WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.419 Welcome to the Classroom Narratives Healing in 00:00:02.419 --> 00:00:04.900 Education podcast, the space where education 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:09.019 meets resilience. I'm Dr. Joey Weisler, and in 00:00:09.019 --> 00:00:11.400 each episode, we dive deep into the personal 00:00:11.400 --> 00:00:15.099 stories of educators, students, leaders, and 00:00:15.099 --> 00:00:18.079 frontline advocates who are navigating the complexities 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:21.260 within modern education. Whether you're just 00:00:21.260 --> 00:00:23.879 starting your teaching journey, or are we seasoned 00:00:23.879 --> 00:00:26.239 professional looking for inspiration, we'll 00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:29.059 explore how to foster meaningful change, prevent 00:00:29.059 --> 00:00:31.859 burnout, and build trauma -informed communities 00:00:31.859 --> 00:00:34.979 within our schools. Now, let's take a seat at 00:00:34.979 --> 00:00:36.859 the front of the classroom as we get started. 00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:39.679 Welcome back to the Classroom Narratives Healing 00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:41.799 in Education Podcast, where we're continuing 00:00:41.799 --> 00:00:45.399 to explore healing, burnout, and resilience in 00:00:45.399 --> 00:00:48.310 education, one story at a time. Today, we're 00:00:48.310 --> 00:00:50.869 joined by someone whose work is reshaping how 00:00:50.869 --> 00:00:53.070 we think about storytelling and service spaces. 00:00:53.590 --> 00:00:56.969 Maria Bryan is the founder and principal of Maria 00:00:56.969 --> 00:01:00.450 Bryan Creative, a Tallahassee -based consultancy 00:01:00.450 --> 00:01:03.630 originally built in Brooklyn. She's a trauma 00:01:03.630 --> 00:01:06.489 -informed storyteller, a purpose -driven marketing 00:01:06.489 --> 00:01:09.629 strategist, and the host of the When Bearing Witness 00:01:09.629 --> 00:01:15.519 podcast. Through certifications, workshops, and keynotes, Maria teaches nonprofits 00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:18.640 and really all of us how to gather and share 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:21.480 world -changing stories without causing harm. 00:01:21.760 --> 00:01:24.879 Her guiding belief is that stories are sacred 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:28.219 and storytellers have the ability to create safer 00:01:28.219 --> 00:01:30.939 and more connected communities. So in today's 00:01:30.939 --> 00:01:33.519 conversation, we're going to be working to unpack 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:35.920 what it means to approach storytelling with care 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:39.040 and compassion, especially when working in education, 00:01:39.359 --> 00:01:42.420 advocacy, and healing spaces. Maria, welcome 00:01:42.420 --> 00:01:44.590 to the show. Oh, thank you so much, Joey. That 00:01:44.590 --> 00:01:48.209 was a very kind introduction. We try. Thank you 00:01:48.209 --> 00:01:51.569 again. So before we came on, Maria and I met 00:01:51.569 --> 00:01:54.590 through a mutual conversation. And just now on 00:01:54.590 --> 00:01:57.189 our pre -recording, I mentioned the idea as to 00:01:57.189 --> 00:01:59.349 how I was speaking with another contact about 00:01:59.349 --> 00:02:02.170 a week ago who is working with film here in the 00:02:02.170 --> 00:02:04.890 South Florida area. And the resolution that we 00:02:04.890 --> 00:02:08.030 both came up with is that, we know how important 00:02:08.030 --> 00:02:10.210 mental health is to our community. Everybody 00:02:10.210 --> 00:02:12.650 wants to say, yes, mental health matters. Mental 00:02:12.650 --> 00:02:15.830 health matters. Break the stigma. Yet the work 00:02:15.830 --> 00:02:18.909 that we do and actually trying to lean into the 00:02:18.909 --> 00:02:22.129 discomfort and telling those stories and witnessing 00:02:22.129 --> 00:02:25.550 those stories is something that a lot of us still 00:02:25.550 --> 00:02:28.210 really hold back on doing. So Maria, tell us 00:02:28.210 --> 00:02:30.750 your perspective on that philosophy and what 00:02:30.750 --> 00:02:33.729 is Maria Bryan Creative doing to cover that? 00:02:33.990 --> 00:02:37.319 Yeah, so I couldn't agree more. Actually, it's 00:02:37.319 --> 00:02:41.280 one of my biggest pet peeves when nonprofit marketers 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:44.240 and fundraisers will tell their story owners, 00:02:44.520 --> 00:02:48.680 if you tell your story, it's going to help in 00:02:48.680 --> 00:02:51.000 your healing process. And I just think that's 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:55.199 really not very genuine, authentic, or necessarily 00:02:55.199 --> 00:02:57.699 true. It's a promise that we can't make that 00:02:57.699 --> 00:03:01.539 just by telling your story that you will heal. 00:03:01.819 --> 00:03:04.020 So I'm so glad that you're having these kinds 00:03:04.020 --> 00:03:06.949 of conversations as well. In my studies of being 00:03:06.949 --> 00:03:10.009 trauma -informed and trauma -resilient, storytelling 00:03:10.009 --> 00:03:14.229 can play a huge role in healing, but it's not 00:03:14.229 --> 00:03:17.569 a promise that we can make, especially on a timeline. 