Students of Trauma

Review
“After a lifetime of educating others, I’ve become convinced that teaching, at its core, is relational, and for students who have experienced trauma that truth becomes even more necessary. I strongly recommend this book to you because it makes that case in a powerful way, but more importantly, it does so by being very practical. Dr. Shepherd’s book will be a valuable, real-world asset for teachers who want to help their students in greatest need. I really think this book has the potential to be a landmark work much like Alan Dewitt Button’s pioneering and highly insightful 1969 book, The Authentic Child.”―Robert A. Vartabedian, President Emeritus, Missouri Western State University
“As every public educator knows, many students are hurting, and teachers need the right professional attitudes and the right instructional strategies to make the right kind of difference amid all that pain. Within these pages, Dr. Shepherd provides what is needed in a very compelling and, most importantly, in a very practical way. I highly recommend this very valuable book.”―Doug Eicher, Director of Special Education, Lawrence, Kansas (retired)
Students of Trauma: A Handbook for Classroom Teaching in an Environment of Suffering provides school educators and those who work with them with practical strategies for working with students who have experienced trauma and express that through depression, aggression, anxiety, hyperactivity, and suspicion. This handbook, based on current educational research and on the accumulated experiences of actual teachers, provides clear and implementable guidance to individuals working in a school or classroom setting with young people who have experienced tremendous trauma in life. The issue of trauma-informed instruction has received significant consideration in recent years and rightly so, however, what sets this book apart is its emphasis on specific and direct actions and attitudes that teachers can take today to make a meaningful and powerful difference in the lives of their most troubled students. Students of Trauma will be a helpful addition to the libraries of classroom teachers, their administrators, and those who train them.