I appreciate the generous spirit you bring to this post, Karen. I have had my own recent education in trauma, and am more aware of the importance of faculty members educating themselves in this area. Even with my own experiences in mind, I'm still conflicted about trigger/content warnings.
As you know, mine was a medical trauma. As you might expect, in the months after I came home, I was very much triggered by the sight of hospitals. But during the eleven weeks I spent on life support, a television was often on my room. I was under light sedation the whole time (I think?), so my memories are foggy, but I do remember seeing two things all the time: reruns of The Big Bang Theory, and commercials for Weather Tek, some kind of floor liner for cars.
I had to recover at home for several months after I was released from the hospital, during which I couldn't do much more than read or watch television. If I was just flipping around between television stations, and would happen upon either that television show or that commercial, the memories of that ICU room began flooding back. (Side note, I don't experience this as actually being in the room; I experience this as a deluge of memories and I can't stop them from cascading. So maybe that differs from person to person.)
For sure, if I was in a classroom and the professor showed an image of a person on life support with tubes running in and out of their body, I would have been unable to concentrate for the rest of that class. But that would also have happened if the professor showed an image of a meme based on the Big Bang Theory. And I don't think is a unique experience. As a trauma happens, all kinds of incidental things are lodged in our memories along with the actual traumatic events. The memory of those things can be just as triggering as the traumatic event itself.
It's for this reason that it seems futile to me to try to create all of the content warnings a teacher would have to include to make sure that nobody gets reminders of their traumas--because those triggers could potentially include everything and anything in the world.
It thus seems to me that the better solution is to focus less on content warnings and more on creating the most inclusive and welcoming classroom environment as possible and then respond, when a student reaches out to you, with the same generosity of spirit you showed in this post.
But I would be very interested to hear if you have any additional thoughts based on these reflections.
"There is a war on the human spirit in this country claiming countless lives every day, and learning to care for each other’s spirits while still taking action against genocides, greed, and oppression - that is the work of our era."
"Terror, trauma, and horror are destructive to bodies and minds. They quite literally shut down the learning process in our brains. What works to motivate people to learn, act, and make sustainable changes for the greater good? Care."
"My job is to co-create a better world with my students."
This is all very helpful armor against a system that tells us that rigor is defined by toughness and objectivity. And a society that emphasizes productivity and hustle above all else. Thank you!
I appreciate the generous spirit you bring to this post, Karen. I have had my own recent education in trauma, and am more aware of the importance of faculty members educating themselves in this area. Even with my own experiences in mind, I'm still conflicted about trigger/content warnings.
As you know, mine was a medical trauma. As you might expect, in the months after I came home, I was very much triggered by the sight of hospitals. But during the eleven weeks I spent on life support, a television was often on my room. I was under light sedation the whole time (I think?), so my memories are foggy, but I do remember seeing two things all the time: reruns of The Big Bang Theory, and commercials for Weather Tek, some kind of floor liner for cars.
I had to recover at home for several months after I was released from the hospital, during which I couldn't do much more than read or watch television. If I was just flipping around between television stations, and would happen upon either that television show or that commercial, the memories of that ICU room began flooding back. (Side note, I don't experience this as actually being in the room; I experience this as a deluge of memories and I can't stop them from cascading. So maybe that differs from person to person.)
For sure, if I was in a classroom and the professor showed an image of a person on life support with tubes running in and out of their body, I would have been unable to concentrate for the rest of that class. But that would also have happened if the professor showed an image of a meme based on the Big Bang Theory. And I don't think is a unique experience. As a trauma happens, all kinds of incidental things are lodged in our memories along with the actual traumatic events. The memory of those things can be just as triggering as the traumatic event itself.
It's for this reason that it seems futile to me to try to create all of the content warnings a teacher would have to include to make sure that nobody gets reminders of their traumas--because those triggers could potentially include everything and anything in the world.
It thus seems to me that the better solution is to focus less on content warnings and more on creating the most inclusive and welcoming classroom environment as possible and then respond, when a student reaches out to you, with the same generosity of spirit you showed in this post.
But I would be very interested to hear if you have any additional thoughts based on these reflections.
"There is a war on the human spirit in this country claiming countless lives every day, and learning to care for each other’s spirits while still taking action against genocides, greed, and oppression - that is the work of our era."
"Terror, trauma, and horror are destructive to bodies and minds. They quite literally shut down the learning process in our brains. What works to motivate people to learn, act, and make sustainable changes for the greater good? Care."
"My job is to co-create a better world with my students."
This is all very helpful armor against a system that tells us that rigor is defined by toughness and objectivity. And a society that emphasizes productivity and hustle above all else. Thank you!