Following the disturbing hate crime that took place on The Lawn on September 7 and the vandalism of the Office of African-American Affairs on August 19, the Center for Teaching Excellence offers the following resources to help instructors address these and other critical incidents in their classrooms. Formal research and UVA students tell us that students want faculty to acknowledge critical incidents in the classroom. If we don’t, students may assume that we do not care about them and/or the issue. A simple acknowledgment can normalize feelings of distress, ease a sense of isolation, and signal that you care. Here are a few things to consider.
- Acknowledge the recent incidents and that we are all likely to be upset and affected in different ways. Communicate your care through a gentle tone and manner and by being clear that you condemn these incidents. We encourage you to be specific and name racism, bigotry, and white supremacy, while expressing your commitment to the values of diversity, inclusion, and civic discourse.
- Be honest and humble. You can admit that you are also muddling your way through this and are unsure what to say. Explain why you may not have an in-depth conversation (e.g., “routines such as going to class can be helpful as we process”) and point to resources for students.
- Indicate your interest in students’ well-being. Tell them that they should feel free to take care of themselves in whatever ways they need to do. Offer to speak with students during office hours, particularly encouraging students who may be affected by the incident. Consider offering flexibility regarding assignment deadlines. You might also share the following resources with students:
Beyond Acknowledgment
There are many additional ways to support students and turn the incident into a teachable moment. Your strategy will likely depend on factors such as your personality, experience, and comfort level with the issues at stake, as well as class size and subject matter. Possibilities include:
- Consider inviting your students at the beginning of class to free-write about a prompt such as the following: “How do you make sense of the current events and your emotions in light of your values? Who do you want to reach out to later in the day for more processing and support?” Such reflections allow students to intentionally process the incident and plan to seek support if needed.
- Depending on students’ inclination and your comfort level, you can devote class time to discussing the incident, also being sure to let students who choose to process less publicly know that they are free to leave and take care of themselves. Consider the resources below as you plan to discuss critical incidents.
- Explore different philosophical approaches to difficult classroom dialogues. Adopting and communicating to students a particular pedagogical stance can guide your decisions and the conversation.
- Be proactive. Plan for inclusion. Review your syllabus. Create classroom community. Set ground rules.
- Tend to your own self-care needs and remember that different members of our community are doing different kinds of emotional labor. Support those who experience a disproportionate strain for supporting students in this challenging time.
Resources
The following select resources can help equip you to respond in your classrooms to critical incidents affecting the community:
- What We Need from UVA Faculty, an open letter from UVA students to faculty in the aftermath of UVA student Martese Johnson being injured by ABC officers
- Charlottesville Syllabus, developed by Graduate Student Coalition for Liberation
- Blog posts from the University of Michigan:
- Start talking: a handbook for engaging in difficult dialogues. Landis, K. (Ed) (2008)
- In the eye of the storm: Students’ perceptions of helpful faculty actions following a collective tragedy by Huston, T.A., & DiPietro, M. (2007). In Robertson D.R. & Nilson, L.B. (Eds.). To Improve the Academy, 25 (207-224).
- Teaching in Times of Strife & Trauma, a curated list of resources for teaching in traumatic times, such as discussing difficult topics, trauma-informed pedagogy, and anti-racist and equitable teaching
- Resources for Self-Care, strategies, readings, and organizations to support the well-being of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, part of a larger set of resources compiled in support of anti-racism work
|
