Utilizing trauma-informed practices can help create a welcoming and inclusive environment that allows students to feel comfortable and valued.

Royce Li knows of students who hadn’t cracked an egg before entering his Grade 11 class. “It’s shocking,” he says from Rick Hansen Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario where he teaches in the hospitality department. Students are used to meals from fast-food restaurants where products are often filled with unnecessary fats, sugars, and salt.

Mindfulness and yoga are becoming popular approaches in our classrooms for their principles that encourage kids to engage their minds, connect with their bodies, and breathe.

This past year, in a small Midwest community, we lost a student to a drug overdose. We have lost many more to drug addiction, and although we haven’t attended their funerals, they are no longer the students we once knew, while some are unrecognizable.

What can be done when facing violence in the classroom? There is no one right answer. It often depends on the student and their individual needs.

Mental health disorders come in many shapes and sizes. While there is no one-size-fits-all method of addressing them, here are some strategies I have used in the classroom.