They're Not Dysregulated- They're Scared.
Our education systems have really grown in our capacities to prioritize the social-emotional health and mental well-being of our students. In many schools, there are dedicated blocks of time throughout a week where components of SEL are being implemented. Many schools have invested in stronger and richer professional learning opportunities to help educators as they support the SEL needs of their students. All of this is great and I hope that we continue to make this a priority. However, I want us to pause for a second.
I’m a person who is a reflective languager- meaning I often pause to reflect on the language choices that I make. I also reflect on the language choices of those around me. I’ve written about this in multiple spaces about how the language choices we use often demonstrates our beliefs, and sometimes those things that are said about students we serve can demonstrate bias and lead to problematic practices that can go unchecked.
In the last few years, in educational spaces, I’ve heard a lot of folks using the term “dysregulation.” I know I've used this word a ton. This often refers to bigger emotions or experiences, that often can lead to behaviors that are based on “a lack of control” over our emotions. For example, if I’m experiencing feelings of sadness or anxiety, I might shut down. Educators might look at this and say that I am dysregulated. If I’m experiencing feelings of overwhelm or overstimulation that I’m unable to process or cope with in a healthy or safe way, folks may say I’m dysregulated.
My worry is that by constantly leaning on this specific term, we are not fully addressing the humanity of our students. It, in some ways, sterilizes students’ very real and very valid feelings when we don’t name them. They’re not dysregulated. They’re scared. They’re fearful of what’s to come. They’re struggling to grapple with all of the uncertainty. I think it’s important that we name that. Let’s acknowledge the actual humanity of what’s happening to the students in our care.
I am an educator who is passionate about serving the needs of multilingual learners, families, and communities. Yes, this includes immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, migrants, and unaccompanied minors. I suppose here I should insert the friendly reminder that seeking asylum is LEGAL. Our students’ status and the status of their families is absolutely 10000% none of our business. Full stop. Period.
Is your school or system being proactive in addressing anti-immigrant rhetoric right now? If not, please invest time in having dialogue and action planning about this. Lean on being proactive and not reactive. This can be as easy as emailing a few folks on your team and/or in leadership and asking to set up a time to chat. Get the ball rolling - NOW - please.
No, this isn’t the job of the multilingual, EL, Bilingual, or Dual Language department. It’s everyone’s department. No one gets to abdicate responsibility for serving all students in our systems.
Is your team, school, or district overusing the term “dysregulation” when it comes to addressing the very real fear our students might be facing every day? How can we truly be trauma-informed when we linguistically sweep under the rug, mask, hide, or bury the very real problems we are facing?
Please - call it like it is. They're not dysregulated. They're scared.
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