Documenting the Process: ACES Training and Social Media Posts

Paula Abbott presented a session to Unity Learning Communities to inform our program development. Those attending also felt that this information is critical to how we design our program AND imperative to supporting our community. As a presentation is difficult to replicate in other formats by simply sharing a presentation, we'd like to get this information out to the public in other ways. 

All Unity Learning Community Learning providers will have training in ACE, become aware of their own ACE scores and solutions, and learn instructional approaches to support learners. 

Unity Learning Community Learning will post a series of information on social media to build awareness. Additional community trainings will also be provided. 

Here is the draft of postings. 

Introductory Post: ACE stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences. Bad things happen to all of us...it's normal. But when children experience these things between 0-17, they may have long term problems with health, opportunities, and well-being. Even worse, some groups experiences these kinds of traumas more than other groups. It's important to know how we can stop these experiences from ever happening and to help folks heal once they have occurred.

In a series of social media posts and other activities, Unity Learning Communities will focus on sharing important ideas an solutions with our communities. 

Learn more about ACES here: https://www.cdc.gov/aces/about/index.html 

1: Adverse Childhood Experiences:  https://www.pacesconnection.com/pages/3RealmsACEs 

Trauma comes from 3 major sources: The Household, The Community, and The Environment. We aren't "doomed" because we have experienced bad things. But it is important to be aware of where the difficulties arise so we prevent some of them and so we can seek ways to recover. 

2. Adverse Childhood Experiences can come from the houshold: https://www.pacesconnection.com/pages/3RealmsACEs.   

• divorce
• incarcerated family members
• homelessness
• physical neglect
• emotional neglect
• bullying
• maternal depression
• domestic violence
• parental mental illness
• alcoholism and drug abuse
• emotional abuse
• sexual abuse

3. Adverse Childhood Experiences can come from the community: https://www.pacesconnection.com/pages/3RealmsACEs 

• discrimination
• violence
• lack of social capital
• lack of social mobility
• substandard schools
• structural racism
• poor water
• poor air quality
• lack of jobs
• substandard wages
• food scarcity
• poor housing quality
• poor housing affordability
• poverty

4. Adverse Childhood Experiences can come from the environment: https://www.pacesconnection.com/pages/3RealmsACEs 

• climate crisis
• record heat and drought
• wildfires and smoke
• record storms, flooding, and mudslides
• sea level rise
• natural disasters
• tornadoes and hurricanes
• volcano eruptions and tsunamis
• earthquakes
• pandemics

5. Adverse Childhood Experiences: ACEs are surprisingly common — 64% of the 17,000 in the ACE Study had one of the 10 ACEs; 12 percent had four or more. https://www.pacesconnection.com/pages/3RealmsACEs.   

6. Adverse Childhood Experiences: There’s an unmistakable link between ACEs and adult onset of chronic disease, mental illness, violence and being a victim of violence. https://www.pacesconnection.com/pages/3RealmsACEs.   

7. Adverse Childhood Experiences: The more types of childhood adversity, the direr the consequences. An ACE score of 4 increases the risk of alcoholism by 700%, attempted suicide by 1200%; it doubles heart disease and lung cancer rates. https://www.pacesconnection.com/pages/3RealmsACEs.   

8. Adverse Childhood Experiences: ACEs contribute to most of our health problems, including chronic disease, financial and social health issues. https://www.pacesconnection.com/pages/3RealmsACEs.   

9. Adverse Childhood Experiences: One type of ACE is no more damaging than another. An ACE score of 4 that includes divorce, physical abuse, a family member depressed or in prison has the same statistical outcome as four other types of ACEs. This is why focusing on preventing just one type of trauma and/or coping mechanism isn’t working. https://www.pacesconnection.com/pages/3RealmsACEs.   

10. Adverse Childhood Experiences: Cautions: ACE experiences damages: 

• children's brains (neurobiology)
• can cause short and long term health problems
• can be passed down to our children in our genes (epigenetics) 

BUT: science shows that our brains are "plastic" and can heal. https://www.pacesconnection.com/pages/3RealmsACEs.    

11. Our brains are plastic. Our bodies want to heal. To reduce stress hormones in our bodies and brains, we can meditate, exercise, sleep and eat well, have safe relationships, live and work in safety, ask for help when we need it. https://www.pacesconnection.com/pages/3RealmsACEs.    

