Dr. Melissa Sadin and Nathan Levy's Teachers' Guide to Trauma: 20 things kids with trauma wish their teachers knew

by Melissa Sadin, Dallin Orr (Illustrator), Nathan Levy

The Teachers Guide to Trauma provides an introduction to the neurobiological and psychological impact of early childhood trauma. This guide is designed to provide an overview of how trauma impacts learning and behavior in school. True stories and practical strategies help teachers and parents understand how best to meet the learning and behavior needs of children with trauma.

Genres: Teaching, Education, Nonfiction

97 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2018

Reviews

[Kevin Keating · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not particularly impressed with the book. First of all, it's pretty lames to have several pages for notes and "coloring pages" between every tiny section. Lots of blank space in this 80-page book with seemingly large print. It immediately gives a bad impression. Anyway, I do sympathy for kids who have undergone trauma, but these authors seem to say that 65% or so have undergone trauma, once they have defined it so low it applies to anyone who has grown up in America. If these guys were in charge of education policy, 100% of GDP would go to teachers and counselors and psychologists in schools, part of their one-size-fits-one philosophy.

I found it hard to buy a lot of their evidence.

To be fair, the book reminded me of the need for more sensitive responses to kids causing trouble, in order to de-escalate before problems become great.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

As our school district prepares for our focus, trauma, next school year, the admin team decided to read this book to help us begin the conversation. This is a super easy, relevant book that all educators should read. It gives many different ideas on how to help students with developmental trauma in our schools through the perspectives of students suffering with trauma. This will be a book a recommended to many teachers!

[Moira · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you know anything about how developmental trauma affects the brain this is an easy refreshers and makes a great reminder. I’m a special education teacher who works at a school where the majority of students have trauma. I’m using this book to give to gen Ed teachers who struggle with helping students with disabilities/trauma. Definitely recommend since it’s a short read.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the book tried to provide some useful information in an easy to ready style. It was a very quick read. But I found the multiple grammatical errors distracting and it took away from the professionalism of the book.

[Stormy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is great for teachers beginning their trauma informed journey. Covers the basics, and gives good examples. However, if you are deep in yout T.I journey, this isnt worth the money (25$ for 80 pages).

[Jessica Simek · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely wonderful book! It’s helped me think about how I interact with my students, regardless of their trauma histories and it’s gotten me more interested in trauma informed education! It’s a short book, could honestly be read in a couple of hours.

[Miranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The multiple errors in the formatting and grammar, plus the very slim reference section, makes me dubious about the effectiveness of these 20 pieces of advice for trauma. Some could be spot on but it’s hard to tell with the lack of peer-reviewed articles backing up what is being said.

[Shannon Frye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely quick read with great ideas and glimpses into what is going through our student’s minds.

[Shannon McKee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick, simple and straightforward book that helps you to quickly better understand children who have trauma. It also gives you simple ways you can adjust your mindset and teaching to best help them.

[Carrie Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little book was a quick read with a lot of resources included- very helpful for teachers or parents of kids with trauma or special needs!

[Cassondra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good info for those who don’t know it. Writing is very simplistic. Topic is highly important to student success and society.

[Katelyn Weitzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great read. As an educator, I learned so much about how to better support my students needs.

[Danielle Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s not a ton of content with this, however it is a nice quick reference for actions that can be done in the classroom to assist/make the environment better for students with trauma.