by Elise White Diaz
“My mom was supposed to arrive this year, but there is no chance she will be let into the country now.”
“I’m a U.S. citizen, but I’m afraid of being targeted.”
“I’m scared to go to school and be deported.”
These statements were either overheard or relayed to me last year. Worries affecting students’ families and communities don’t disappear when they enter school; they shape how safe—or unsafe—their nervous systems feel in the school environment. And highly evaluative classrooms can unintentionally amplify that sense of threat.
According to Stephen W. Porges, learning environments that rely heavily on evaluation and judgment can cue danger for nervous systems. When this happens, the body shifts toward protection rather than connection, making learning and engagement more difficult. Fortunately, small shifts in the classroom can increase students’ sense of safety by reducing the pressure to perform—something educators can control even in uncertain times.
Continue reading “From Cold Call to Choice: Trauma-Informed Shifts in a Randomization System”
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