Faculty from Resurrection Academy, Fontana; St. Margaret Mary, Chino; Our Lady of Lourdes, Montclair and Sacred Heart, Rancho Cucamonga attended a seminar by renown international speaker Mike Paget entitled, “Wired Differently- What Every Educator Should Know.”
This all day seminar gave critical insights and recommended approaches to common misunderstandings about young people with disorders and why traditional policies and practices often fail with these students.
Teachers learned of 22 categories of disorders covering 565 disorders, conditions or problems” and how to recognize them. These included anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Paget taught that some disorders find their roots in emotional and behavioral challenges such as poverty, life experiences, parenting/family issues, mental health, and ineffective school experiences.
The teachers learned that these experiences impact the emotional, behavioral, and mental health of the students that can challenge schools. This impact can not only lead to lower grades, but to increased absenteeism, suspensions, discipline problems, disconnection from community, and difficulty in making and keeping friends. This also can lead to a 50% dropout rate, unemployment and a greater risk of suicide.
Teachers learned of the common patterns and symptoms of some disorders as well as strategies and activities on how to effectively help these students.
The teachers reported that they found the seminar very informative and helpful as they start the new year.