Because in his 180-page diatribe, 18-year-old Payton Gendron provided a motive for shooting 10 people in Buffalo, NY, on Saturday night, police didn’t need to search for one, as they often have other in mass shootings. But if we want to prevent mass shootings, using motive as a way to prevent mass shootings will just get you a useless answer to the wrong question.
Two years ago, instead of retiring as planned, Dave Ellis decided to apply for the new position of “executive on loan” to create and lead the New Jersey Office of Resilience (OoR) in the Department of Children and Families (DCF). It is the first state-level office to integrate policies and practices based on the science of positive and adverse childhood experiences. His appointment electrified the national PACEs movement, not only because he was a pioneer in the movement, but because the...
Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with mental health struggles. The collective trauma of COVID-19 has exasperated our country’s mental health crisis. May is Mental Health Awareness Month. This month, co-hosts, Ingrid Cockhren, CEO of PACEs Connection, and Mathew Portell, director of communities, speak with guests about this country's science, support, education, advocacy, and policies focused on mental health. This week's episode—at 1 pm PT, 4 pm ET,...
These triggers are unique to parenting and care-taking, meaning they will show up when you become a parent, because the child becomes the trigger.
Calling all companies, businesses, and organizations! We wanted to personally invite you to our upcoming webinar, Method to The Madness: Mental Health Awareness Made Manageable, May 26, 2022 @ 10 a.m. PST/1:00 p.m. EST. We are passionate about helping organizations manage the emotional and mental health needs of employees in the workforce. We know businesses are struggling to mitigate the effects of mental health and social and civil justice issues we are facing. As mental health...
A Forward-Facing Approach to Optimal Performance When I was 11 years old, I tried out for junior league baseball. I did not make the team. It was devastating for me because I had played first string catcher and batted third in the lineup since I was eight. However, the tryouts were held the year after my parents had finalized an acrimonious divorce and I was bounced between my two parents multiple times during that year. During the tryouts, I was in the outfield and one of the coaches hit a...
A new research-based book for children's ministry leaders explains trauma-informed principles in plain language using examples from real churches.
By Mary Ann Wolf, Photo: Liz Bell/Education NC, EdNC, May 16, 2022 I have had the opportunity to work with hundreds and hundreds of principals over the years, and I am often reminded about the very unique — and often lonely position — that principals have as school leaders. They are the only one in their building with their role, and they are the one who students, teachers, parents, and community members turn to when they’re concerned about what’s going on within a school. Principals are...
By Elizabeth Hopper, Greater Good Magazine, May 16, 2022 Imagine that you’re at the grocery store, and someone else pushes past you, bumping into you. Or imagine that you’re out with friends, and a friend makes a teasing comment on a topic you’re sensitive about. You might feel a variety of emotions—surprised, shocked, or upset. Experiences such as this—ones where we are insulted, belittled, or made to feel invisible—can even leave us feeling less than fully human . This, in turn, can cause...
By Jeanne Sahadi, Photo: Natee Meepian/Adobe Stock, CNN Business, May 16, 2022 Divorce. Job loss. Business failure. Eviction. Bankruptcy. Poverty. Few people get through life without experiencing a financially traumatic situation of some kind -- whether as a child watching your parents go through it or experiencing it yourself as an adult. Look no further than the pandemic to see countless recent cases of it. Such events can lead to undermining money habits that can hurt your finances, your...
By Perry Bacon Jr., Illustration: Washington Post Illustration/The Washington Post, The Washington Post, April 20, 2022 Two of America’s most important news outlets, CNN and the New York Times, are signaling that they will continue and even increase some of the both sides-ism, false equivalence and centrist bias that has long impaired coverage of U.S. politics and therefore our democracy itself. I hope they reconsider. In recent interviews , outgoing New York Times executive editor Dean...
By Rob Lieber, Illustration: Robert Neubecker, The New York Times, May 13, 2022 Let’s stop the conversation about student loan forgiveness and start one about the necessity of saying we’re sorry. After all, it’s not the borrowers who did anything wrong — it’s the country. We’re the ones who should be asking their forgiveness. Teenagers go to college because we tell them to. Many people in their 20s pursue graduate education because an advanced degree is what they need to prosecute criminals,...
If you live with the confusing and draining sense of being an imposter, you might not believe that your gifts and presence are welcome; you might also not allow for the fact that mistakes don't cancel the care you've brought to your work in the world.
By Anna Merod, Photo: Jon Cherry/Getty Images, K-12 Dive, May 5, 2022 In San Antonio, Texas, traumatic experiences involving domestic violence and drive-by shootings are increasingly shaping the lives of students. As a result, the San Antonio Independent School District has turned to a support model, known as Handle With Care, to support children and teens exposed to traumatic events. Since the 2019-20 school year, Handle With Care has helped San Antonio schools quickly connect students to...
By Jennifer Horgan, Photo: Larry Cummins, Irish Examiner, May 13, 2022 I sometimes imagine my classroom as something else — as a neighbourhood square or a small green in the centre of a quadrangle. The classroom walls are terraced houses — each house has a different coloured door. The image jolts me into remembering my students have their own individual stories and histories. It’s obvious, but sometimes the most obvious is the easiest to forget. So, I visualise different houses, different...