May 15, 2018, ABC6, Columbus, OH: East Columbus school helps kids cope with negative emotions through trauma training http://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/ohio-elementary-helping-kids-cope-with-negative-emotions-through-trauma-training Inside Jessica Bedra's classroom at Ohio Avenue Elementary you'll find students using pedal desks and bouncing their feet on rubber bands. Down the hall a student is walking a road map on the floor outside his classroom. "They can take as much time as they need to take a break, but it's a structured break and it's working their brain in a different way," says Principal Olympia Della Flora. The school’s disciplinary room is called the peak room, but it’s colorful and friendly. "We have the trampoline for the little ones. We have puzzles. Anything immediately when they come in upset, that we can switch their brains and get them not to be upset helps deescalate them," adds Della Flora. These are some of the school’s regulation stations where kids go to take a mental break when they need it. "It's okay to be mad, but what does that look like when it's acceptable," says Bedra. …
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.