Help for Billy

Dear Teacher, 

After COVID-19, everyone of the students in our classroom will have faced trauma. They will have a piece of the puzzle that makes them whole missing. There will be some students with only one missing piece while others will be missing a lot. As we look forward toward the fall, I wanted to be ready to embark upon a journey to be better prepared to meet the social-emotional needs of my students. 

My local ROE is hosting a book study over the course of the next 8 weeks where we will be digging deep into how we can better serve students with trauma in our classrooms. Each week I will add my thoughts to this post. Who is ready to join me this summer? 

Who is Heather T. Forbes? 

Heather Forbes is the daughter of two alcoholic parents who survived childhood trauma but like so many of us, didn't understand how it shaped her until later on in life. When she became a mother of two adopted children, their trauma became the rulers of her home. Chaos ensued and she felt incapable of meeting their needs. She researched, studied, and found ways to help her children find their missing pieces. Now she helps parents and teachers by sharing the secrets that she has learned. You can learn more about Ms. Forbes on her website, Beyond Consequences. 
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​About the Book

 Comparisons and expectations surround us on a daily basis. It comes naturally to us. Often we find ourselves asking why someone (cough... Billy) just can't be normal. Then we set about to find ways to make Billy just like everyone else. We claim to embrace diversity but in actuality we have limits on how diverse one can be. This book will challenge you to dig deeper, look at your own expectations, and teach you how to stop trying to make people normal. Instead it asks you to learn to accept and work with those that are "not normal." 

Final Thoughts

This looks to be a great book that will challenge some of my classroom management practices. 

Talk at You Soon!
Misty