00:03:18.090 --> 00:03:22.490 So what my thoughts are, when you are going to 00:03:22.490 --> 00:03:25.550 tell your own story or you're asking others to 00:03:25.550 --> 00:03:27.629 tell their story, especially in the teaching 00:03:27.629 --> 00:03:32.569 context, you should have two questions in mind. 00:03:32.610 --> 00:03:37.909 One is, what is your goal? or telling your story 00:03:37.909 --> 00:03:41.030 or a story? And what is the outcome that you 00:03:41.030 --> 00:03:47.389 want? So maybe your goal is to heal, but maybe 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:52.560 It's to educate. Maybe it's to inspire. Maybe 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:56.240 it's to change legislation. And what outcome 00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:58.919 do you want? What kind of action do you want 00:03:58.919 --> 00:04:00.960 people to take? Do you want your students to 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:03.080 check on one another? Do you want fellow teachers 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:06.789 to check on their students? Do you want... administration 00:04:06.789 --> 00:04:11.590 to provide better spaces safer more trauma -informed 00:04:11.590 --> 00:04:14.750 spaces and I think when we ask these questions 00:04:14.750 --> 00:04:16.670 what are your goals and what outcomes do you 00:04:16.670 --> 00:04:19.189 want it frees us up to not just focus so heavily 00:04:19.189 --> 00:04:22.629 on the healing part there's lots of reasons why 00:04:22.629 --> 00:04:24.810 storytelling is important and I don't think we 00:04:24.810 --> 00:04:27.550 need to put so much pressure on the healing aspect 00:04:27.550 --> 00:04:30.170 of it because you're right storytelling can be 00:04:30.170 --> 00:04:33.790 incredibly painful. There's a lot of tenants 00:04:33.790 --> 00:04:36.310 of being trauma informed. And there's two that 00:04:36.310 --> 00:04:39.129 I really stick to. And that is providing safety 00:04:39.129 --> 00:04:41.110 and agency, because those are the two things 00:04:41.110 --> 00:04:43.629 that are stripped away when you have experienced 00:04:43.629 --> 00:04:46.230 trauma and trauma, by the way, isn't the experience 00:04:46.230 --> 00:04:51.129 itself. That's how your body responds to trauma, 00:04:51.250 --> 00:04:53.230 which is going to be different for every single 00:04:53.230 --> 00:04:56.810 person. And so I actually feel like we should 00:04:56.810 --> 00:05:00.370 give that agency to folks make give that decision 00:05:00.370 --> 00:05:02.850 to folks. If they're in a season where they just 00:05:02.850 --> 00:05:04.970 want to listen to fun, lighthearted podcasts, 00:05:05.329 --> 00:05:07.689 I think that's perfectly fine. And when they're 00:05:07.689 --> 00:05:09.810 ready, when they're ready to dig a little bit 00:05:09.810 --> 00:05:15.269 deeper and to hold space for pain and revisiting 00:05:15.269 --> 00:05:17.629 those difficult parts, maybe they never will, 00:05:17.910 --> 00:05:20.329 then invite them to come listen to you. I think 00:05:20.329 --> 00:05:23.750 that. All of us, again, for your listeners who 00:05:23.750 --> 00:05:26.930 are teachers or storytellers, that we think that 00:05:26.930 --> 00:05:30.709 we are for everybody, but really we are for people 00:05:30.709 --> 00:05:34.410 who are ready and willing to listen to what we 00:05:34.410 --> 00:05:38.009 have to say. So folks are tuning in to a difficult 00:05:38.009 --> 00:05:41.949 subject matter. and they're not ready, they're 00:05:41.949 --> 00:05:44.069 actually probably going to make negative associations 00:05:44.069 --> 00:05:47.370 with you. So it's best to just let people know 00:05:47.370 --> 00:05:49.850 that you're there, you're there when they're 00:05:49.850 --> 00:05:53.329 ready to engage. Those are my thoughts. I'd love 00:05:53.329 --> 00:05:56.009 that to be ready and to be willing to go into 00:05:56.009 --> 00:05:58.750 those types of stories when the subject feels 00:05:58.750 --> 00:06:01.889 that the time is right. So with that, we talk 00:06:01.889 --> 00:06:04.149 about stories. Again, you advocate for the truth 00:06:04.149 --> 00:06:07.470 that stories are sacred. I love that line so 00:06:07.470 --> 00:06:11.170 much. So for educators and nonprofit professionals 00:06:11.170 --> 00:06:14.629 who are working with real human pain, what does 00:06:14.629 --> 00:06:18.129 it mean to treat storytelling as sacred in practical 00:06:18.129 --> 00:06:21.990 terms? Stories are a gift. You know, we sometimes 00:06:21.990 --> 00:06:25.829 feel that people owe us their stories. Sometimes 00:06:25.829 --> 00:06:29.170 we feel like kind of alluding to your previous 00:06:29.170 --> 00:06:32.079 questions, people. should listen to our stories 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:34.379 or you hear someone's story and you're like, 00:06:34.379 --> 00:06:36.240 oh, someone else needs to hear that story. But 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:39.399 really stories are so personal and they're a 00:06:39.399 --> 00:06:42.800 gift. So first and foremost, it's not something 00:06:42.800 --> 00:06:45.560 that anyone has to give. It's a choice to give 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:48.439 and it's a beautiful gift to give. Also, in my 00:06:48.439 --> 00:06:52.259 experience, stories change lives. They're foundational 00:06:52.259 --> 00:06:59.079 to behavior change, to social justice, to the 00:06:59.079 --> 00:07:03.279 development of young people in my world, the 00:07:03.279 --> 00:07:06.939 nonprofit sector, they change minds, they change 00:07:06.939 --> 00:07:09.800 hearts, they open wallets, they move missions. 00:07:10.120 --> 00:07:14.120 And all of these just reminds me how precious 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:18.339 and sacred stories are. And I hope you don't 00:07:18.339 --> 00:07:20.949 mind me getting a little bit. political, but 00:07:20.949 --> 00:07:24.370 right now the nonprofit space is very much under 00:07:24.370 --> 00:07:27.449 attack. A lot of funding is being pulled from 00:07:27.449 --> 00:07:29.329 really, really important missions across the 00:07:29.329 --> 00:07:32.029 United States. And this year is also a reminder 00:07:32.029 --> 00:07:34.629 to me that they can't take away our stories. 