Thirty years ago, right after completing my bachelor’s degree in psychology, I spent a summer teaching kindergarten at a Columbus, Ohio, school designed for children with behavioral disorders, many of whom were diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). The student body was overwhelmingly BIPOC and had endured extensive trauma: separation from family, various forms of abuse, neglect, and the instability of the foster care system. The staff were predominantly White and trained to view the children’s behavior through a lens of restraint and control.
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