Central Community Unit School District 301 teachers, principals, school board members and administrators met to watch and learn from the film “Paper Tigers.”
According to Dr. Kim Paulus, Central Education Association president and seventh grade science teacher at Prairie Knolls Middle School in Elgin, the Friday presentation in the Burlington Central High School auditorium was “a collaborative effort with the CEA, the District Leadership Team, the Illinois Education Association, and the District 301 administration and board of education in order to promote a deeper understanding of the effects of toxic stress and Adverse Childhood Experiences.”
Audrey Soglin, Illinois Education Association executive director, and Dr. Marjorie Fujara, attending physician, pediatrics at John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County in Chicago, were on hand to discuss the movie and answer questions from the audience.
They talked about two researchers, Dr. Vincent Felitti and Robert Anda, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologist, who published the “Adverse Childhood Experiences Study.” It revealed that the more traumatic experiences, such as physical and emotional abuse or neglect, a person underwent as a child, the more likely that he or she would later be diagnosed as an adult with health problems such as cancer, heart disease and high blood pressure.
There is also a correlation between Adverse Childhood Experiences and the prevalence of drug and alcohol abuse, unprotected sex, and poor diet, according to the study.
The study states that all of the risk factors, behavioral as well as physiological, can be offset by the presence of one caring and dependable adult who does not necessarily have to be a parent or a relative. It could be a teacher.
With this study in mind, “Paper Tigers” documented a year within and around the campus of the Lincoln Alternative High School in the rural community of Walla Walla, Washington, where changing the way problem students were handled resulted in higher test scores, a 90 percent decrease in suspensions, a 75 percent decrease in fights, and a fivefold increase in graduation rates.
Soglin explained that the name of the film stems from the fact that the appearance of danger, such as a live tiger, normally triggers a person’s fight-or-flight response.
A child living in a troubled home finds it impossible to flee. In response to their toxic environment, he or she develops problem behavior such as bullying, smoking, overeating or becoming dependent on drugs or alcohol, she said.
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Abused children lose their ability to distinguish between real tigers and “paper tigers.” Their behavior is a symptom of what is going on in their lives.
“They keep it all inside because they do not have a safe environment where they can talk it out,” Soglin said. “Everyone needs someone to love them unconditionally. While many people think that ACEs only happen to children in poverty, ACEs happen to all races and all income levels.”
Children and teens who do not have a responsible adult to confide in are susceptible to joining street gangs or terrorist organizations because they mistakenly believe that these radical groups will listen to them and care about them, she said.
“You can help kids overcome ACEs. It does not have to be a life sentence,” Soglin said. “The Illinois Education Association is working with partners to raise awareness of ACEs. We formed the Partnership for Resilience.”
“We need to let children have healthy relationships,” Fujara said. “Parent engagement is our best hope.”
The Illinois Education Association has announced that the film will be shown again on Tuesday, June 14, in Elgin; Wednesday, June 15, at Governors State University in University Park, and on Thursday, June 16, in Springfield.
For information, contact the Illinois Education Association at 844-432-1800 or [email protected].
Denise Moran is a freelance reporter.