Just Say No to Teacher Burnout

drawing of teacher with mask in front of blackboard with coronavirus scattered around

In times of change, chaos, and crisis, prevent overwhelm and teacher burnout by being realistic about what you can and cannot do. Here’s how.

Teachers Are Heroes

#ThankATeacher: Help ATN thank teachers for all the hard work they do.

Teachers are Heroes Being a teacher is more challenging than ever before. Teachers have long been the adults who care for, protect and inspire the next generation. This year, they’re laying their lives on the line and innovating like never before. In short…teachers are heroes. The impact a teacher can make is more important than […]

Let’s Thank Our Teachers

Thank you with yellow pencil above

Teaching then… Long before COVID-19, social distancing, or mask mandates, we had teachers. Every August, after a few precious weeks of summer and many projects left unfinished, they showed up in empty classrooms to prepare for the new year. They rearranged furniture, made name plates, and decked out bulletin boards for a brand-new set of […]

Of Hats and Children and This Coming August

Many hats

So many hats… The teacher hat Like so many of you, I wear a number of “hats” every day. Since March, I’ve worn the teacher hat often. This isn’t foreign to me—I spent ten years in early childhood education—but being Teacher-Mom is a whole new classroom! Two of my students have autism. For them, communication […]

My Son’s Brain in School

A brain, a globe, a clock - My Son's Brain in School

A neuropsychologist said of my oldest son: “His brain is not organized the way the world wants it to be, so he has problems functioning. But he doesn’t have behavior problems. His brain doesn’t do those.” My youngest son also has a brain that doesn’t fit the world he lives in, but his brain does […]

Trauma-Informed Educators: Julie’s Reading List

books for trauma-informed educators

As teachers and students head back to school, a flurry of inquiries has come into ATN about the “best” materials to help our schools create more trauma-informed educators. The Trauma-Sensitive School movement is still young, so in previous years I had a hard time answering that question, as no one had yet written most of […]

ATN Wants You . . . To Share Your Story

hands typing at manual typewriter with paper in it

The Attachment & Trauma Network (ATN) seeks bloggers for the “Our Voices” section of our website, a.k.a. the ATN blog. Not sure if your story fits? Read on to learn more. Parents ATN was originally founded by parents, for other parents. We all have stories to tell, and we all need to know we’re not […]

Is the CTSS2019 Conference for Parents? No…and Yes!

Photo of Washington monument at night

Countless longtime members of ATN are parenting children severely impacted by early trauma. They may carry the painful memories of searching far and wide for trauma-informed resources, as do many who serve on ATN’s staff and board. Each year, members ask whether or not parents should attend ATN’s Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools (CTSS) Conference. The answer […]

Triggers: Providing Emotional Safety in the Classroom

–by Janyne McConnaughey, PhD Every adult knows that there are triggers in life. We often know each other’s triggers, and in toxic relationships, we talk about how we push each other’s buttons. We know those buttons exist, but we often don’t remember how they got there. It is even harder for children, who are not […]