00:07:34.769 --> 00:07:38.050 No one can take away our stories and our experiences. 00:07:38.269 --> 00:07:42.910 So no matter what's being pulled from us, we'll 00:07:42.910 --> 00:07:45.550 always have, and not just our stories from this 00:07:45.550 --> 00:07:49.660 year or from today, but just generations our 00:07:49.660 --> 00:07:52.720 ancestors stories and what we've all been through 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:54.839 what are again our ancestors have been through 00:07:54.839 --> 00:07:58.120 these are the stories that are ours to keep and 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:01.579 will also get us through difficult times I'm 00:08:01.579 --> 00:08:03.220 getting all the feels from that. Stories are 00:08:03.220 --> 00:08:05.560 a gift. It's our choice to give and no one can 00:08:05.560 --> 00:08:08.040 take our stories away. Truthfully, humans are 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:11.120 storytelling creatures. Like our minds are wired 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:14.939 to give and receive stories, essentially. And 00:08:14.939 --> 00:08:17.240 one of the reasons why I love teaching a literature 00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:19.379 class is for that reason, because I tell the 00:08:19.379 --> 00:08:23.420 students, take this space to explore your story, 00:08:23.459 --> 00:08:25.560 not just the stories we read, but the stories 00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:27.740 you want to tell as well and find your voice 00:08:27.740 --> 00:08:31.759 through that. Again, as an educator working with 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:34.639 that, I also have to be careful not to blur boundaries 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:37.860 and lines and getting students to tell a story 00:08:37.860 --> 00:08:40.700 that they may not be ready to tell. So what would 00:08:40.700 --> 00:08:42.779 you say are some of the biggest mistakes that 00:08:42.779 --> 00:08:45.379 well -meaning educators and change makers make 00:08:45.379 --> 00:08:48.360 when asking students and communities to come 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:50.600 forward with their stories? And how can we do 00:08:50.600 --> 00:08:52.580 better in being trauma informed in that space? 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:54.980 Right. I think it comes down to like story readiness 00:08:54.980 --> 00:08:58.519 and story consent, which are like. technical 00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:01.679 terms that we use as storytellers, but the story 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:06.500 readiness is just that. My hope is that students... 00:09:06.789 --> 00:09:09.570 have choices in telling their stories. And just 00:09:09.570 --> 00:09:11.389 because you share your story doesn't mean it 00:09:11.389 --> 00:09:13.769 needs to be shared publicly. So I'd wonder as 00:09:13.769 --> 00:09:16.490 far as story readiness, and I guess consent too, 00:09:16.649 --> 00:09:20.350 as a matter of what if you gave students journals 00:09:20.350 --> 00:09:23.769 and you gave these story prompts and they had 00:09:23.769 --> 00:09:25.909 choices to keep their stories to themselves, 00:09:26.110 --> 00:09:30.190 to allow their teacher to read this or to share 00:09:30.190 --> 00:09:32.529 in front of the class, right? And that's where 00:09:32.529 --> 00:09:35.980 we give that safety and agency. Just writing 00:09:35.980 --> 00:09:38.899 the story is such a powerful experience, but 00:09:38.899 --> 00:09:40.919 that's a story that you can just keep to yourself. 00:09:41.100 --> 00:09:43.620 And that's where consent comes in too. If you 00:09:43.620 --> 00:09:46.600 make it mandatory for your students to write 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:49.700 about maybe something very difficult, I would 00:09:49.700 --> 00:09:53.080 just weigh if it's their own personal story that 00:09:53.080 --> 00:09:56.169 they own. If that's really giving them consent, 00:09:56.370 --> 00:09:59.269 if that's really giving them agency, I think 00:09:59.269 --> 00:10:01.230 that would be really powerful for students to 00:10:01.230 --> 00:10:03.950 know I can write this story, I can explore my 00:10:03.950 --> 00:10:05.549 story, but then I have the choice on whether 00:10:05.549 --> 00:10:08.330 or not I want to keep this to myself. I would 00:10:08.330 --> 00:10:10.769 love also for educators to give resources like 00:10:10.769 --> 00:10:14.309 nervous system dysregulation, just basic education. 00:10:14.389 --> 00:10:17.389 Like if you are feeling anxious or depressed 00:10:17.389 --> 00:10:19.409 and give a little bit of those signs and symptoms 00:10:19.409 --> 00:10:22.679 like. If you're dissociating, you're suddenly 00:10:22.679 --> 00:10:25.480 being forgetful or you're kind of out of your 00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:29.080 head. Maybe you're feeling shaky or sweaty. Maybe 00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:33.019 your heart is racing or your breath is speeding 00:10:33.019 --> 00:10:35.019 up. If students know that they're writing their 00:10:35.019 --> 00:10:36.960 story or reading their story and these things 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:39.379 are happening, likely they're not maybe ready. 