In conversation with Jesus Jaime-Diaz

This series critically explores adversity and trauma, what it is and how it plays out in an educational context. In this episode, Jesus and I discuss trauma as real pain and how pedagogical knowledge is paramount for any professional working in this area to engage with conversations.

Jesus begins the show by discussing his journey into becoming an educator. Jesus describes the complexities of growing up working class in the U.S, witnessing first hand the devaluing of humanity and how this propelled him into advocating for social justice education.

Adverse experiences can be complex and traumatic but not always obvious to an educator who doesn't recognise this. Jesus highlights how when you have experienced difficulties in your own life, you then recognise the struggles of others. He goes on to talk about community struggle and working together to support one another through shared resources.

Jesus can see how, as an educator, young people in the classroom show the pain of their trauma. He has genuine concerns about how these young people internalise their inferiority and continues with how the oppressed can go on to become the oppressor - something that needs to be curtailed.

08.56: After a short discussion around those with different sets of experiences creating alliances and engaging in open dialogue, I ask Jesus if he agrees there can be multiple difficulties in reaching out to young people with a history of unresolved adversity and trauma, when trying to engage them in the learning process. Jesus responds by telling me how we need to reflect on our privilege, our power and our differences; reflecting on what makes us whole.

10.00: Jesus discusses the need for multiple forms of training as educators, continuing with the challenges around this in academia. For Jesus, educators need to look at the source of the pain of those they teach, though of course, being mindful of trauma triggers. For educators to embrace people's humanity, there's a need to examine the multiple traumas and oppression people face.

11.09 Jesus asks how much stress creates trauma. It is a question not generally asked when we think about what trauma is. Poverty and other disadvantage however, is stressful in itself. Stress is held in our being and we have to find the healing to work with a multiplicity of traumas.

12.10: I respond to Jesus by asking him if, in his opinion, he feels the trauma training received is adequate to cope with the multiplicity of traumas. Jesus talks about the gap in pedagogical knowledge in trauma-informed pedagogies and feels that this hasn't been addressed. He believes if we are to have an authentic caring for our communities we must serve and be conscious of intergenerational and historical traumas.

13.22: Jesus and I discuss how trauma is not very well understood and educators have to be careful to not re-traumatise those they work with. Jesus provides a personal account of how this can play out in the classroom.

15.21: Jesus calls for more pedagogy and learning after I pose the question, 'in your opinion, do you feel all educational practitioners should be trauma-informed. Without continuing to raise the bar in training we will continue to reproduce the inequities that already exist.

Jesus gives us an example of how he works through the challenges in his classrooms and we finish the show with talking about having open dialogue and creating alliances including interdisciplinary alliances. We need to continue to push forward trauma-informed policy and practice if we are to eliminate the view of a deficit in humanity.