MCC Daily Tribune

TCC: Tip of the Day - Don't ignore current events

In our attempts to maintain consistency and normalcy for our students during this global health crisis, let us not sweep away the tragic murder of another black person.

Most, if not all of us, are familiar with these names: Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, Eric Garner...and now George Floyd. For some of us, we may not say anything because we feel more comfortable sticking to our content. We may worry that we will say the wrong thing. So, we say nothing and hope that our students don't notice.

They notice.

As we have learned in Bandwidth Recovery, we can help students feel like they belong in our academic environment by acknowledging their experience, in general and particularly in the wake of George Floyd's death. We can be honest that our emotions exist and encourage our students to express their own feelings of anger, hurt, fear, confusion, and helplessness. We can refer them to counseling if we feel unequipped, but we don't have to rush to a referral just because we cling to some idea of a purely content-based professor/student relationship. These steps can make a difference in a student's choice to stay in class or not.

Consider joining us for the TCC's conversation: Building connections with students facilitated by April Daniels. She is particularly skilled at acknowledging students' experiences in a way that makes them keep coming back.

Wednesday, 6/3, 2-3 pm

https://monroecommunity.zoom.us/j/93990391271

Eugenia Merliss
Teaching & Creativity Center
06/02/2020