00:10:39.639 --> 00:10:42.200 And so you could say, hey, maybe this is something 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:44.879 that you might want to talk to a counselor, a 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:47.220 school counselor with or a therapist with or 00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:49.659 your parents with. I think there's like a lot. 00:10:49.769 --> 00:10:53.009 of guidance that you can surround students telling 00:10:53.009 --> 00:10:56.409 their own personal story and to be in tune with 00:10:56.409 --> 00:10:58.529 their bodies and what's happening in their bodies 00:10:58.529 --> 00:11:00.929 as they're thinking about their stories, writing 00:11:00.929 --> 00:11:03.169 their stories, and again, maybe amplifying their 00:11:03.169 --> 00:11:05.129 stories by telling them in front of a classroom 00:11:05.129 --> 00:11:09.429 or even sharing them with their teachers. You're 00:11:09.429 --> 00:11:11.210 making me think back to one of my favorite movie 00:11:11.210 --> 00:11:13.730 scenes from Hollywood Teachers. In the movie 00:11:13.730 --> 00:11:17.549 Freedom Riders, Long Beach educator Erin Gruwell 00:11:18.480 --> 00:11:22.080 buys her students composition notebooks. And 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:24.340 these are students that I've given her a really 00:11:24.340 --> 00:11:27.159 hard time with her acclimation as a first year 00:11:27.159 --> 00:11:30.000 teacher. And really all that she knows about 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:32.419 them is that a lot of them are gang affiliates. 00:11:32.659 --> 00:11:35.980 They're surviving on a day -to -day basis to 00:11:35.980 --> 00:11:39.039 just show up to class and just be there. And 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:41.419 she finally buys them these composition notebooks 00:11:41.419 --> 00:11:43.820 and says, you will write in your journal every 00:11:43.820 --> 00:11:47.330 single day. But if you want me to read it. put 00:11:47.330 --> 00:11:50.009 it in the back cabinet and I will read the ones 00:11:50.009 --> 00:11:53.330 that are there. Eventually, every single student 00:11:53.330 --> 00:11:55.769 leaves their journal in that cabinet. And that's 00:11:55.769 --> 00:11:58.730 where she sees the backstories to these students 00:11:58.730 --> 00:12:01.070 and ways that she's now able to approach them 00:12:01.070 --> 00:12:04.549 from the perspective of a soul rather than just 00:12:04.549 --> 00:12:07.750 a body who's coming into that classroom. And 00:12:07.750 --> 00:12:10.289 when I was teaching as well, I did the same thing 00:12:10.289 --> 00:12:12.610 where I said to my students, write a journal 00:12:12.610 --> 00:12:14.970 about this topic. And I mentioned this in a couple 00:12:14.970 --> 00:12:17.159 of podcasts where I said to them, When we're 00:12:17.159 --> 00:12:19.500 talking about one of my favorite stories of mice 00:12:19.500 --> 00:12:21.720 and men, you're welcome to write about a time 00:12:21.720 --> 00:12:24.019 where you felt like that you were an outsider 00:12:24.019 --> 00:12:27.899 in your lives. And I really did not want anyone 00:12:27.899 --> 00:12:30.460 to share it because my mentality was as much 00:12:30.460 --> 00:12:33.580 as I want to hear what you have to say, I have 00:12:33.580 --> 00:12:36.379 been convinced by the powers above me that I'm 00:12:36.379 --> 00:12:40.200 not ready to hear that. I love how self -aware 00:12:40.200 --> 00:12:43.860 that is. But the students had enough trust in 00:12:43.860 --> 00:12:48.049 me where they wanted to some of them even publicly 00:12:48.049 --> 00:12:52.870 confide in what they wrote down and it leads 00:12:52.870 --> 00:12:54.889 me to think about when it comes to regulating 00:12:54.889 --> 00:12:57.789 the nervous system as you suggest what are some 00:12:57.789 --> 00:13:00.169 strategies that you know of about trying to regulate 00:13:00.169 --> 00:13:02.750 the nervous system and when you do hear a story 00:13:02.750 --> 00:13:06.309 that you can tell has caused pain to the storyteller 00:13:06.309 --> 00:13:09.409 how can you help them through that process well 00:13:09.409 --> 00:13:11.830 there's up regulating and down regulating which 00:13:11.830 --> 00:13:13.230 i think is really important because we talk a 00:13:13.230 --> 00:13:15.899 lot about down regulating because we think If 00:13:15.899 --> 00:13:17.559 someone's experiencing trauma, then we have to 00:13:17.559 --> 00:13:20.500 calm them down. But actually some folks will 00:13:20.500 --> 00:13:23.940 respond to trauma, feeling very depressed and 00:13:23.940 --> 00:13:26.620 down. And like I said, disassociated. So it's, 00:13:26.659 --> 00:13:28.980 I think it's important to teach both upregulating 00:13:28.980 --> 00:13:32.179 and downregulating. So downregulating, if you're 00:13:32.179 --> 00:13:34.059 like heart is beating out of your chest and your 00:13:34.059 --> 00:13:36.820 breath is really heavy, a lot is going on internally, 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:39.940 both chemically and with your hormones. And again, 00:13:39.980 --> 00:13:42.320 all of this is brilliant to protect our bodies 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:44.860 when we're in danger, but our bodies don't quite. 