Ch. 2 Exposure to Violence Changes How Children Learn

"Exposure to violence changes how children learn and how they think about learning.  Traumatized children need learning experiences that foster competence and improve their sense of personal agency, therby changing their explanatory narrative.They need classrooms that recognize their intense need for safety in addition to providing tools to manage stress and allow the children to stay calm enough to learn.  They need to bring their attention under their control through direct instruction in how to train their brain to reflect."

Ch.1 Family Violence: A Problem of Epidemic Proportions

"Misbehaviors are within a child's control and they can choose how they wish to behave (Watson & Westby, 2003).  This is not always the case for traumatized children.  Their apparent "opposition/defiance, agression, emotional disengagment, and avoidance of responsibility" are often produced by traumatic stress reactions over which they have little control (Henry, Sloane & Blake-Pond, 2007).  As a result, using consequences to achieve compliance with school or classroom rules is seldom effective, and may in fact, escalate negative behaviors when children are unable to comply for reasons neither they nor their teacher understand."