High School Psychology taught through the lens of parenting
Over the last several years I have had the honor of mentoring and teaching local high school students. These students are hand-chosen as part of a program aimed, designed and catered specifically to those who have high ACE scores (Adverse Childhood Experiences, an acronym for developmental trauma) and who struggle academically with lack of available supports. Overall the program subject matter revolves around human hardships, how what we seek is often already in us, and ultimately in the belief that feeling alone defines the heart of our suffering. This is a program that is headed by a brilliant trauma-informed teacher who specialize with students with these unique needs, and has already produced inarguable results. It is also lead in large part by Dr. Kent Hoffman, a career developmental researcher and clinician, and co-author of the text being referenced.
This last year I was presented with the unique opportunity of offering my own high school psychology class using a similar, but different model. This took place in an advanced-placement class, rather than a trauma-informed classroom. The idea is that I would teach a class that qualifies the students for a psychology credit - The kicker however, that the students learn this psychology through the parenting book, Raising A Secure Child.
A parenting book? As a high school text? I loved the idea of teaching attachment theory and through the lens of Circle of Security (especially for psychology credits), but a parenting book as the primary resource? Also, to talk about parenting in a high school, should we not also discuss birth control?
By the way and very briefly, my name is Sean Barrett and I am licensed in both mental health counseling and marriage and family therapy. And, I teach on the side as I've done for a long time, because I connect with younger folks.
Anyway, I said yes immediately to the offer and to teach this book as a text. My hope initially was to achieve the following: To teach psychology through attachment theory and through a developmental and relational lens; To draw parallels from the concepts of the book to broader psychological concepts I believe vital (or even often missing) from basic psychology courses; To allow the students freedom of introspection at whatever level they feel comfortable with.
Many of the concepts in Raising a Secure Child are (to me) pragmatic, though the reflective functioning suggested by the text is the heart of what I believe psychology to be. And this, is not pragmatic. It can be scary, or emotional, even overwhelming to look deeply into ourselves and into our past. I hope I achieved what I set out to do and created an environment where students can learn about a concept that is often taboo in high school in general- being a parent. I aimed to do so in a way that opens access for the students to explore themselves and parts of their past, and their relationships, only to their comfort level. I wanted to teach emotional intelligence, human connection, and create a safe place where students can walk toward personal discomfort and emotions if they choose to.
This presented a difficult balance. To teach psychology through parenting, in a high school, using a text that the students would be quizzed over the assigned reading, but aimed at personal reflection. How do you create a balance between being didactic to the lessons of the text, but also listen and attune to the students' experiences?
On a mechanical level, I covered approximately one chapter every week in approximately a one hour lecture period. But I was flexible, rolling ahead or behind depending on the needs of the class. The following posts are my experience.
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