When Personal Trauma Leads to Classroom Transformation

I had to make this tough decision after I was in a severe car crash and suffered a minor brain injury. Truthfully, I wanted to hide my personal trauma. But the problem was that the symptoms of my brain injury were very visible – organizing students into small groups was nearly impossible. I stumbled over words, my fatigue sometimes required me to sit on a stool while teaching, and I struggled to make eye contact with people, among other impacts. Being a professor, I was horrified that I had a stutter and often needed a second to formulate my thoughts before answering a student’s question! (A bit of pride? Oh, yes!)

By midway through my first semester, I realized that trying to hide my deficiencies was creating a lot of stress for me and wasn’t working anyway. I decided to take the opposite approach and prepared to openly share the story of my trauma and its impacts with my students.

I described the physical, mental, psychological, and emotional pain that I had suffered from the car crash. How, day by day, I struggled with anxiety, depression, fears, and lack of self-confidence.

I was amazed at how the students responded. Sharing about my weaknesses and limitations immediately connected with the students. Nearly every student related to my story on some level. When I opened up and shared my own experiences, the students reciprocated by sharing their own stories. The students then responded to one another and developed bonds of shared experience and empathy. Class discussion and participation from that day onward were far more meaningful. In those few minutes of vulnerability, I was able to forge a connection with the students that created a classroom environment for increased student learning and resulted in retention for the rest of the semester.

One student was dealing with severe PTSD that made it difficult for her to enter the classroom. We agreed to meet outside the classroom each week and go in together. She never missed another class.

It’s risky and humbling to share stories of personal trauma and openly disclose our weaknesses and challenges. It may leave us feeling a little exposed and make us vulnerable to judgment or even condemnation. But, in my experience, sharing my story creates an opportunity to persuasively demonstrate the power of God to redeem and restore, even if I don’t use those words. Knowing what we have endured and overcome assures them that they are not alone.

Telling our stories is a risk we can take to impact our students. (And the humbling part is probably a good thing!)