breathe, name, feel ace, the brain and daily practices for health, resiliency and primary prevention...

Breathe, Name, Feel

ACE, the Brain and daily practices for health, resiliency and primary

prevention

“Leading for educational excellence and equity. Every day for every one.”

Primary prevention for bullying and other harm

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Empathy

Pause. Listen. Breathe.

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• Talking piece goes around the circle in order. When you have the talking piece, you get to speak.

• When you don’t have the talking piece, you get to listen.

• Say your name and answer the two questions all in the same turn.

Circle Process

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Introductions• Name

• who are you on the outside?

• and who are you on the inside? 5

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) include:• Child physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional

abuse

• Emotional and physical neglect

• Mentally ill, depressed or suicidal person in the home

• Witness to domestic violence

• Loss of a parent-death or abandonment

• Incarceration of a family member» http://www.acestudy.org/

The Amygdala and Mindful Awareness

Sen-sory Input

AmygdalaPrefrontal

Cortex ConsciousResponse

Amygdala PrefrontalCortex

Fight, Flight, Freeze Response From The MindUp Curriculum

ACEs and School Performance

• Students dealing with trauma: – Are 2 and ½ times more likely to fail a grade

– Score lower on standardized achievement test scores

– Have more receptive or expressive language difficulties

– Are suspended or expelled more often

– Are designated to special education more frequently

– http://www.wfcn.org/pdf/ACE%20Presentation.pdf

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Implications for Education

• Policy– Formative discipline vs. punitive discipline

– Universally applied social emotional learning

– Tiered levels of support for all students

– Universal precautions for trauma

• Example: Washington State Compassionate Schools http://www.k12.wa.us/CompassionateSchools/Resources.aspx

RESPONDING TO CHILDHOODTRAUMA: THE PROMISE AND PRACTICE OF TRAUMA

INFORMED CARE

• “…each adult working with any child or adolescent (should) presume that the child has been trauma exposed… providing unconditional respect to the child and being careful not to challenge him/her in ways that produce shame and humiliation.

• Such an approach has no down side, since children who have been exposed to trauma require it, and other, more fortunate children deserve and can also benefit from this fundamentally humanistic commitment.”

– Gordon R. Hodas MD . Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services , February 2006

Continuum of Restorative Practices

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Building Community Repairing Harm

Restorative dialogue between several students

Conference/circle with a small group

of students

Community conference /circle with students, parents and teachers

Affective Statements

Community building circles

From Thorsborne & Vinegrad, also, Costello, Wachtel & Wachtel

Classroom circle with a whole class

Breathe

Focused Awareness

• Teaching children to focus on and control their breathing can help them become less reactive and more reflective when feeling anxious or stressed.

• Daily practice helps create and strengthen nerve cell connections.

• The more controlled breathing is practiced, the more self-managed and mindful we become.

– MindUp Curriculum

Continuum of Restorative Practices

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Building Community Repairing Harm

Restorative dialogue between several students

Conference/circle with a small group

of students

Community conference /circle with students, parents and teachers

Affective Statements

Classroom circle with a whole class

Community building circles

Breathe

“The conversation is the relationship.”Susan Scott, Fierce Conversations

• “I” statements that express a feeling

• Make students aware of either the positive or negative impact of their behavior.

• Time, place and manner

• Are respectful in tone

• Focus is on behavior, not the worth of the person

• Encourage students to express feelings» Costello, Wachtel and Wachtel

Affective Statements

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Typical response Affective statement

• Stop teasing Sandy. • It makes me uncomfortable when I hear you teasing Sandy.

Activity: fill in affective statementsTypical response Affective statement

• Stop teasing Sandy.

• Talking during class is in appropriate

• You shouldn’t do that.• Sit down and be

quiet.• I don’t what to see

you fighting with him.

• It makes me uncomfortable when I hear you teasing Sandy.

• In circle, with the talking piece

• Brainstorm one way you might use a talking piece in your class or program either for:– 10 minutes

– 30 minutes

– An entire lesson

• If you can’t think of some way, you may pass

• If time, discuss the pro’s and con’s of teaching focused awareness

Reflection

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Learning circles

Smile at kids.Call them by name.Show interestin their lives.

Thank you!

Nancy RiestenbergSchool Climate SpecialistMinnesota Department of Education651-582-8433nancy.riestenberg@state.mn.us

• Aces Too High website: http://acestoohigh.com/ • Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire: http://acestoohigh.com/. World Health

Organization Violence and Injury Prevention website.• Circle in the Square: Building Community and Repairing Harm in Schools, Nancy Riestenberg, 2012.

Living Justice Press, www.livingjusticepress.org.

• Compassionate Schools : The Heart of Teaching and Learning , Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2009. http://www.k12.wa.us/CompassionateSchools/Resources.aspx

• Corrigan, M. (2012) Restorative Practices in New Zealand: The Evidence Base. Ministry of Education. Contact Mark.corrigan@minedu.govt.nz.

• Joyce, B. and Showers, B. (2002). Student Achievement Through Staff Development, National College for School Leadership, http://literacy.kent.edu/coaching/information/Research/randd-engaged-joyce.pdf.

• MindUp Curriculum: Brain-focused Strategies for Learning—and Living. The Hawn Foundation, Scholastic, 2011. www.thehawnfoundation.org.

• PrevNet Resources: Bullying In Schools: Guidelines for Intervention and Prevention, http://prevnet.ca/ .

• Restoring Safe School Communities: a whole school response to bullying violence and alienation , Brenda Morrison, Federation Press, 2007, www.federationpress.com.au.

• The Restorative Practices Handbook, Costello, Wachtel & Wachtel, 2009. International Institute for Restorative Practices http://www.iirp.edu/.

References

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