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So I teach undergraduates, and we have shifted to online course delivery due to the pandemic. I wanted to share a notice I just received, in the hope that, any colleagues who might not be inclined to take it easy on students right now, might read and harness their compassion 1/
One of my transgender students wrote to me apologizing for ghosting on our online sessions (although I have largely adopted asynchronous delivery and so should you): they are stuck at home with five people who don’t recognize their humanity and dead-name them constantly 2/
When not actively fighting suicidal ideations, they are trying to carve out enough physical space to escape from the toxic people in their life; stay-at-home has made this impossible. So, now, this wonderful person is living in hell 3/
This is just one of many similar anecdotes that I’ve heard from my students. Who amongst us doesn’t have some baggage from childhood that turns nuclear the second we are forced back into our childhood headspace? 4/
The point is this: your students are having a real hard time right now. School is not important. Education is not important. Survival is all that matters. And many of your students are in a bad situation that they may not survive, regardless of whether or not they catch Covid 5/
Be kind. Be compassionate. Check in. Offer help, even if it’s just five minutes on FaceTime to break up their torture. Be safe. Stay healthy. Stay home. /end
