed. Research has clearly shown that the need for calm, centered teachers, and calm, peaceful classrooms is very real. Students must feel safe if they are to learn.

If you are struggling with stress and/or anxiety, take a look at my course, The Mind-Body Relationship In Health and Well-Being vs. Stress, Anxiety, and Disease. Not only will you learn about the integral relationships between your thoughts (mind) and your physical well being (body), but you will also be provided tips and tools for how to lead a less stressful life, which is good for you, your family, your students, and your career. I hope you’ll check it out; it’s made a difference for a lot of people.