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