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April 21st Meeting Notes
In this meeting we discussed the ways in which it is very difficult to avoid being trapped in doom and gloom right now, particularly in light of recent societal violences. One attendant talked about how it has been helpful for her to immerse herself in her work to try to find some way to tune out the horrifying noise of larger life right now. We talked about the added stresses of teaching right now while inhabiting marginalized identities, that the weight of this is very large and that the normal microaggressions of teaching, for instance, being talked down to by students because they don’t believe we have any authority or knowledge, have become even heavier. We talked, too, and again, about the weight of bearing not only our own personal life experiences that include losing people to covid but also walking alongside our students and their tough experiences at the moment through their disclosures to us. We dreamed about what it would be like if when we returned to in-person teaching that there would be a real reckoning with how exhausted we all are emotionally and physically and how that might look–we thought about days being devoted to outletting of the different emotions that have built up during this time to help us all cope with what has transpired. We talked about how teaching asynchronously makes us feel like we always have to be on call which is exhausting. We talked about how all disciplines can implement anti-racist texts into their courses, one participant talked about bringing these texts to a class where the students will be secondary ed teachers and most students in this course did not know there was racism beyond in person name-calling and so she was able to help them see all of the different ways racism is woven into American life on all levels. We also talked about how doing personal writing in courses can help students develop their own sense of self-worth which is helpful in combatting moments where one is degraded and oppressed for their identities.
Spring 2021 Session !
In this meeting we spoke about the ways in which working through a pandemic imposes a myriad of stressors upon Professors generally and even more so for those who inhabit marginalized identities. From the problematic of having to care for children and parents and the stress of keeping them safe, the stress of obtaining vaccine appointments, the stress of the unknown, the stress of white supremacist terrorism to negotiating the even larger burden of emotional labor at work right now it is hard to not feel completely burnt out and exhausted. We spoke about what the pandemic will mean for marginalized faculty who are up for tenure in the next few years who will be expected to produce even more material then their colleagues during a time where many are struggling just to get through the day. We also talked about how much emotional labor and work there will be to do when we return to in-person teaching and that this will be a long-term project as the traumas incurred during this time are so far reaching. We spoke about the need for more full professors at KCC in order to begin to move away from the center always having the floor to speak and make decisions that have large long term effects. We spoke about the huge need to be teaching from an anti-racist perspective always and especially now. We thought about what it would look like if well-being was centered when we return to school and what it would look like if we thought about happiness, fulfillment, and even joy as part of the learning experience and what that might feel like in an embodied sense especially in the aftermath of this time period.