00:13:45.070 --> 00:13:48.009 know how to turn it off when we are safe. So 00:13:48.009 --> 00:13:51.269 down regulating breathing is such a powerful 00:13:51.269 --> 00:13:55.950 way to down regulate box breathing. Also tapping 00:13:55.950 --> 00:13:59.330 is really powerful. I like butterfly tapping 00:13:59.330 --> 00:14:01.649 and I know this is audio, but if you kind of 00:14:01.649 --> 00:14:04.269 put your hands in the shape of a butterfly where 00:14:04.269 --> 00:14:06.330 you're crossing your thumbs and then you put 00:14:06.330 --> 00:14:09.240 your thumbs on your clavicle. And then you're 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:11.700 tapping your shoulder on one side and then tapping 00:14:11.700 --> 00:14:14.419 your other shoulder going back and forth. This 00:14:14.419 --> 00:14:18.059 is a really great way to down regulate as well. 00:14:18.779 --> 00:14:22.620 And then upregulate could be exercising, moving, 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:27.200 dancing, listen to like upbeat music, which I 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:29.179 think would be a really great exercise you could 00:14:29.179 --> 00:14:32.080 do with your students. So if you are feeling 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:34.659 like paralyzed or disassociated, so this is more 00:14:34.659 --> 00:14:37.120 of the freeze response, right? Where the other 00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:39.179 two would be the fight response and the flight 00:14:39.179 --> 00:14:41.639 response. But the freeze response, you might 00:14:41.639 --> 00:14:43.460 need to upregulate. And so that's where you might. 00:14:43.690 --> 00:14:46.250 to get your body moving. I do want to say though, 00:14:46.350 --> 00:14:49.230 that you always want to support folks to get 00:14:49.230 --> 00:14:51.830 professional help as well. So these are always 00:14:51.830 --> 00:14:54.629 good when you're in the classroom or just day 00:14:54.629 --> 00:14:57.190 to day, it's really good life skills. But if 00:14:57.190 --> 00:14:59.730 your students have experienced trauma, I think 00:14:59.730 --> 00:15:02.070 it's always good to involve school counselors 00:15:02.070 --> 00:15:05.289 and to have hotlines, all kinds of resources. 00:15:05.950 --> 00:15:07.190 And I think, and this is something that we've 00:15:07.190 --> 00:15:08.809 talked about before, Joey, and that's like knowing 00:15:08.809 --> 00:15:10.929 your scope and having boundaries. So being able 00:15:10.929 --> 00:15:12.690 to teach these things, but also to know that 00:15:12.690 --> 00:15:15.490 you're not a therapist and so to have like important 00:15:15.490 --> 00:15:18.870 resources something else I'd love educators is 00:15:18.870 --> 00:15:22.210 just to have resources at their desk I don't 00:15:22.210 --> 00:15:23.610 know what's appropriate because I'm not in this 00:15:23.610 --> 00:15:25.929 world but they're reading a book that's about 00:15:25.929 --> 00:15:28.750 sexual violence to have certain resources for 00:15:28.750 --> 00:15:32.750 that if you're talking about racism to have resources 00:15:32.750 --> 00:15:35.289 for those who are experiencing systematic racism 00:15:35.289 --> 00:15:39.090 same with LGBT issues all kinds of issues that 00:15:39.090 --> 00:15:42.350 I hope we're exploring in the classroom so folks 00:15:42.350 --> 00:15:44.149 are going to be learning new things, but some 00:15:44.149 --> 00:15:47.190 folks have such deep lived experiences that this 00:15:47.190 --> 00:15:51.429 is going to tap into. So yes, to teaching students 00:15:51.429 --> 00:15:54.409 to upregulate and downregulate, but also having 00:15:54.409 --> 00:15:57.750 additional resources to really support them through 00:15:57.750 --> 00:16:00.340 that trauma healing would be the way to go. You 00:16:00.340 --> 00:16:02.419 train professionals who don't come from clinical 00:16:02.419 --> 00:16:05.200 or social work backgrounds normally. And when 00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:07.320 you work with people like me who are educators 00:16:07.320 --> 00:16:10.779 who may even be working in literature spaces 00:16:10.779 --> 00:16:16.179 where stories may unsolicitedly welcome personal 00:16:16.179 --> 00:16:19.759 anecdotes of their own about their own pain and 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:22.460 trauma, how do we handle that? And what are some 00:16:22.460 --> 00:16:25.679 trauma -informed practices that our educators 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:27.379 can think about now with the new school year 00:16:27.379 --> 00:16:31.759 coming up? Yeah, I think. I would love for teachers 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:35.200 and students to practice content warnings. I 00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:37.080 know even content warnings can be a little bit 00:16:37.080 --> 00:16:41.259 controversial and nuanced, but to get in the 00:16:41.259 --> 00:16:44.360 practice of letting students know you are always 00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:47.559 free to share difficult life experiences, but 00:16:47.559 --> 00:16:50.500 not everyone in the room might have the emotional 00:16:50.500 --> 00:16:53.279 capacity for it. So to allow for two things, 00:16:53.320 --> 00:16:55.769 one, if you're going to share something That 00:16:55.769 --> 00:16:57.889 is painful for you. It might be painful for other 00:16:57.889 --> 00:17:00.690 people to hear. You essentially don't want to 00:17:00.690 --> 00:17:03.750 bury the lead. So yes, we're sometimes you get 00:17:03.750 --> 00:17:05.769 really far into the story until you get to the 00:17:05.769 --> 00:17:08.329 point. So that's essentially what a content warning 00:17:08.329 --> 00:17:10.430 is where you're telling a casual story. And then 00:17:10.430 --> 00:17:12.170 all of a sudden you're talking about a rape or 00:17:12.170 --> 00:17:13.970 you're talking about a shooting or you're talking 00:17:13.970 --> 00:17:18.180 about racism. or homelessness, whatever it may 00:17:18.180 --> 00:17:20.200 be, something that would be really upsetting 00:17:20.200 --> 00:17:24.359 to tell or to hear. So a student might say, hey, 00:17:24.480 --> 00:17:26.460 I want to share a story and I'm going to be talking 00:17:26.460 --> 00:17:29.059 about abuse. I'm going to be talking about sexual 00:17:29.059 --> 00:17:31.319 abuse. I'm going to be talking about rape. And 00:17:31.319 --> 00:17:35.000 this is my content warning. And then for you 