ABSTRACT
Moodiness, restlessness, and erratic, inconsistent behavior are hallmarks of middle schoolers' emotional development. Because of changes in the adolescent brain, our students experience a significant increase in emotional intensity. At the same time, frontal lobe development lags behind changes in other brain areas so they have difficulty modulating those intense emotions. Social media is a significant part of many adolescents' lives and can have a huge impact on their self-concept, self-esteem, and social and emotional well-being. Poverty, violence, hunger, abuse, and an unstable world cause our students chronic stress and anxiety. When depression and anxiety become overwhelming, some adolescents engage in self-harm. According to a recent survey, nearly half the children in the United States have experienced one or more types of serious childhood trauma. Traumatic stress can severely impact a student's ability to learn, function in social environments, and manage their emotions and behaviors. Becoming a trauma-informed educator means becoming acutely aware of how trauma alters the lens through which our students see and understand their world. To support these students, an emphasis must be placed on understanding, respecting, and appropriately responding to the effects of trauma. In short, relationships must be prioritized over content.
