Dr. Debi Khasnabis

University of Michigan

Exploring Trauma through the Lens of Critical Consciousness

​

In this 4-part series, Dr. Debi Khasnabis will bring a systemic lens to the consideration of trauma. Dr. Khasnabis will address the risks of jumping into action to “resolve” issues of childhood trauma when we as educators have not done our own reflective work. Over the four sessions, she will create opportunities for participants to 1) acknowledge the role of oppression, in particular, racism and classism, in the ways that children and families are perceived in schools; 2) acknowledge the danger of deficit narratives and their propensity to hinder relationships with children and families; 3) promote substantive relationships with families that are necessary for culturally responsive teaching but that also take into account the legacy of distrust between schools and communities; and 4) implement trauma-informed practices that are attentive to not individuals alone, but rather systems of inequality