By rethinking school programming as a means to challenge socially constructed barriers and a springboard toward greater understanding, we can reform our societies--one classroom at a time.

Podcast guest Dr. Heather Batchelor has used her passion for reframing teaching to create a Masters in Teaching program that prepares teachers to address these social constructs. These teachers-in-training focus their studies on trauma-informed education, resilience, and restorative justice. She’s also creating an undergraduate minor to build empathy through students learning about unjust systems and serving as literacy tutors in the prison system.

Wouldn't it be great if all of our schools modeled healthy relationships and provided the opportunity for kids to practice healthy relationship skills and empathy to lower the amount of trauma in our society?

About Heather Batchelor:

Dr. Heather Batchelor is an experienced educator who has taught in both middle and high school settings. She now trains graduate students at Westminster College. She specializes in creating trauma-responsive classroom environments, resilience-building, and restorative justice in schools, and culturally sensitive classrooms. She also designed and was the lead teacher of a dropout prevention program at a rural high school founded in trauma-responsive practices, building leadership capacity, and promoting strong communities.

Jump Through the Conversation

[3:30] Understanding what it means to be ‘trauma-informed’
[5:25] Exploring the true nature of resilience
[6:25] Restorative Justice Tier 1: an investment in community in our schools
[10:00] Creating a college minor degree tied to justice and literacy via prison tutoring
[14:18] Creating alternatives to peer court via partnerships/relationships that instill hope
[18:16] Obstacles to providing a meaningful educational environment
[22:18] Turbo Time Questions with Heather
[28:14] Heather’s Magic Wand: That every community is dedicated to ending cycles of trauma by investigating root causes, providing social support, and taking ownership for ways each community has created the context that allows trauma

Links and Resources:

• Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair by Danielle Sered
• Email Maureen
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• Maureen’s book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids
• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep
• More Episodes: EducationEvolution.org