Learn how to navigate the challenging terrain of connecting with a child who is afraid, angry, and/or sad. Framing this work as emotionally responsive teaching, this book expands current conceptualizations of trauma-informed practice to encompass more broadly the relational demands of supporting young children with challenging life circumstances.

Contents Foreword Mary Benson McMullen  ix Acknowledgments and Dedication  xi Introduction  1 1.  Teaching Children With Messy Lives  7 Developing a Shared Perspective  8 Messy Lives as a Context for Development  11 Trauma Is the Symptom, Not the Problem  14 A Conceptual Framework for Thinking More Deeply  16 Summary  21 2.  Essential Elements of an Emotionally Responsive Teaching Approach  23 Defining Emotionally Responsive Teaching  24 The Essence of Emotionally Responsive Teaching  30 Development and Emotionally Responsive Teaching  33 The Aims of Emotionally Responsive Teaching  37 The Emotionally Responsive Ethic  39 Summary  40 3.  Teaching From Hope Versus Teaching From Fear  43 Self-Fulfilling Expectations  43 Teaching in Treacherous Times  46 We All Teach Our Own Story  57 Summary  66 4.  Reframing Resilience for Children With Messy Lives  69 I Keep Me Safe  70 Development Along Alternative Pathways  71 A Developmental Pathways Approach  74 Reframing Resilience  79 Moving Forward  87 Summary  88 5.  Redefining Trauma: The Embodied Experience of Threat  91 Sinking in the Pool  91 The Embodied Experience of Threat  95 The Stress Response System  100 Differentiating Brief Stress, Adversity, Toxic Stress, and Trauma  107 Summary  110 6.  Too Scared to Learn: The Impact of Fear on Development and Learning  111 A Shift in Worldview  112 Adversity and Learning  118 Summary  137 7.  Cultivating Emotionally Responsive Teaching  139 The Anchors of Emotionally Responsive Teaching  140 Summary  168 8.  The Courage to Care  171 All Children Benefit From Emotionally Responsive Teaching  172 Sustaining the Emotionally Responsive Teacher  176 Summary  185 References  187 Index  199 About the Author  207

“In this book, Travis Wright offers the reader real hope, inspiration, and practical advice about how to help all of our children move through and beyond perceived threats and betrayals that may otherwise leave them feeling overlooked, outcast, and afraid.” —From the Foreword by Mary Benson McMullen, professor, Indiana University, Bloomington