Trauma-Informed Tragedy: How Schools Got Trauma Part Right—And Part Wrong

by Philip Wire

The trauma-informed movement in education told us that relationships and a different disciplinary paradigm could solve the behavioral, emotional, and academic issues of our struggling kids.

Trauma's effect is real and profound, but that is only half the story. The scope and scale of trauma treatment is much more involved than most staff trainings or educational consulting books ever let on. In Trauma-Informed Tragedy, find out what trauma researchers and clinical psychologists say about trauma and its treatment—and why the trauma-informed movement placed unfair demands on teachers, counselors, principals, and all other school staff.

Additionally, Trauma-Informed Tragedy explores the unintended ripple effects of this well-meaning movement, examining how the very students who are supposed to be helped by these policies often suffer instead. Thoroughly researched and extensively referenced, Trauma-Informed Tragedy is a must-read for anyone who has worked in schools—or had a stake in them—in the last decade.

Genres: Education

221 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 7, 2025

Reviews

[Nicole Castoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished this book just in time for my summer classes to start.

My takeaways-

1. I feel duped. I feel like my school did a TON of work in trauma informed teaching and I was naïvely led to believe that my changes in relationships building would help amend the trauma that my students experienced.

2. Trauma is MUCH MORE COMPLEX than I realized.

3. I am a KEY piece to “helping” a student recover from trauma, but I am not, and cannot be the “only” piece.

4. Restorative practices have its place. And can be a very useful tool in our professional toolbox. But bottom line, when my professional trained brain was sounding alarm bells and wanting to see greater consequences for unsafe behaviors, it was right!!!

5. As I prepare to take classes for my principals license, I reflected on how state laws and mandates can really affect the pulse of a school and district. I am ashamed that more people didn’t do their due diligence of research before bringing trauma-informed practices and restorative justice to schools. It is beneficial for sure, but man, we literally changed policies as if ALL students suffer from trauma.

6. Where do we go from here? We allow restoration to continue to happen in situations where it’s appropriate. We use our professional judgment and ALL tools to make school safe. We give grace/support to educators who are and were the most affected. We think of our “Billy’s” and “Cindy’s”. We utilize any and all outside resources to aid our most affected families ( something I think we ALREADY do very well!!!)

[Katy O. · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a 20-year public educator, I feel so very seen by the author of this book and validated by the nuanced and compassionate way he writes about the state of education research (or lack thereof) that has shaped schools in the past decades.

I need every single non-education professional AND school staff in wealthy privileged schools who say “well, if they would just … XYZ” as a quick fix for the desperate state that struggling public schools are in to READ THIS BOOK. And also, come spend a week in my world.

Source: purchased Kindle edition

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m so thankful this book was written. As a mental health professional working in a suburban school district of a large metro area, actually going through the process of instituting restorative practices, it was refreshing to see someone poking holes and criticizing the implementation.

We can only get better if we critically examine the process and ask questions. Highly recommend this for anyone who works in education.

[Kassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone with a master’s degree in trauma-informed education and resiliency, I found Trauma-Informed Tragedy to be a breath of fresh air. It offers a much-needed, multifaceted look at a complex issue that has too often been addressed with a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Unfortunately, that oversimplification has led to real consequences—educators, students, and families are suffering as a result.

My capstone research focused on the need for multidisciplinary supports within schools to comprehensively serve students impacted by trauma. Wire captures this complexity early on, stating, “Schools are complex institutions. Brains are complex organs. Trauma’s effect on the brain is multivariate… This issue is not well-served by broad, simple statements” (Wire, 2025, p. 11). Rather than offering easy answers, he dives into the research, explores it thoroughly, and shares a candid perspective on the issues facing today’s schools. It’s not simple—and he doesn’t pretend it is. That honesty is refreshing.

I appreciated how the book was structured. Wire begins by exploring longstanding works in the field and how they connect to education today. He also tackles a concern I’ve had since completing my own training: The original ACEs study was never intended for educational use. Educators are not mental health professionals. We are not trained to diagnose behavioral or learning problems based on ACE scores, and explaining these concepts to families is not our role. That’s why we need strong multidisciplinary support systems in place—to remove that pressure from classroom teachers.

The chapters I marked up the most—ready to share with colleagues—were Chapter 5, A Great Reprogramming, and Chapter 6, Foundational Cracks. In these chapters, Wire compares (or rather contrasts) research from the mental health field with that from education. The gap is stark. Many educational texts written for the trauma-informed movement lack sufficient evidence to prove that the movement was ready for widespread implementation—or that it truly works—except under ideal conditions (e.g., Lincoln High School).

