Thread by @AndreaCharise

Hi everyone. Trying to stay quiet and mindful during these times - so not posting here often. But here's a quick thread for my #academictwitter colleagues and those working in #postsecondary #university #college settings now. /1

Some of us in teaching positions are in the position of deciding whether to "stay the course", provide a sense of "normalcy", etc. when it comes to our coursework and obligations to students.

So a few words for those not sure what business as usual might entail. /2

I'll preface this with an acknowledgement that I'm 1) a tenure-track prof w/ 2) considerable autonomy in an academic program 3) w/leadership that respects the work I do in the classroom. I realize this isn't typical, so what I'm sharing might not reflect your situation. FWIW: /3

About two weeks ago, following the province's #stateofemergency announcement, I decided to basically stop advancing the two courses I was teaching this term. The final weeks had presentations/film screenings that didn't require synchronous teaching . . . /4

. . . and it seemed like the disruption to the semester, then, was already stressful on students. So after holding a student vote, I cancelled the final exam, made the final project optional, extended online "participation" activities to the last day of term (April 3). /5

Here's what happened: I received a wave of emails from students--some that had never interacted w/me or participated in class--thanking me for doing so. That was nice+made me feel like my instinct was right. Great.

But these notes also showed me something I hadn't thought of.

My original rationale was about reducing student stress, and my strong sense that normalizing--or enforcing the normalization of--this disruption was pedagogically unsound, out of touch, and not respecting the epidemiological circumstances that warranted a state of emergency. /7

What I didn't realize at the time was that one of the contributors to "student stress"--including navigating home life, family obligations, international visa concerns, and *wildly variant* expectations by professors--hadn't occurred to me at all. /8

What I hadn't thought of then was that a number of my students, perhaps yours as well, have been deemed "emergency" labourers: they work in the grocery stores, community health centres, beer/liquor stores, banks. They are not living #quarantinelife. They MUST report to work.

I'm sharing this because, as a health researcher with teaching responsibilities at a university, this hadn't entered my thoughts in the initial chaos of what a disrupted semester meant for my courses.

If it didn't occur to me, then maybe it hasn't occurred to others as well.

So if you're on the fence about cancelling exams, or making that final paper optional, or dialling down your expectations/demands for your students: please, please just do it. If "stress" is too nebulous a reason, consider that your students might be emergency labourers now./11

I'll say it again: a number of your students have probably just been deemed "emergency labourers", in addition to the usual demands of coursework. If you have any authority or capacity to do so: cancel. your. coursework. Do not let inertia dictate your pedagogy now. /12

"Integrity", "standards", "expectations": look, I get it. But I don't think that's an appropriate response now.

And if you have EVER argued that institutions lack compassion/empathy/etc, *and * you're continuing to business-as-usual your classes?

Just GTFO. Seriously. /13

We're all trying to do our best under very trying circumstances: take care, keep calm, +do what you can in your capacity. But my point--that students are being made emergency labourers--might help others u-stand how dire a state we're all in. So if it helps, share that. /fin. 🌻