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People talk a lot about K-12 teachers, well-deserved. A lot of people don't talk about college instructors. From my experience, college instructors do amazing work. Yes, some are just there for a job, but more often than not, there is a passion behind it. A lot of people, myself
included, enter college with mental health challenges. Theses challenges can be exacerbated by the stress of being a student, living in a new environment, and the weight of wondering if you've made the right decision. One of my classmates went up to an instructor's office in a
(TW self-harm) state of active self-harm. You know what that instructor did? She de-escalated the situation and then walked with the student all the way to the medical centre on campus. With the same instructor, I was in her office reviewing an assignment when I got triggered
and started having a panic attack. I didn't realize what was going on at the time, but knew that I wasn't behaving normally. Later in the evening when the panic subsided, I thought "Wow, that was really weird. I should talk to her about that." So the next day, I went to her
office and explained my uncharacteristic behaviour. She told me that it was okay and even gave me tips for how to prevent the same thing happening in the future (very specific trigger). She told me (and this meant a lot coming from her since she's a stickler for rules) that I
could take some time off from classes if I needed to. She's literally the first person I told about a mental health diagnosis because she's one of the few supportive older adults in my life. Point being: college instructors do so much more than teach. (End thread)