12. Do you know your ACE score? Take a quiz here: https://americanspcc.org/take-the-aces-quiz/ 

13. ACEs are common. About 64% of adults in the United States reported they had experienced at least one type of ACE before age 18. Nearly one in six (17.3%) adults reported they had experienced four or more types of ACEs.7https://www.cdc.gov/aces/about/index.html

14. Three in four high school students reported experiencing one or more ACEs, and one in five experienced four or more ACEs. ACEs that were most common among high school students were emotional abuse, physical abuse, and living in a household affected by poor mental health or substance abuse.8https://www.cdc.gov/aces/about/index.html

15. Preventing ACEs could potentially reduce many health conditions. Estimates show up to 1.9 million heart disease cases and 21 million depression cases potentially could have been avoided by preventing ACEs.1 Preventing ACEs could reduce suicide attempts among high school students by as much as 89%, prescription pain medication misuse by as much as 84%, and persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness by as much as 66%.8https://www.cdc.gov/aces/about/index.html

16. Some people are at greater risk of experiencing one or more ACEs than others. While all children are at risk of ACEs, numerous studies show inequities in such experiences. These inequalities are linked to the historical, social, and economic environments in which some families live. 56ACEs were highest among females, non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Native adults, and adults who are unemployed or unable to work.7https://www.cdc.gov/aces/about/index.html

17. ACEs are costly. ACEs-related health consequences cost an estimated economic burden of $748 billion annually in Bermuda, Canada, and the United States.9https://www.cdc.gov/aces/about/index.html

18. ACEs can have lasting effects on health and well-being in childhood and life opportunities well into adulthood.10 Life opportunities include things like education and job potential. These experiences can increase the risks of injury, sexually transmitted infections, and involvement in sex trafficking. They can also increase risks for maternal and child health problems including teen pregnancy, pregnancy complications, and fetal death. Also included are a range of chronic diseases and leading causes of death, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and suicide.11112131415161718https://www.cdc.gov/aces/about/index.html

19. ACEs and associated social determinants of health, such as living in under-resourced or racially segregated neighborhoods, can cause toxic stress. Toxic stress, or extended or prolonged stress, from ACEs can negatively affect children’s brain development, immune system, and stress-response systems. These changes can affect children’s attention, decision-making, and learning.19https://www.cdc.gov/aces/about/index.html

20. Children growing up with toxic stress may have difficulty forming healthy and stable relationships. They may also have unstable work histories as adults and struggle with finances, job stability, and depression throughout life. 19These effects can also be passed on to their own children.202122 Some children may face further exposure to toxic stress from historical and ongoing traumas. These historical and ongoing traumas include experiences of racial discrimination or the impacts of poverty resulting from limited educational and economic opportunities.16https://youtu.be/8gm-lNpzU4ghttps://www.cdc.gov/aces/about/index.html

21. Adverse Childhood Experiences can be prevented and healed. Here's a resource of ideas: https://www.pacesconnection.com/ws/Handouts_ParentingPreventACEs_EN.pdf  

22. Nurture and protect kids as much as possible. Be a source of safety and support. https://www.pacesconnection.com/ws/Handouts_ParentingPreventACEs_EN.pdf 

23. Move and play with your kids. Drum, stretch, throw a ball. Dance. Move inside or outside for fun and togetherness and to ease stress. https://www.pacesconnection.com/ws/Handouts_ParentingPreventACEs_EN.pdf 

24. Make eye contact. Look at kids (babies too). It says, "I see you. I value you. You matter. You are not alone." https://www.pacesconnection.com/ws/Handouts_ParentingPreventACEs_EN.pdf 

25. Say, "sorry." We all lose our patience and make mistakes. Acknowledge it, apologize, and repair the relationships. It's up to us to show kids we are responsible for our moods and our mistakes. https://www.pacesconnection.com/ws/Handouts_ParentingPreventACEs_EN.pdf 

26. Give 20 second hugs. There's a reason we hug when things are hard. Safe touch is healing. Longer hugs are most helpful. https://www.pacesconnection.com/ws/Handouts_ParentingPreventACEs_EN.pdf

27. Slow down or stop. Rest. Take breaks. Take a walk or a few moments to reset or relax. https://www.pacesconnection.com/ws/Handouts_ParentingPreventACEs_EN.pdf 

28. Hunt for the good. When there has been pain or trauma, we look for danger. We can practice looking for joy and good stuff too. https://www.pacesconnection.com/ws/Handouts_ParentingPreventACEs_EN.pdf 

