Thread by @karenraycosta

So this is not my hill to die on today, but I do feel like it's worth fleshing out a bit WHY this bugs me and WHY I don't do it. But as one of my best teachers used to say, "What do I know? You decide for yourself."

#highered
#helpseeking

I've been teaching first-year students, most of them first-generation students (aka #newtrad), for fourteen years. A huge part of my job is normalizing the frustration of the college experience and teaching them to self-advocate.

#highered
#helpseeking

Many (most?) of my students are intimidated by authority figures. They've been burned in the past. They've been shamed and belittled for asking questions. Many gave up on asking at all. For more on this, read The College Fear Factory by Rebecca Cox.

#highered
#helpseeking

I believe I do a good job of creating a welcome course environment. I encourage #helpseeking from my first interactions with Ss and consistently reinforce those concepts. My students STILL apologize to me when they ask for help. "I'm so sorry to bother you..."

#highered

So it's really important to me, and to my Ss, that I very actively reinforce their #helpseeking and #selfadvocacy. To me, "I hope this helps," even if its intentions are good, falls short. I need to proactively celebrate and encourage questions.

#highered

For my students, the difference between "I hope this helps" and "Does this help?" is an entire UNIVERSE.

#highered
#helpseeking

I'll also add that as someone who aspires to a #traumainformed teaching practice, I know that trauma can show up as extreme self-reliance. So teaching students to ask questions, and encouraging them to ask more, is a #traumainformed practice in my book.

#highered
#helpseeking

Finally (maybe), for myself, as an introvert and someone who has a tough time asking for help, "I hope this helps" feels like it shuts down the conversation. What if it doesn't help? Where's my cue that it's okay to ask more questions?

#highered
#helpseeking

Words create worlds...

"The way practitioners in the helping professions think about language and how they use it in their conversations with
clients is very important."

#highered
#helpseeking

wholebeinginstitute.com/words-create-w…