Whole Child Education Approach

Hozo Lekatr’enocha - We take care of one another

Rewiring our brains so we can better understand our students - The Yukon First Nation School Board is supporting its schools to understand how early child development, relationships, and understanding ourselves can create the best opportunities to support students. This work is grounded in that of Dr. Bruce Perry (The Neurosequential Model in Education) and focuses on understanding how children’s abilities to participate in school and community is connected to their early and current life experiences. It teaches how re-understanding problematic behaviour as the brain’s response to feeling unsafe, can dramatically re-shape how we provide support to our most vulnerable learners, as well as every other student. We are helping educators learn to reflect on what they are bringing into interactions with students, and how this impacts their ability to respond to students’ needs in ways that promote healthy relationships.

What are some of the core philosophies and goals of this support at the school levels?

  • Meet people where they are at, instead of where we expect them to be

  • Speak to the part of the brain which is most active

  • Cultural practices can be healing and help with regulating

  • Create a compassionate response and understanding of all people (children, families, providers, and policy makers)

  • Bring community and School together

  • Work with teachers to look at their own practice

  • Support community partners to work in collaboration with the school

  • Promote long-term healing as opposed to short-term, band-aid solutions

  • People do well when they can

What is the Neurosequential Model in Education?

  • Created by Dr. Bruce Perry

  • Continuously evolves to align with the latest research and scientific discoveries

  • Helps us to understand why people behave in the way that they do, especially when they are stressed

  • Helps us understand how the brain is wired and how that impacts development and learning

  • Respects and is aligned with local First Nation ways

  • Guides teachers on how to meet students where they’re at (i.e. regulation and relationship first)

  • Provides hope…brain plasticity makes anything possible

A Perspective for Parents and Caregivers - We deeply value our connection to family, culture, and our relationships with our children. These are the foundations of how we are able to support their learning and development.  This is one of our core understandings of how our brains function: that all healthy brain development happens within relationships. Despite the ongoing work towards strong relationships, we all struggle at times.  It can feel very frustrating when our relationships with our students and children seem to go “offline,” such as when we feel that the connection we usually have with them is disrupted due to either one of us being stressed, feeling rejected, or having other things get in the way, which we may or may not be aware of.  We can feel frustrated with ourselves and our children, which ends up making it harder to connect and do the parenting or teaching we want to do.  This is where we encourage both teachers and parents to (1) notice and acknowledge the state of stress that either they or their children/students are currently feeling (none of us choose to have our stress systems activated), and then (2) do something as the adult/teacher to regulate and calm ourselves, which will help to calm the child/student, and return to a place of relationship and learning. 

As the Neurosequential Model describes, we are looking for ways to help children regulate through both calming and predictable interactions based in relationships with us, the adults, combined with rhythmic and repetitive activities (such as walking, being in nature, or swinging). This will help them return to, or remain in, a place of feeling regulated and able to be in relationship and learn.  Sharing concepts and strategies like these is a way of coming together with families to gain a shared understanding of the best ways to support our children and walk forward together.  As parents, you are the experts on your children, which makes you an invaluable part of their education.

Neurosequential Support Providers

Andrew McKenzie and Jan Ference are supporting Yukon First Nation School Board schools to understand how early child development, relationships, and understanding ourselves can create the best opportunities to support students. They have started engaging with all FNSB schools and so far have been working with Takhini Elementary, Grey Mountain Primary, St. Elias Community School, and Nelnah Bessie John School. They are honoured to visit and collaborate on the traditional territories of many Yukon First Nations.

Resources

  • A bit about the Neurosequential Model

    Here is a video of Dr. Perry discussing the model.

    Watch video

  • Ten Tips on stress response through dissociation

    Here are a few practical tips for those livinga nd working with children demonstrating some forms of ‘sensitized’ dissociative response.

    Read the 10 Tips

  • Applying the Neurosequential Model for children and youth who have experienced trauma

    This is an academic paper publishe din the Journal of Loss and Trauma in 2009 examining the use of neurodevelopmentally-informed therapeutic approaches in work with maltreated and traumatized children and youth.

    Read the paper

  • Ready-To-Learn Videos

    Through collaboration with the Yukon government, a series of videos was produced with some of our Learners and schools to help generate awareness of the nerosequential model in education.

    Watch the videos