Journey into the Messy World of Trauma

So it has been a hot minute since I have been writing.

First, let me explain why I have stepped away from blogging. I stepped away from this blog because of two very important reasons. Reason number one: I moved to a new city and started a new job. I love my job, but the demands of teaching and leading a 6A High School Choral program is very different from leading a 6A Middle School Choral program. It has demanded the majority of my attention. I love what I do and I love the culture that I am building, and I feel like things are bit more under control and I know what I am doing! The second reason, my own mental health needed a break. Blogging started to become something that was a chore, the political climate in Oklahoma was and is still toxic, and Edu-Twitter started to become an unsafe and stressful environment for me. I needed to walk away, simply to keep myself sane and to care for me. I don't regret that decision one bit. It was the best thing for myself and I'm so glad I did it.

But I'm back!! I have been wanting to write more, and share my heart with others. From now on you won't see a lot about education advocacy, because that stresses me out, but you will see lots about the happenings of my classroom, education practices, and general happenings in my life. This blog will be a little bit of everything under the sun!! Plus cute puppy pictures.

Disclaimer over!!

Recently I attended a Trauma-Informed Schools Conference, as a part of my district's research team over the topic. I was honored to be considered and I was equally excited to learn. My eyes were opened. It is time for a shift in how we think about kids that have dealt with trauma or even our co-workers that have dealt with trauma. Being trauma-informed is not just about meeting the needs of some kids, but meeting the needs of all kids!

When dealing with students that have dealt with trauma we have to be aware of their need for regulation. One of my biggest takeaways from the conference is very simple, a child's misbehavior is not the root problem, but it is a symptom. The first step in my journey of being a trauma-informed classroom is very simple building a relationship of trust with my students.

Classrooms should be and need to be safe places!! One of my favorite things to do with kids that are having a hard time, and need some space is sending them on an errand. I know that those kids just need a break, taking the time they need to gather themselves together and to regulate their own behavior. I have a purple folder in my room, and when I know that a kid needs a break, I have them take that purple folder to another teacher. The other teacher knows the meaning of the purple folder, and they know that the kid really isn't on a true errand, but is just needing some time out from the situation that is happening in my classroom. That other teacher keeps the student until they feel like they are ready to come back into my room. When the kid comes back, I thank them and tell them what we did, and how excited I am to see them back and ready to work. This has solved so many of the power struggle issues that I found myself in with kids early in my teaching career. Arguing with a student will solve nothing, but only further escalate the situation.

Something that I'm going to start in the classroom is mindfulness and breathing. We all need to have our bodies regulated and ready to learn. When we are dysregulated and on edge, we can't function. I know that when I'm dysregulated and riddled with anxiety, I can't function. So how can we as educators expect our students to learn when they come to us stressed and hurting? The answer is we can't before a child can ever care about the content we are teaching, students must have their basic needs met first. They need to feel loved, respected, and safe. As a Choir teacher, I always do breathing warm-ups to focus on the content. But I'm going to change that up to using breathing and guided meditation as a way to help students regulate their brains, and get prepared for learning. I know that many have negative thoughts on mediation, but using mediation as a way for students to learn more about their bodies and their minds is a great resource....and guess what it is free! There are tons of videos on YouTube about mindfulness meditation, they are awesome. Just five minutes at the beginning of class is worth it.

Being trauma-informed has to be done organically. This means that trauma-informed classrooms start in the classroom and the school. Trauma-informed cannot be a top-down decision. I'm so blessed that I work for a school district that understands this and is working and empowering teachers, counselors, administrators, school nurses, and community partners. I am by no means an expert and I'm just starting on this journey. But I'm so excited to see how this will only better my instruction!!! Below I have included a couple of resources that I have been using and reading. If you are learning about trauma-informed and you have resources or ideas, please leave them in the comments! I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas! Let's be there for our kids and let's change some lives!!!

Beyond Consequences Institute

Trauma Aware Schools

Trauma Sensitive Schools

The Right Side of History

So....it has been awhile.

I have decided to come out of blogger retirement because the next couple of days, weeks, and months will be so important to the State of Oklahoma. You have heard by now that if the Oklahoma State Legislature does not meet the April 1st budget deadline with a budget that includes a 10,000 dollar pay raise for teachers, 5,000 dollars for support staff, increased education funding and steady revenue streams, teachers across Oklahoma will be walking out and rally at the the capital until the legislature does their job.

Last week I was asked to speak on behalf of teachers in my district to our Board of Education as they considered a resolution to support teachers by suspending school in the event of a teacher walkout. Below is what I shared:

Good evening and thank you for allowing me this time to address you. My name is Meghan Loyd and I am the Choir Director at Midwest City High School. This would be much easier for me to sing this to you instead of speaking it, but I will save everyone from that tonight! I can tell you that I have wanted to be a teacher since my first day of kindergarten. I remember when I was in elementary school I would come home from school and play “teacher,” I would line up my stuffed animals and teach them what I had learned in school that day. Then I discovered music and fell in love. I know that I was meant to be a Choir teacher. I love my job, I love my students, I love my school, and I love my district. I do not want to walk out of school. I do not want to be away from my students. I want to know that they are safe and fed. However it has become apparent that after years of blogging, sending emails, making phone calls, lobbying, working on the campaigns for pro-education candidates and for pro-education state questions, we have come to the last option. It is scary. It is one thing that I never wanted it to come to, but this what we need to do.

This is more than just walk out for higher teacher pay, this is a walkout for the future of Oklahoma. There are some that will say that we are giving up on our students, but I believe that is false. We are walking because every student deserves a highly qualified certified teacher in their classrooms. We are walking because every student deserves up to date textbooks, not ones held together by tape and glue. We are walking because we want fully funded classrooms where teachers don’t have to worry about supplies, and we can focus on providing the highest quality of education for our students. We are walking because we are tired of seeing the best and brightest education majors leave this state for higher paying teaching jobs across the state line. We are walking for a pay raise for educators and support staff that is ten years overdue. I am walking for talented student musicians that I get to work with every single day.

I know that this is something that we would have hoped to avoid. However if the legislature fails to meet the April 1st budget deadline, with a budget that funds pay raises for not only teachers and support staff, and brings back common education funding to the 2008 levels, I ask that you, as the Mid-Del Public Schools Board of Education, vote to support teachers and staff in a work stoppage. I ask that you support us, as we go to the Capital and fight for our students. I know that this a scary thing, but I know we have reached a crossroads in Oklahoma’s history and I hope that Mid-Del will be on the right side of history.

In the meantime, I encourage everyone in this room to email, call, visit, and write to your legislators asking them to work together to meet the April 1st budget deadline, in hopes that we can prevent this work stoppage. I am not from Oklahoma, I’m from Arkansas. I could easily go home and teach in a position where I am paid more and be closer to my family, which my mother would love but I love Oklahoma, I love Midwest City, and this is my home. I am proud to be a Bomber!

Thank you for your time and thank you for service to the students, teachers, staff, parents, and community of Mid-Del Public Schools.