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:38.200 as an educator to allow students to leave the 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:40.470 room. for this. And I don't know what that looks 00:17:40.470 --> 00:17:42.450 like in the contents of education, if they would 00:17:42.450 --> 00:17:44.890 be allowed to go to the bathroom simply or go 00:17:44.890 --> 00:17:47.809 to the library. I know when I do trainings virtually, 00:17:48.150 --> 00:17:50.950 I tell people I'm going to be talking about, 00:17:51.009 --> 00:17:53.769 let's say, pediatric cancer for the next three 00:17:53.769 --> 00:17:56.109 minutes. So put me on mute and I'll wave my hands 00:17:56.109 --> 00:17:58.650 when I'm done talking about it. So again, that 00:17:58.650 --> 00:18:02.069 gives choice to other students in the room. And 00:18:02.069 --> 00:18:04.009 I would say even maybe with some of these books 00:18:04.009 --> 00:18:07.029 to let folks know you don't have to read this 00:18:07.029 --> 00:18:11.019 book. If you feel like it might be too difficult 00:18:11.019 --> 00:18:13.519 for you to read because of your own lived experiences. 00:18:13.819 --> 00:18:16.940 So, yeah, I would love to see students and teachers 00:18:16.940 --> 00:18:21.680 alike to start. Giving content warnings and to 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:23.019 just say, hey, I'm going to be talking about 00:18:23.019 --> 00:18:26.240 this difficult thing. And I'm going to let you 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:30.140 choose students to opt out of just the next five 00:18:30.140 --> 00:18:32.319 minutes or the next 10 minutes. And I think it's 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:36.319 a great life lesson for later in life. I know 00:18:36.319 --> 00:18:38.200 even with my friends, sometimes when I'm going 00:18:38.200 --> 00:18:40.400 through something hard, I'll just ask, hey, I 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:42.240 want to talk about a mental health issue. Do 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:44.799 you have capacity to listen to this right now? 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:48.059 Even to my husband, I'll ask that. And my children 00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:50.839 are very young. But I think as humans, we all 00:18:50.839 --> 00:18:53.200 should get in the habit of just asking each other, 00:18:53.299 --> 00:18:56.440 like, do you have the emotional capacity to have 00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:59.960 this difficult conversation and not just to unload? 00:19:00.059 --> 00:19:01.880 And I know that doesn't sound fair when someone's 00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:05.019 sharing their story, but I think that storytellers, 00:19:05.019 --> 00:19:09.140 story owners and stories receivers all need to 00:19:09.140 --> 00:19:11.640 be cautious of one another and respect one another. 00:19:11.799 --> 00:19:14.460 And not just because you're brave enough to tell 00:19:14.460 --> 00:19:16.900 your story doesn't mean that everyone has the 00:19:16.900 --> 00:19:20.710 capacity. to listen to it and to receive it, 00:19:20.769 --> 00:19:24.309 especially if they've had that same lived experience. 00:19:24.430 --> 00:19:26.089 For example, and I will give a content warning, 00:19:26.190 --> 00:19:27.630 I will talk about, you know, there could be a 00:19:27.630 --> 00:19:30.369 student that had just experienced sexual abuse 00:19:30.369 --> 00:19:33.309 the day before and it's so new to them and it's 00:19:33.309 --> 00:19:37.029 so deeply traumatizing that we just can't expect 00:19:37.029 --> 00:19:42.829 that everyone in the room feels safe to listen 00:19:42.829 --> 00:19:47.109 to the really difficult traumatic stories. How 00:19:47.109 --> 00:19:50.430 we process trauma has everything to do with our 00:19:50.430 --> 00:19:53.730 bodies and our own trauma responses. Again, the 00:19:53.730 --> 00:19:56.390 fight, flight, freeze, and fawn response has 00:19:56.390 --> 00:19:59.410 to do with our genetics. It has to do with generational 00:19:59.410 --> 00:20:02.609 trauma that we can't even really maybe explain. 00:20:02.849 --> 00:20:05.150 It could be our community trauma and collective 00:20:05.150 --> 00:20:12.119 traumas. There are so many things that will inform 00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:17.000 how folks are ready and are able to process things. 00:20:17.220 --> 00:20:18.839 One thing we're still talking about is, like 00:20:18.839 --> 00:20:21.019 we said at the very beginning, is that we still 00:20:21.019 --> 00:20:23.720 need to find ways to invite students but not 00:20:23.720 --> 00:20:26.240 mandate them to lean into that discomfort and 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:28.180 find that balance. One thing that I also think 00:20:28.180 --> 00:20:30.240 about, if students say, I really don't want to 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:32.380 join this discussion today, then I give them 00:20:32.380 --> 00:20:34.759 something alternative. It's not an excuse, but 00:20:34.759 --> 00:20:36.680 it's just an alternative because I'm all about 00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:39.599 being... flexible with them where if we're reading 00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:42.839 a story on this topic you don't need to be there 00:20:42.839 --> 00:20:45.740 enjoying the conversation but if you can reflect 00:20:45.740 --> 00:20:49.660 for me during this window and show me what you 00:20:49.660 --> 00:20:53.099 gained during that time with you and yours that 00:20:53.099 --> 00:20:55.480 i can then build on to bring you back into the 00:20:55.480 --> 00:20:58.240 conversation by the time you feel ready. I think 