29. Be there for kids. It’s hard to see our kids in pain. We can feel helpless. Simply being present with our kids is doing something. It shows them we are in their corner. https://www.pacesconnection.com/ws/Handouts_ParentingPreventACEs_EN.pdf  

30. HELP KIDS TO EXPRESS MAD, SAD & HARD FEELINGS Hard stuff happens. But helping kids find ways to share, talk, and process helps. Our kids learn from us.https://www.pacesconnection.com/ws/Handouts_ParentingPreventACEs_EN.pdf  

31. KEEP LEARNING Understand how ACEs impact you and your parenting.https://www.pacesconnection.com/ws/Handouts_ParentingPreventACEs_EN.pdf  

32. Read more about childhood trauma and the supports for healing in this book: https://donnajacksonnakazawa.com/books/childhood-disrupted/ 

33. https://www.pacesconnection.com/ws/Handouts_UnderstandingACEs_EN.pdf 

34. Stress Busters: https://www.pacesconnection.com/ws/Handouts_StressBusters_National_EN.pdf

35: Trauma and Parenting: Why is this important? 

Source: Paula Abbott

36: A high ACE score is associated with health problems: 

https://www.acesaware.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/ACEs-Aware-July-Webinar-Slide-Deck.pdf

37: Trauma can impair cognitive development. It literally hurts the brain. 

Source: Paula Abbott

38: When children grow up in an environment where they are exposed on a regular basis to what they perceive as a threat, their nervous system is permanently in a state of fight-flight-or-freeze. They are more likely to struggle with emotional distress and regulation, impulsivity, learning difficulties, as well as physical, mental, and health problems.

Hand Model of the brain. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=912761219957023 

39: Healing from trauma is possible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa1lsafvxUQ 

40: Trauma isn't about what's wrong with you. It's about what happened to you. 

41: 

Capturing Writing: Little Elm and Grammar

We read Amos and Boris. 

A place I like to go is anywhere I've been doing a project. After the tools are put away and the paint has dried, I like to walk out there and just stand. To look at the progress. To bask in the...mess...and what might be next...but mostly to feel the change in what wasn't and now is. To feel how the sound of the place changes the echoes of my footsteps. To see how the sky changes the light with a new structure or the absence of a branch or 5,000. (edited to add of too (excess) many dead branches. 

Acting on Impulse Structure. 

Thirteen minutes ago, I thought of the outdoor kitchen and all my projects. It's now almost time for lunch, but my mind still sees Jason's hands reaching down form the tar-papered roof to grab the corrugated red panels of metal. He peeks across the panels and down at me with a cautious smile. He's checking to see if the rise hurt my shoulder and if I'm ready to release my grip as he pulls it above my head. 

I wanted to talk about all the projects and explain how I feel satisfaction in getting things done. But now I realize that's not really what makes the spaces somewhere I like to go. 

Instead, I realize that it's not about what or where but about who was with me during and after the creating. 

A Staggering Thing I Saw Structure

I was teaching grammar in Little Elm ISD when mom sent a text message. 

It was a picture of Willow and her new kitten foster, Gingerly. Willow's nose was right next to the kitten's. 

My heart said, Ahhh! and I felt love for mom and how all creatures flock to her *edited to add like barefooted kids to the cool relief of the snow cone stand). I admired her all over again. 

Then it was time for the group to discuss the text structure and conjunctions. The point of which is to know and understand how ideas are connected. How a reader folows the path of reasoning over rocks in a river crossing...arriving with dry feet (edited to add, refining teh clarity of mind, and reviving a purpose behind grammar). 

Documenting the Process: The Learning Process, Learner Characteristics

Lynn and I met to discuss the learning process and how we would explain the ideas to those we will serve. 

I shared the concept used at Stonefield Elementary to share their vision with the students and the community. https://www.stonefields.school.nz/our-vision-and-values/ 

We watched this video and examined their images. 

 

I shared and recreated the model of the learning process here: https://www.stonefields.school.nz/learning-at-stonefields-school/ for our notes. 

Then we brainstormed how to make the metaphors work for our area. 

• wind industry - the concept works, but is probably better for adults than it is for students. 
• canyon - we'd have to go there
• prairie
• N. Heights - we'd need more research
• Garden
• Music/Performance
• Technology/Cell Phones/Coding
• Medical?  Can't read my handwriting, sorry
  
  As we thought about our values, what kids find meaningful, we landed on the idea of friends. And that fits really well with Tremaine's vision about community. And friends/relationships are things that kids know a lot about - we won't need to teach another level of content for them to get the metaphor. 

