Emotionally Responsive Teaching

Learn how to navigate the challenging terrain of connecting with a child who is deeply afraid, angry, and/or sad. Framing this work as emotionally responsive teaching (ERT), this book expands current conceptualizations of trauma-informed practice to encompass more broadly the relational demands of supporting young children with challenging life circumstances. The author accomplishes this by (1) arguing that predominant discussions of trauma fail to consider the ways that traumatic responses may facilitate both risk and resilience in children’s lives, (2) describing the impact of traumatic experiences and exposure to chronic stress on children’s development, (3) articulating a framework for ERT, and (4) providing readers with applied strategies for practicing ERT in their classrooms. Throughout, readers are encouraged to transform the systems of oppression that are being manifested through children’s struggles in the classroom.

Book Features:

• Provides models that guide teachers through the nuanced and sometimes overwhelming interactions they may have with children experiencing trauma.
• Shares the author’s own challenges and triumphs through case studies of pre-K–3rd grade classrooms to illustrate the process of emotionally responsive teaching.
• Builds on research from the fields of education, psychology, and counseling.
• Integrates current work on trauma-informed practice with the paradigm of culturally responsive pedagogy by framing trauma as often rooted in systems of inequity and oppression.

Travis Wright is an associate professor of education and counseling psychology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

“In this book, Travis Wright offers the reader real hope, inspiration, and practical advice about how to help all of our children move through and beyond perceived threats and betrayals that may otherwise leave them feeling overlooked, outcast, and afraid.”
—From the Foreword by Mary Benson McMullen, professor, Indiana University, Bloomington

“Dr. Wright addresses the complex issues involved in working with traumatized children by sharing his deep and authentic connection to the work with his readers. His stories from the field are engaging and meaningful, and they offer a valuable model for responsive teachers everywhere.”
—Lesley Koplow, director, Emotionally Responsive Practice, Bank Street College of Education

Contents

Foreword Mary Benson McMullen  ix

Acknowledgments and Dedication  xi

Introduction  1

1.  Teaching Children With Messy Lives  7
Developing a Shared Perspective  8
Messy Lives as a Context for Development  11
Trauma Is the Symptom, Not the Problem  14
A Conceptual Framework for Thinking More Deeply  16
Summary  21

2.  Essential Elements of an Emotionally Responsive Teaching Approach  23
Defining Emotionally Responsive Teaching  24
The Essence of Emotionally Responsive Teaching  30
Development and Emotionally Responsive Teaching  33
The Aims of Emotionally Responsive Teaching  37
The Emotionally Responsive Ethic  39
Summary  40

3.  Teaching From Hope Versus Teaching From Fear  43
Self-Fulfilling Expectations  43
Teaching in Treacherous Times  46
We All Teach Our Own Story  57
Summary  66

4.  Reframing Resilience for Children With Messy Lives  69
I Keep Me Safe  70
Development Along Alternative Pathways  71
A Developmental Pathways Approach  74
Reframing Resilience  79
Moving Forward  87
Summary  88

5.  Redefining Trauma: The Embodied Experience of Threat  91
Sinking in the Pool  91
The Embodied Experience of Threat  95
The Stress Response System  100
Differentiating Brief Stress, Adversity, Toxic Stress, and Trauma  107
Summary  110

6.  Too Scared to Learn: The Impact of Fear on Development and Learning  111
A Shift in Worldview  112
Adversity and Learning  118
Summary  137

7.  Cultivating Emotionally Responsive Teaching  139
The Anchors of Emotionally Responsive Teaching  140
Summary  168

8.  The Courage to Care  171
All Children Benefit From Emotionally Responsive Teaching  172
Sustaining the Emotionally Responsive Teacher  176
Summary  185

References  187

Index  199

About the Author  207