I still believe in trauma-informed education. I’ve seen how it can positively impact students. I believe it has made me a better educator. But I also believe in nuance—and that’s what this book brings.

One of the things I most appreciate about Trauma-Informed Tragedy is that Wire recognizes how deeply educators care about their students. We do. But the way the trauma-informed movement was rolled out nationally was flawed. Too much was changed too quickly, and too much was removed from a structure that, while imperfect, provided needed consistency. In Chapter 12, Small and Large, Wire writes:

“But the trauma-informed movement did not seem to allow much flexibility for professional judgment… Trauma-informed materials frequently criticized schools for not making room for students who didn’t fit the standardized mold… Yet the net effect of the trauma-informed movement was to create a square pegs/round holes dilemma for schools, pushing all of them towards the same mold at the same speed, regardless of the lived experiences inside those buildings.” (Wire, 2025, p. 163)

There’s so much more I could say about this book. Wire also explores the root causes of the behavioral challenges educators are seeing, the unequal distribution of trauma, the overreliance on charter schools as a “fix,” and ends with a powerful and honest set of reflections: three things we need to improve, three things we’ve done well, and three suggestions for moving forward.

Every educator who wants to feel seen and heard in this movement should read this book. It made me reflect, question, and ultimately strengthened my confidence in my own professional judgment.

[Kristen O'quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got kids? Work with them? In a school? Read this book.

As a parent of a now college & high school kids and a teacher since ’98, I’ve seen these changes firsthand. Trauma-informed practices have helped—relationships and connection matter.

But let’s be honest, expectations have shifted, and not always in good ways. Even the youngest kids are showing more defiance, aggression, and destructive behavior.

This book explores it all. Worth the read.

“a pendulum swinging back and forth too violently becomes nothing more than a wrecking ball.”

[Kara Eddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trauma informed practices and restorative justice can sometimes cause more harm than good. This is not surprising for teachers that are working with kids in the classroom setting. However these practices are becoming a one size fits all approach. This book gives research based reasons when these do not work.

A few good points: All behavior is communication, but not all behavior is trauma. Yet with restorative justice approaches teachers are being asked to treat all behavior with an equal approach. By pouring our energy into one student other students are actually witnessing trauma or triggering past events.

Larger schools are not ideal for students that have experienced trauma.

Trauma informed practice and restorative justice were very rushed approaches to reduce the number of suspensions. Teachers are not being adequately equipped with tools they need to support these students.

This book was not completely in depth, but touched the surface.

[Melissa Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read, worth the short time it took, and something I purchased so I could reference it in the future. I would love to read this with other educators and discuss the implications of it. I happen to work in a school that does a good job of balancing the two polar extremes of trauma response--either mandatory punishments or never-ending reconciliation circles. That said, however, there is always room to improve, and as the world of education only grows more fraught, the more educators and administrators and parents understand what teachers can and cannot do within the confines of a classroom, the better schools will be. Anyone even tangentially connected to education, whether a parent or a professional, should read this.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book dovetails my personal experiences as a classroom teacher the last 15 years. The book doesn't have all the answers but provides lots of food for thought

Three central reasons that trauma-informed did not produce the promised results:
1) Trauma is complicated and it is very difficult to help individuals to recover from trauma
2) The nationwide implementation was rushed and without accompanying research to guide it
3) Unequal demands wee placed in different schools with corresponding extra resources or funding to support the struggling children (and school staff)

PS - Fellow Truman Grad

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first 56 percent of the book was great as the author presented a nuanced look at the research surrounding the trauma-informed movement. At 57 percent, the author began singing the praises of Eric Jensen without attempting to critique or discuss Jensen’s work in an unbiased manner. Jensen’s work fails to follow basic research protocols and is solely based on his unsubstantiated thoughts and views. The fact that the author would extensively cite Jensen totally undermines all of his points and his central thesis.

[Ayanna Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author of this book did extensive research, which was almost overwhelming to read in the beginning. However, it truly confirms what all teachers already know. We can’t be the teacher, doctor, social worker, lawyer, therapist, advocate, friend and parent all at the same time. Our students need more help than the system provides, which makes it incredibly challenging for us to do our job in a world that is ever changing with increased difficulty in opportunity, as it relates to teaching and learning environments.

[Briana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Provides solid synopsis of seminal works on trauma-informed, then makes case we don't know enough yet and that restorative practices may not be as wonderful as they appear.

[Megan Lafayette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for anyone working in education and/or parents of school-aged children

[Danielle McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Research backed book explaining what educators know and see but whose hands are tied to fix