{"id":105,"date":"2018-09-30T23:10:11","date_gmt":"2018-09-30T23:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/endeavor\/?p=105"},"modified":"2018-10-01T10:38:36","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T10:38:36","slug":"teaching-in-times-of-polarization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/endeavor\/2018\/09\/30\/teaching-in-times-of-polarization\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching in Times of Polarization"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"We are in a heightened moment of he said\/she said, us\/them, pro\/con, recognize\/erase, confirm\/reject, right\/wrong, and other emotionally charged dualisms, many of which are inseparably woven into our beliefs about who we are. On campus and off, we and those around us are struggling with feeling vulnerable, erased, triggered, misunderstood, maybe even hated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Look at your students. Some are struggling publicly, others privately. Doctors use the 1-10 pain scale because they know that “‘Pain is always personal'” and “‘invisible,'” according to Dr. F. Michael Ferrante<\/a><\/span>, director of the UCLA Pain Management Center. The result? “Only you know how bad the pain feels.” So they ask. I think it’s safe to assume that the pain levels among our students is higher than we imagine.\u00a0 So what can we do?<\/span><\/p>\n

First, know that your students are bringing their whole selves into the classroom<\/strong>. As they study for class, read assigned texts, walk into the classroom, interact with others in class (or don’t), and talk to you (or don’t), students are aware that there are larger controversies, arguments, even fights about things that affect them — their religious beliefs, their sexual identities, their gendered histories, and more. Actually, they’re not just aware. They are carrying the weight of these seemingly abstract cultural clashes as they intersect with the students’ specific identities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, tend to class dynamics more than usual.<\/strong> Independent of all intentions, students may be feeling under scrutiny (or worse) by their peers, and by you.\u00a0 So be intentional in how you’re assigning interactions in class.\u00a0 Structured or silent participation strategies seem especially useful right now, as both support students and manage feelings of vulnerability in different ways.<\/span><\/p>\n

Structured Participation<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n