Liberia as a nation has been faced with a lot. From one tragedy to another; from one disease to another and one global pandemic to another. Yes, in the midst of all those tragedies, we, as a nation and people have striven and endured to the end. Our ENDURANCE is our Strength. As our children and the rest of the world’s children prepare and/or already begun the school year 2020-2021, I hope that my professional ideas will serve as a beacon of hope for not only on the way we view and treat our children but to support their teachers, parents and all those coming in contact with them. I hope that my idea can enable us to support the importance of their education and our commitment to their generation and ones to come. As leaders and teachers and parents, we have the solid and demanding responsibility to safeguard their future and this is the right time to do so.
During this difficult period of time and students’ desires to learn, I want to remind our school leaders and the government of the Republic of Liberia including all those who are contributors to the growth of our students that we have the responsibility and the opportunity to shift the attention of students from tragedies to recovery which comes with full intervention. For the most vulnerable students of our society who have been neglected, abandoned, and living in a state of hopelessness including food insecurity and homelessness, it is no doubt that the COVID19 has immensely affected them. This is the population of students who have grieved and continue to grief in shame and silence due to the passing of their loved ones and their everyday experience with incidences of domestic violence, rape, sexual violence, childhood molestation, and hardships deriving from their economic and low socio-status. Many of these students are returning to school with that huge bearing of the weight of trauma that is definitely going to affect their learning. In fact, most of their teachers are also going to be affected by trauma as they too are faced with the same economic recession and grief of a loved one. This state of mind can adversely affect their own teaching and learning with even more deadly outcomes on our students.
As a Licensed Masters Social Worker and policy practitioner, I do believe that when we help to improve the teaching, learning, and school leadership, it will greatly impact the wellbeing and educational outcomes of our students. As stated earlier, the year of such is not new to Liberians and our students. We have been faced with a lot and have endured to the end; and as a nation and people, we are going to use ENDURANCE again to fight this global pandemic.
How do we support our teachers and other educators?
During this difficult period of time, let our educators use trauma-informed approaches or strategies. The trauma-informed approach required assessing mental health, physical health, and socioemotional learning support that students need now than ever before. The trauma-informed approach requires good planning and good planning is a form of trauma-informed approach that addresses the needs of students by identifying the best policies, resources, and procedures the teachers will need to facilitate a good positive, compassionate and informed response to their students’ needs. Once this is implemented then we can address the area of building capacity of our teachers. How do we build the capacity of teachers and other educators who are going to directly or indirectly impact the learning of students? Putting on a trauma-informed approach, building the capacity of our teachers will allow teachers and other educators to bolster and implement the plan by forming study teams on important topics and identifying training opportunities and other helpful resources. Again, once this step is completed, we can now move to re-assessing. Put on your trauma-informed approach by re-assessing the way in which the needs of our students have been met and looking at what and how they might have changed and whether or not new needs have emerged. Addressing those factors that will or have presented barriers to meeting the student’s most important needs even if it is considering revising their individualized teaching plan. Teachers and school administrators can re-evaluate their individualized teaching plan that must include responding to COVID-19 related trauma in ways that will support students and eliminate trauma. To be successful in doing this is to focus on addressing the crisis and getting the input of students through a robust and comprehensive assessment.
How do we focus on addressing the crisis in ways that will support the students and teachers?
Addressing Crisis is building teams and a stronger school community. It is important to note that team members should be diverse and inclusive. This inclusiveness and diversity should include classroom teachers, parents or guardians, non-teaching Staff such as the nurses (if there is any), school social workers, mentors, community members if possible, and school leadership. We should also be mindful of who we are including on the team because some formal and informal personnel who are ordinarily tapped to lead efforts such as this may not have the emotion, energy, or mental capacity required to deal with the situation under current circumstances. Notwithstanding, all of the different people listed here are an integral part of addressing the crisis and building a stronger school environment which will greatly impact the positive learning outcomes of the students. The inclusiveness of this team is also a great way to tap into the talents of everyone in the best interest of the students, the larger community, and the school.
Rallying students’ Input. Rallying student’s input is giving students the opportunity to contribute to their successes which is very important in the implementation of their plan and it is the best way to support a person. It is also important for all those involved with addressing the crisis listed above to give their own individual perspectives about the students. Rally students also mean enabling students to stand up for themselves and understand that their voices do matter. More importantly, rally students’ input requires reaching out to students who are less talker, shy, and disconnected from school life due to whatever reasons beyond their control. In fact, this is the perfect way to get students to involve with their plan to schedule a one-on-one conversation with them at which time they might be more comfortable to provide their input. It is also a perfect way to get students out of their bubble or comfort zone and encourage them to participate in some of the classroom lectures, outdoor and indoor planning, etc. Your feedback on their activities too will serve as a force for them to fee value and an important part of their education. Above all, rallying students’ input is a perfect way for students to feel comfortable and expressive in ways that they might not have done in the classroom or with the classroom staff. In fact, teachers should welcome the idea of them self-nominating areas of their interest in the plan since recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic as we now know through different studies and happenings seen every day around the world, it is going to be a long-term recovery process.
Hence, it is my hope that this piece of idea will encourage school administrators, the classroom teachers, non-teaching staff, parents, guardians, students, and the larger community to see that they all have a role to play in the prosperity and lives of these students as they journey another school year that has been symbolized by trauma. All of us can only support these students and teachers if we recognize the shared responsibility by sustaining and creating a trauma-informed approach to teaching. This will help all of us as educators to navigate the discomfort road ahead. Our set priorities now will determine the outcomes of the road ahead.
About Massa Dopoh-Author
Massa Dopoh is a born and raised Liberian who is currently residing in Delaware, USA. She is a Licensed Masters Social Worker and currently works as a Management Analyst III for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the Policy and Program Development Unit at the Division of Social Services. Her writing has been featured on Kava Guides, the #1 guide for kava (piper methysticum) online. Massa advanced knowledge includes: Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Practice with Organizations and Communities, Practice with Treatment Groups, Practice with Military Families, Trauma-Focused Practice in Child Welfare, Medical Social Work, Research Methods and Analysis, Practice work with Individuals and Families, Tools for Policy, Clinical Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-DSM-5, Anti-discrimination and Domestic Violence, Workplace-Harassment and Retaliation Training, Mental Health and Substance Abuse, etc. Massa is also a Publishing Author of the “Evidence-Based Intervention Approach to Addressing Early Childhood Education in Liberia: The Importance of Utilizing Family Systems Theory. Her educational background includes: Master of social work from the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks North Dakota; Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Development and Family Science from North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota; Bachelor of Social work from Minot State University in Minot, North Dakota; and Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Arts from North Hennepin Community College in Brooklyn Center, MN.
