Did you know that societal inequities can
impact a person's long-term health outcomes?
Marginalization is the exclusion of a disadvantaged person or group to the fringe of society. It results in individuals being overlooked when laws, policies, and practices are established that protect the privileged class, and leads to adverse community environments--such as poverty, poor housing, and lack of mobility--that promote fertile ground for structural violence and harm, including racism and disproportionate child welfare removals. Children growing up in these environments are at risk for poor health and educational outcomes, the adoption of risky behaviors, and involvement with the child welfare and criminal justice systems.
In short, being a member of a marginalized community
can be experienced as traumatic.
Cowart Trauma Informed Partnership
is pleased to announce a new course to help you
interrupt the potential negative impact of these experiences.
This course will help you develop a
better understanding of your students, and
provide strategies grounded in a
trauma-informed approach,
to help you support children in
your classrooms, schools, and community!
The 15-hour course will include a detailed look into the experiences of children from several marginalized communities, and offer techniques designed to help students feel safe, empowered, and able to focus on their educational opportunities. Specifically, the class will focus on supporting:
Students with disabilities or special health needs;
Those who are English language learners or new Americans;
Students experiencing homelessness;
Youth who are members of the LGBQT+ community;
Children in foster care or who were adopted; and
Survivors of dating violence or human trafficking.
Throughout the course, participants will be asked to apply the strategies introduced, including specific approaches, communication-enhancement techniques, special accommodations, and collaboration with community resources.
The course will also introduce the concept of intersectionality, and examine how it can compound the impact for individuals who belong to more than one marginalized group. Participants will apply this understanding to the historical trauma of racism and how the school-to-prison pipeline and adultification bias operate, and make inferences about other intersections for marginalized students. Participants will be continually asked to link the course materials to examples from their personal and professional experience throughout the course.
Details
This is a 5-week, 15-hour course. It will be delivered remotely on-line, through Google Classroom. The course will consist of four sessions.
Two sessions will be delivered asynchronously (you work at your own time and pace, with work due on two specific dates), with instructor facilitation and forum discussion encouraged. Each of these will include pre-recorded presentations, selected readings, multi-media sources, and activities or writing assignments that require participants to apply the materials covered to their classes or schools. Participants will have:
Three weeks to complete the assignments from the first asynchronous session (estimated completion time of 7 hours); and
Two weeks to complete the assignments from the second asynchronous session (estimated completion time of 4 hours).
Two sessions will be virtual, real-time discussion sessions. These will be two-hours each, and will be held in the evenings.
All activities and discussion sessions will be evaluated using a rubric, and each will be worth a maximum of 12 points. Detailed feedback will be provided no later than one week after the assignment is due. Participants may modify and resubmit written work within one week of receiving feedback. Participants who obtain an average of 80%, or a total of 48 points, will be issued a certificate of successful completion.
Course Schedule:
Course Begins and All Materials Released: November 8, 2021
Session 1 Assignments Due: November 28, 2021
First Discussion Session: November 29, 2021, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Session 2 Assignments Due: December 12, 2021
Second Discussion Session: December 13, 2021, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time
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