One thing about being human is those lids. They just keep on flipping. None of us make it through life without seeing red. One thing I have learned from my many, many trips around the sun is that anger is a very tricky emotion. Some of us are taught to embrace it and the energy and power it brings with it; to use it to stand up for ourselves or people we care about. Some of us are taught to hide it, that anger brings danger. After all, anger is contagious. I will be honest. I did not begin to value anger until long after being considered a “grown-up”.
Drained, after another long day trying to teach kids with a short fuse how to read, I sat down at a staff meeting with mixed emotions. Part of me wanted to go home but a greater part hoped this would help. My school had just partnered with Sound Discipline (now Belong Partners) and they were there to teach us about trauma-informed practices in education. One of the first things they taught that day while laying the groundwork, was the Brain in the Palm of Your Hand model developed by Dr. Dan Siegel. Dr. Siegel is a psychiatrist who helps us understand how our brain functions so we can use it for us instead of against us. And, this understanding has been the groundwork for most of the work I do with kids. Not to mention my relationship with anger.