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Why #SpreadLoveAlways? Sure, it sounds nice and yes, it might be more idealistic than realistic, but here\u2019s why I try my best to always spread love inside and outside of the classroom and some things to be aware of in practice:<\/p>\n
First and foremost, I want to continue the conversation about mental health. I could ask you to think about the people you know that have experienced mental health issues, but really it might be better to think about the people you know that haven\u2019t <\/em>experienced any. Are you sure? Are they sure?<\/p>\n These are issues worth talking about for everybody and working in a college environment, I find myself exposed to issues of mental health all the time in all forms. We\u2019re talking about young adults trying to figure out who they are and what they want to be while navigating a digital world that moves faster than ever before.<\/p>\n Personally? I\u2019ve been treated for anxiety and depression; a social anxiety stemming from twenty years of self-esteem issues. And trust me, growing up I totally bought into the stigma and never considered myself one of \u201cthose crazy people,\u201d but the reality is that making the conscious decision to seek help is something to be proud of on a journey from self-awareness to self-acceptance. In other words, confronting your own mental health head-on isn\u2019t a sign of weakness at all, in fact it takes incredible fortitude to face a fear of questioning your own self-identity.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve ever heard a surprised reaction to someone else fighting a mental health issue (\u201cWow she always seems so happy\u201d or \u201cBut he has everything he needs\u201d), that contributes to why I find it so important to spread love. Never assume. The surface isn\u2019t the story. You don\u2019t know what someone might be going through, and you don\u2019t need to know that in order to provide empathetic responses and make others feel valued for who they are as a human being.<\/p>\n I\u2019m going to talk about anxiety-conscious teaching practices, but first I want to challenge you to think about how you deal with differences. What comes to mind when you hear the term \u201cdifferences\u201d?<\/p>\n For me, I am treating this term in the broadest sense: differences can be race, gender, sexuality, physical appearance, socioeconomic level, cultural practices, religious beliefs, and personal interests and viewpoints. Each of these components has led to various conflicts around the world due to the inability of individuals and groups to effectively interact with people that are \u201cdifferent\u201d than themselves in some way.<\/p>\n My mission is to promote the advancement along the spectrum from tolerance<\/em> to acceptance<\/em> to loving and celebrating<\/em> others and their \u201cdifferences.\u201d And here\u2019s the commonality with mental health: understanding the attitudes, emotions, and characteristics of an individual today requires empathetic responses and an ability to listen and understand the foundation of why<\/em> someone feels the way they do or how the way they have been treated for \u201cdifferences\u201d has impacted their worldview.<\/p>\n So when I say \u201cspread love always\u201d, to me it means operating in love: being aware of and responsive towards any issues that impact someone, practicing empathy and restraining from rushing to judgment, and acknowledging the many positive qualities that can be found in each and every individual.<\/p>\n Despite not teaching in the humanities, I know teaching is about humanity and here are some teaching practices to be aware of with respect to anxiety and mental health:<\/p>\n Class Participation<\/strong>: Is this a part of the course grade? How is class participation defined \u2013 attendance? Answering x number of questions or contributing to y number of discussions? It is important to understand that \u201cforced\u201d participation can be quite detrimental to students with anxiety and that oftentimes that their most confident thoughts or questions that they would be willing to share may quickly be \u201ctaken\u201d by students who are more immediately vocal.<\/p>\n Group work \/ projects<\/strong>: For any extended (a full class period or more) collaborative work, the strategy of \u201cform groups of x among yourselves\u201d can often lead anxious students excluded and uncomfortable when singled out and being placed into a group as an \u201coutsider.\u201d Two strategies I\u2019ve used to combat this issue in the classroom are randomization and partial self-selection. I\u2019ve gone through an entire semester where my class norm was to begin each week by selecting cards at random from a deck of cards and maintaining those groups for in-class work throughout the week. For group projects, I have students complete an online survey asking for their preferences in group partners and then choose the groups myself, balancing their preferences and promoting inclusivity.<\/p>\n Out of class \u201cissues\u201d<\/strong>: Every semester unanticipated situations arise that impact a student\u2019s ability to fully meet academic expectations. I want to reiterate how important it is to listen, operate in empathy and love, and remember that education is student-centered. Respect that students are often uncomfortable talking (or emailing) about outside circumstances, and that this communication is an important acknowledgment of the impact on their class performance. The balancing act here is respecting course, department, and institutional policy while ensuring any decisions are equitable towards all students in the class. It is worth mentioning that the largest challenge from the instructor end is being \u201ctaken advantage of\u201d and while this is certainly relevant (and delicate), I believe that empathy should always take precedent.<\/p>\n Big picture thoughts<\/strong>: Colleges and universities need more mental health counselors. Marketing materials often feature an institution\u2019s student-to-faculty ratio, but what about a counselor-to-student ratio? Incoming freshman are all assigned academic advisors, but what about counselors? Instructors are usually given recommendations on handling students with physical injuries such as a concussion or a broken arm, but what about recommendations for handling students with anxiety or depression? Additional counselors, faculty training, and communication across relevant parties could go a long way towards supporting the current needs of students and ending the stigma.<\/p>\n Spread love always \u2013 it\u2019s more important now than ever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Why #SpreadLoveAlways? Sure, it sounds nice and yes, it might be more idealistic than realistic, but here\u2019s why I try my best to always spread love inside and outside of the classroom and some things to be aware of in practice: First and foremost, I want to continue the conversation about mental health. I could … Continue reading <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2388,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/kyleevans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/93"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/kyleevans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/kyleevans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/kyleevans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2388"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/kyleevans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/kyleevans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/93\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/kyleevans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/93\/revisions\/97"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/kyleevans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}