Chapter 6: Epigenetic Trauma Inheritance

from the book "RootEd: How Trauma Impacts Learning and Society" by S.R. Zelenz

Implications in Education

The field of epigenetics, discovering that what our ancestors did and the way that they did it, has implications for students in the classroom. What our ancestors experienced, for example, in terms of famines or other life-threatening scenarios, is passed on to their descendants through their genes. This discovery lends itself to investigate the possibility of epigenetics influencing why some learners could possibly be having trouble in the classroom: it's not the way their ancestors learned. In fact, from many points of view, it would be easy to see the current educational system as oppressive. I define oppressive education as the debilitation of the students' ability to acquire the skills necessary for them to develop their highest self-expression and become a contributing member of society. 

Students with relatively more recent tribal ancestry appear to have more difficulties in typical western education (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Edu…