00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:00.539 it would be worthwhile having grounding exercises 00:21:00.539 --> 00:21:02.720 before and after. And so that could be as simple 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:05.839 as breathing, but it can also, sometimes we will 00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:07.940 activate the senses or just acknowledge your 00:21:07.940 --> 00:21:11.500 senses. So everyone look around the room and 00:21:11.500 --> 00:21:13.819 focus on something you see. So maybe that's the 00:21:13.819 --> 00:21:16.880 red exit sign. And then what do you smell? Maybe 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:18.960 it's something coming from the lunchroom or the 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:21.440 paint, or I don't know what high school students 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:23.940 probably don't smell that great, but like whatever 00:21:23.940 --> 00:21:27.049 they're smelling. you feel, maybe it's the air 00:21:27.049 --> 00:21:29.369 conditioning, maybe it's their sweater or something 00:21:29.369 --> 00:21:32.630 that they're wearing. What do they hear and just 00:21:32.630 --> 00:21:34.849 have silence. Maybe they do hear like the hum 00:21:34.849 --> 00:21:37.630 of something. So again, just activate and like, 00:21:37.690 --> 00:21:40.170 what do you taste? Just focus on your tongue 00:21:40.170 --> 00:21:41.970 and your mouth and maybe what you had for breakfast 00:21:41.970 --> 00:21:44.829 or what you had for lunch. And these bring people 00:21:44.829 --> 00:21:48.190 out of these traumatic places. And again, it's 00:21:48.190 --> 00:21:50.569 reminding your body that even though you're listening 00:21:50.569 --> 00:21:53.630 to these stories, you're not there. Even if you're 00:21:53.630 --> 00:21:56.380 really living. painful things, you're not there, 00:21:56.460 --> 00:21:58.980 you're here and you're present and safe. And 00:21:58.980 --> 00:22:01.180 that's something that you can do at the end of 00:22:01.180 --> 00:22:04.059 class too, especially if someone has shared something 00:22:04.059 --> 00:22:07.140 really difficult. One of my closest, dearest 00:22:07.140 --> 00:22:10.099 friends does this exercise with her four -year 00:22:10.099 --> 00:22:12.059 -old where they're pretending they're holding 00:22:12.059 --> 00:22:15.160 a cup of hot chocolate and to breathe in, they're 00:22:15.160 --> 00:22:19.559 smelling the delicious hot chocolate and then 00:22:19.559 --> 00:22:21.980 they blow on the hot chocolate to cool it down. 00:22:22.119 --> 00:22:25.569 And then to breathe in, they... sip the hot chocolate. 00:22:25.750 --> 00:22:28.150 And so this is just a creative way to get children 00:22:28.150 --> 00:22:31.690 to breathe and to breathe in and out and to activate 00:22:31.690 --> 00:22:33.950 both their nose and their mouth in a way that's 00:22:33.950 --> 00:22:35.730 almost like silly and age appropriate. Another 00:22:35.730 --> 00:22:38.650 important part of being trauma informed is following 00:22:38.650 --> 00:22:40.589 up. And that doesn't mean being intrusive, but 00:22:40.589 --> 00:22:43.490 maybe if one particular class had a really in 00:22:43.490 --> 00:22:45.390 -depth conversation and maybe it was emotional, 00:22:45.630 --> 00:22:47.910 maybe the following class, you can just acknowledge 00:22:47.910 --> 00:22:49.710 it and say, that was really hard. How are we 00:22:49.710 --> 00:22:51.849 feeling about that? Or if there was one particular 00:22:51.849 --> 00:22:55.109 student that Looked really emotional. If you 00:22:55.109 --> 00:22:57.069 can, in a way that's appropriate and non -invasive, 00:22:57.190 --> 00:22:59.009 just say, hey, I just want to follow up. We had 00:22:59.009 --> 00:23:00.869 a really emotional conversation. You're really 00:23:00.869 --> 00:23:03.150 brave in sharing your story, but I could tell 00:23:03.150 --> 00:23:05.009 that you were emotional. I just want to see how 00:23:05.009 --> 00:23:08.190 you're doing and how can we support you? I think 00:23:08.190 --> 00:23:10.750 that's just another way to build trust with your 00:23:10.750 --> 00:23:13.029 students. Thank you for sharing that strategy 00:23:13.029 --> 00:23:15.730 with us. And to conclude, I wanted to know if 00:23:15.730 --> 00:23:17.210 you could talk to us a little bit more about 00:23:17.210 --> 00:23:19.529 the work being done through Maria Bryan Creative 00:23:19.529 --> 00:23:21.809 and how our listeners can become more involved 00:23:21.809 --> 00:23:23.779 with the work that you do. Oh, thank you, Joey. 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:26.559 That's so generous. So you mentioned the When 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:30.119 Bearing Witness podcast. So this is a great way 00:23:30.119 --> 00:23:33.319 for you to learn a little bit more about being 00:23:33.319 --> 00:23:37.039 trauma -informed as a storyteller. We focus a 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:39.759 little bit more specifically on nonprofit storytelling, 00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:42.039 where you're sharing stories in order to raise 00:23:42.039 --> 00:23:44.619 money or market your programs. There's a really 00:23:44.619 --> 00:23:47.000 a lot of good nuggets in there that educators 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:51.500 would get. If storytelling is a big part of your 00:23:52.359 --> 00:23:54.779 your role as an educator, like you teach literature, 00:23:55.259 --> 00:23:58.000 I encourage you to check out my also say name 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:00.559 one bearing witness program. This is a six week 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:03.539 cohort. There's going to be one