I cut 1/2 of the remaining assignments for my class when we went online & told my students I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure they pass my class. This has actually made them MORE invested in our class, which says a lot about how counterproductive “tough love” is

Now that they trust me & know I actually care about them, more of them are actively communicating with me & more of them are regularly checking in and telling me how they’re doing, and ironically they’re producing more thoughtful work

If the main thing they learn from my class this semester is that they deserve care & respect from their professors & that their hearts are more valuable than what they produce, that is enough for me

I worry sometimes about not being taken seriously by my students if I make my class a “blowoff” class (esp as a young female grad student instructor), but if I center my class on proving myself as an instructor rather than on caring well for my students, we all lose