Addressing student misbehaviors: Educators need training to be proactive

by Lydia Lucien Collins, Guest Commentary, Arkansas Advocate
March 21, 2025

Jackson starts the day in my 2nd grade class sitting criss-cross applesauce during carpet time and solving  math story problems. He frequently ends the day by shoving chairs and screaming at his classmates.

It was while taking large balloon breaths to control his feelings that Jackson blurted out, “I’m angry!” He told me it was because his mom was in prison and he couldn’t see her. Until then, I hadn’t fully realized how much of Jackson’s outside life was finding its way into our classroom, affecting him and our entire learning community.

Student behavior problems are on the rise and are getting more serious. According to America’s Health Rankings, 52 percent of children in Arkansas have experienced one or more adverse childhood experiences (stressful or traumatic childhood events), higher than the national average of 39 percent. Jackson working through his mother’s incarceration is just one  example.

To support Jackson, I researched strategies to help him regulate his emotions. When he became angry, we practiced “throwing fireballs,” acting like we were tossing things into the air very quickly. We found ways to name his feelings, and he became more and more comfortable asking me for a break when he needed time to reset.

He is feeling and learning better, but growth isn’t a linear process. There are still days when  Jackson has emotional or behavioral outbursts, when I need to ask him, “What is another way you could’ve handled this?”

I’m not the only teacher in Arkansas who needs to help students manage their emotions and learn how to process their trauma in healthy ways. Educators in our state need training in trauma-informed care and practices.

If I had better preparation in topics such as deescalation of behaviors and self-regulation, I would have been able to help Jackson much sooner. If I had a toolkit of coping strategies for him to self-regulate and reset, I would’ve also been able to help him identify his emotional triggers.

Such training for educators should include student scenarios so that teachers can practice identifying root causes of behaviors like pushing furniture around the classroom. When I first saw this behavior in my classroom, I was unsure what led to it and how to handle it. I didn’t understand why Jackson was behaving the way he did; I was not proactively helping him to adjust to my classroom. It took me a while to understand that Jackson needed consistent expectations and clear boundaries, in addition to a calm, safe place to take a break.

The Arkansas LEARNS Act underscores  the “importance of prioritizing school safety by focusing on physical security, additional resource officers, and mental health and training to implement best practices.” Who better than teachers — often the first touchpoint for a student — to receive this training?

The next step is to allocate funding to make this vital professional learning possible. The Arkansas Department of Education, for example, could offer grants, encouraging schools to apply for staff trauma-informed training specific to the needs of their students. The application could take into account the school safety report, which provides more insight into the school’s demographics.

Eligible criteria to receive funding could be based on the demonstrated percentage of students in the school impacted by adverse childhood experiences. In my school, students would particularly benefit from having teachers who were better trained in coping strategies. Behavioral outbursts frequently occur when students get upset and have difficulty calming down.

Jackson ended the year taking deep breaths and calmly asking me: “Mrs. Collins, is it okay if I take a break? I’m frustrated.” Self-regulation and naming his emotions are the skills that will help him succeed beyond my classroom. Let’s make sure that educators have the tools they need to give Arkansas students like Jackson the support they need to deal with any and all experiences life might throw at them.

Note: The student’s name has been changed to protect their privacy.

This article has been updated to show the correct author.

Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.

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Youth gun deaths in the US have surged 50% since 2019

by Amanda Hernández, Stateline, Arkansas Advocate
March 20, 2025

Firearm-related deaths among children and teenagers in the United States have risen sharply in recent years, increasing by 50% since 2019.

In 2023, firearms remained the leading cause of death among American youth for the third year in a row, followed by motor vehicle accidents, according to the latest mortality data released by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The data shows 2,581 children aged 17 and under died from firearm-related incidents in 2023, including accidents, homicides and suicides, with a national rate of nearly four gun deaths per 100,000 children.

Young people in the United States were killed by firearms at a rate nearly three times higher than by drowning. This means that for every child who died from drowning in 2023, nearly three died from gun violence.

“Every single number is a life lost — is a kid that won’t go back home,” said Silvia Villarreal, the director of research translation at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Gun Violence Solutions.

Children, she added, are an inherently vulnerable population, and this vulnerability is even more pronounced among children of color.

Black children and teens in 2023 were more than eight times as likely to die from firearm homicide than their white peers. Since 2015, firearms have been the leading cause of death for Black youth, according to CDC data.

Since 2018, firearm suicide rates have been highest among American Indian or Alaska Native and white children and teens. In 2023, American Indian and Alaska Native youth had the highest firearm suicide rate of any racial group.

Youth gun deaths don’t just affect family members, close loved ones and friends; they ripple through entire communities, making it difficult for people to heal, Villarreal told Stateline.

“Communities that have suffered really high-impact losses are never the same, and I don’t know if it’s possible to be ever the same as it was before,” Villarreal said.

One of the major policies championed by gun control and safety groups to address youth gun violence is safe storage laws, which establish guidelines for how firearms should be stored in homes, vehicles and other properties. In recent years, some states also have proposed and adopted measures to create tax credits for purchasing gun safes.

Twenty-six states have child access prevention and secure storage laws on the books, according to Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun control research and advocacy group.

A report released in July by RAND, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization, found that laws designed to limit children’s access to stored firearms may help reduce firearm suicides, unintentional shootings and firearm homicides among youth.

This year, lawmakers in states across the country — including in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin — have considered gun storage policies.

Stateline reporter Amanda Hernández can be reached at ahernandez@stateline.org.

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.

Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.

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SUMMARY: President Trump is set to sign an executive order aimed at dismantling the Department of Education, a long-term objective for conservatives. The move, which intends to return control of education to the states, faces significant opposition and requires Congressional approval. Supporters argue that over $3 trillion spent on federal education has yielded poor results, while critics express concern that eliminating the department could harm vulnerable students, as federal funding constitutes only 10-14% of K-12 budgets. The order will not affect federal student loans or Title I assistance for low-income students. Meanwhile, a judge has set a deadline for the administration regarding deportation flights.

An executive order being signed to dismantle the Department of Education is awaiting widespread opposition. Here are the latest details from the White House.

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