Hugh (9 years old, group 6) is doing math. He likes math, but today’s sums are very difficult. The teacher also gave no instructions at all. ‘We practiced these sums extensively together yesterday, today you have to try them by yourself.’ The teacher added something else, but Hugo did not hear it anymore. Trying to do the sums by himself was a cause for great panic. Normally the teacher first separates a small number of children. The fact that she didn’t do this today was the main reason for Hugh to completely panic.<\/p>\n
He had no idea what to do next if he didn’t understand something. “The teacher always helps him separately, what were you supposed to do if something was to difficult?” Hugh didn’t understand it at all. ‘Why didn’t the teacher want to help him today? Was she angry? That wouldn’t surprise him, adults got angry easily for once. He also \u2018learned\u2019 that at home. Tears welled up in his eyes: if the teacher was angry, something very unpleasant must have happened, but he could not remember it. Maybe she was tired of explaining things to children – like him – who were too stupid. After all, she herself said that the explanation from before should be sufficient.<\/p>\n
With shock, Hugo realized that he was indeed one of the stupid children. He still doesn’t understand these sums. His father sometimes said that too. \u2018You\u2019re an idiot Hugh!\u2019, he then said. He would probably get a bad report and if your report was very bad, you would of course have to leave school. That would be bad. He enjoyed school, he even had a boyfriend in this class.<\/p>\n
Hugh’s panic increased. Another school where he didn’t know anyone. All alone in a new class with a different teacher. A teacher who was perhaps very mean and did not understand him and children who would bully him. Hugh was now sobbing loudly with tears running down his cheeks. A few children looked to the side. At that moment the classroom door opened, and the principal entered. “You see, he’s already coming to get me, he’s coming to look at my notebook and when he sees that I can’t do math, I have to leave.” The panic now became so great that Hugo jumped up and ran out of the classroom past the astonished director.<\/p>\n
In our view, the reason for a panic attack can be very small, and completely unnecessarily, so we cannot always prevent it. The mindset of children like Hugh can shift from a little uncertainty to great panic. These children have a life history that explains this. Always be alert, fearing the worst. In Hugh’s case, a problem he doesn’t understand, combined with a slightly different routine than usual, and his conviction he is a worthless, dumb kid, can apparently lead to the thought of having to leave school. Instantly. In Hughs\u2019 mind, the director was already ready to take him to the new school. Children with ACEs sometimes make illogical leaps of thought to us. For these children, however, these kinds of thoughts are far from illogical and therefore \u201ctrue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Was this panic attack preventable? Maybe not, but the fact that the teacher changes a routine “just like that” removes the \u2018anchors\u2019 which children like Hugh hold on to. That can be a big trigger. Although it is not surprising that you let the class work on sums themselves, it is wise to explain this well. It can help to first explain what will replace the old habit. This way you prevent the rest from being heard due to the panic of something changing. In this case, the teacher had also told the class that she wanted to see if the children could get started today without explanation. If it didn’t work, they were of course allowed to ask for an explanation. Hugo had already missed the latter in his panic. In this case, the teacher could have said: You can still ask for an explanation if it doesn’t work for you, but I’m going to try to see if you can do the sums yourself.<\/p>\n
Creating a safe and stable classroom environment is very important for all children, especially those who grow up in instable situations. Routines are their anchor. They make the classroom safe. Make sure rhythm and routines are an important part of your schoolday. It\u2019s helps traumatized kids to thrive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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