coming up. October 00:24:03.539 --> 00:24:08.519 20th, 2025. And this goes really in depth into 00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:11.279 foundationally what is trauma and the impacts 00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:14.779 of trauma, how it affects the different kinds 00:24:14.779 --> 00:24:16.940 of people in the storytelling ecosystem, which 00:24:16.940 --> 00:24:18.940 I think is really important for educators. So 00:24:18.940 --> 00:24:22.059 not just our story owners, but also storytellers 00:24:22.059 --> 00:24:24.440 and our audiences. Audiences are clearly the 00:24:24.440 --> 00:24:27.140 other students in the room. And then we go into 00:24:27.140 --> 00:24:29.720 the process of, again, everything from story 00:24:29.720 --> 00:24:33.069 readiness to the story gathering process. storytelling 00:24:33.069 --> 00:24:36.529 process. Also what happens when harm happens, 00:24:36.809 --> 00:24:39.509 you know, harm will happen. We will mess up as 00:24:39.509 --> 00:24:43.069 educators, as trauma informed as we strive to 00:24:43.069 --> 00:24:45.910 be, but this is a journey, not a destination. 00:24:46.170 --> 00:24:48.650 So we talk about what we can, how we can wade 00:24:48.650 --> 00:24:51.230 through the humanness of being trauma informed. 00:24:51.509 --> 00:24:53.970 So again, this is a six week program. It is at 00:24:53.970 --> 00:24:56.150 your own pace, but we have live integration calls 00:24:56.150 --> 00:24:58.170 to talk through this. And I have everyone from 00:24:58.170 --> 00:25:00.710 again, marketers and fundraisers to researchers 00:25:00.710 --> 00:25:03.529 and grant writers. writers, videographers, and 00:25:03.529 --> 00:25:07.369 podcasters. So if that sounds like you, I would 00:25:07.369 --> 00:25:09.569 love to have educators in the room too, to bring 00:25:09.569 --> 00:25:12.269 that perspective. I encourage you to check that 00:25:12.269 --> 00:25:15.829 all out. And you can check that out at mariabryan 00:25:15.829 --> 00:25:20.339 .com, B -R -Y -A -N .com. Would be available 00:25:20.339 --> 00:25:22.180 to us in our show notes as well. So thank you 00:25:22.180 --> 00:25:24.900 for sharing. And one final question. Is there 00:25:24.900 --> 00:25:26.779 any question that you wish I would have asked 00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:30.380 you today but didn't? And or what would you say 00:25:30.380 --> 00:25:33.200 is the secret sauce to keeping trauma informed 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:35.940 when telling stories? I'm going to repeat the 00:25:35.940 --> 00:25:37.839 secret sauce because I think it's worth repeating. 00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:42.339 And that is your guidepost, or at least my guidepost, 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:45.119 is safety and agency. So when you're developing 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:47.180 your curriculum, when you have difficult topics. 00:25:47.900 --> 00:25:50.019 that you're bringing up, difficult conversations. 00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:54.359 Where are you providing agency to your students? 00:25:54.500 --> 00:25:56.980 Where are you promoting safety? Also to note, 00:25:57.000 --> 00:25:59.019 we can't promise safety and we can't promise 00:25:59.019 --> 00:26:01.660 agency because these are things that we can do 00:26:01.660 --> 00:26:03.619 our best to provide. But at the end of the day, 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:06.579 we can't guarantee folks are going to feel safe 00:26:06.579 --> 00:26:08.859 and that they're totally going to be in control. 00:26:09.019 --> 00:26:12.660 But we can strive towards. that so those are 00:26:12.660 --> 00:26:15.579 my two guideposts and hopefully for educators 00:26:15.579 --> 00:26:19.480 who are trauma -informed have those kind of guideposts 00:26:19.480 --> 00:26:23.440 as well thank you so much Maria. So that was Maria 00:26:23.440 --> 00:26:25.980 Bryan reminding us that stories aren't just 00:26:25.980 --> 00:26:29.420 tools they are lived experiences that help us 00:26:29.420 --> 00:26:32.160 move forward with safety and agency and if you're 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:35.160 an educator nonprofit leader, or future changemaker, 00:26:35.359 --> 00:26:37.779 I hope that today's episode gave you a framework 00:26:37.779 --> 00:26:40.400 for how to hold space with care. You can find 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:43.819 Maria's work at mariabryan.com and listen to 00:26:43.819 --> 00:26:46.559 her when Bearing Witness podcasts wherever you 00:26:46.559 --> 00:26:48.960 get your shows. And as always, if this episode 00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:51.660 resonated with you, share it with somebody navigating 00:26:51.660 --> 00:26:54.839 the beautiful, complex, and sometimes very heavy 00:26:54.839 --> 00:26:57.380 stories in their classrooms or communities. Until 00:26:57.380 --> 00:27:00.180 next time, take care and keep making spaces for 00:27:00.180 --> 00:27:05.029 healing. Thank you for joining us on the Classroom 00:27:05.029 --> 00:27:07.829 Narratives Healing and Education podcast. If 00:27:07.829 --> 00:27:10.150 today's episode inspired you or made you think 00:27:10.150 --> 00:27:12.569 differently, I'd love to hear from you. Drop 00:27:12.569 --> 00:27:15.190 a comment or review wherever you listen to podcasts 00:27:15.190 --> 00:27:18.269 and stay connected with us on the at Classroom 00:27:18.269 --> 00:27:20.589 Narratives podcast over Instagram and Facebook. 00:27:20.829 --> 00:27:24.190 Remember, together we can transform our scars 00:27:24.190 --> 00:27:27.730 into stars in education, one conversation at 00:27:27.730 --> 00:27:28.069 a time.