Supporting Our Students Through Collective Turbulent Times
I found the suggestions in this blog post from Michele DiPietro very helpful, both in themselves, but also for thinking about larger issues involved when something happens outside the classroom.
My first piece of advice is to do something. The most common response after 9/11 was to do nothing, show up and teach as if nothing had happened. There were various reasons for that. Some didn’t know what would be advisable. Some had an idea of what would be recommended (maybe hold a discussion), but they did not feel equipped with the skills to do so. Some were processing the events themselves and were not ready to help students process. Some intentionally wanted to foster a sense of normalcy in the midst of the chaos. Whatever the reason for not doing anything, students found it very frustrating when the tragedy wasn’t even acknowledged.