We then started to think about how the metaphor fits the learning process. 

Here's the learning process and the verbs that Stonefields Elementary uses. They conceptualize the learning process as moving and climbing on a set of rocks. We move in an around the area, depending on where we are in the process. For example, we might be making meaning, but realize we have more questions and need to seek more knowledge. 

 

• Building Knowledge: We add to our knowing and understanding. We use specific strategies and techniques in this phase which include: bring what I know, notice, use my senses, identify, explore, find more information, search and research
• Making Meaning: This is where the knowledge and understanding become more than facts. To achieve this kind of thinking, we group, plan, experiment, practice, compare, seek perspectives, summarize, generalize, predict, analyze, and synthesize. 
• Applying Understanding: At this phase of learning, we are ready to create, act, or do. We make decisions, solve, critique, evaluate, justify, and create with meaning and purpose. 

Using Friendship as the Metaphor

• Building Knowledge - We begin by learning how to be a friend and connect to others. This requires us to learn about ourselves and others. 
• Making Meaning - This is where we build relationships and nurture each other through experiences. 
• Apply Understanding - This is where we connect beyond friendships to build true community that changes the world. It's how we impact the world together. 

Lynn and I are going to share these ideas with the team when we meet next time to get feedback and make decisions on how we'd like to roll out these lessons. 

As Lynn and I talked, we created a clarifying outline of the major challenges we want students to know and understand. 

Our goal: Make stuff better for kids

Challenge One: Henry's Freedom Box Lesson: What does it mean to be literate? To experience reading and writing powerfully? 

Challenge Two: The Learning Pit: What does success involve? 

Challenge Three: The Learning Process: How does one learn? 

Challenge Four: Learner Characteristics: What does a learner need? 

Anybody else "cheers" the communion cup on Sunday?

Did anyone else cheers the communion cup on Sunday? As a recovering Baptist, this practice feels sacrilegious and somewhat-sinfully automatic.  Raising my hands in church AND using a cultural practice centered around alcohol? My mom used to duck when she even drove by a liquor store. A dangerous practice. Shame heats my face every time I accidentally lift the cup and offer to clink with my neighbor.

But what is more worthy of lifting hands in celebration than Christ's big love? The juxtaposition of church and culture swirls around the dysfunctional way we all approach life and religion. What am I to do with that oxymoron? 

Anna, my grand-daughter reminded me of the mismatch of living, loving, politics, and religion. We kneeled on the velvet and needlepoint cushions, waiting for the pastor to offer the blood and body of Christ. We placed our empty hands in prayer over the worn wood, waiting for the host, gesturing in prayer until I heard a little gasp beside me and peeked to see Anna's wide eyes. She brushed the blond wisps from her forehead wrinkled in concern, "OH NONA! We forgot the tip!!" She was horrified. And it was too late to grab a dollar or some coins for the offering.

She had no idea why I smiled and laughed at such a travesty and lapse of obligation to those who serve. My prayer of thanksgiving for Christ's sacrifice and apologies for my failures turned to praise and love for the gentle heart of this child. 

She probably cringes to hear this frequently recounted tale much like my son who groans when I delightfully tell about the only time he mispronounced a word in his life: "These are the voyages of the starship, Enterprise, it's contishooing mission to seek out new life and new civililations...to boltly go where no man has gone before..." embarrassment and avoidance at the repeated recollections of innocence. 

A recitation again. The same story. The Body of Christ. The Blood of Christ. A few words of a story, legion of emotions, horrors of mistakes, disappointments, pain,...but also of joy, wonder, and awe. Anna's misconstrued understanding of communion and offerings represented her childlike inexperience and the culture of the restaurant industry. Food. Service. Tips. She may have understood it better than any of us. 

Like the transubstantiation of the elements, some of us only understand the mysteries through things we know about. As a baker, I'm reminded of the chemical reactions of osmosis when water, flour, and time become bread. Reflection shows me that the cup, the culture, and the living aren't really oxymoronic at all.

The living of life in the time we have, next to people we have only a few moments to love and enjoy...it all mixes together and changes life from one kind of thing to another. I don't think the Lord minds that kind of connection - celebration - at his table. Today, I feel ok about letting go of the guilt around lifting the cup. 

Cheers.