I wish that universities would make it easier to be compassionate when students are struggling. I've seen the intersection of more developments that put pressure on faculty without support: administrative & technological. 1/ (clearly in 🧵 mode today)

https://twitter.com/CHeartsTrees/status/1513906877943451648

The admin side: students used to petition a central office about extensions. Now every single prof (full-time and contract instructor) has the power, but also the burden of making decisions. Some of them are (to put it mildly) not very familiar w/ accommodation & human rights. 2/

Just finished teaching the last class of the term. It was hard. So many students were dealing with, COVID, family crises, homelessness, and other challenges. I had to cancel an assignment because everyone was behind. There was very little participation in the Zoom sessions. 1/ Sorry for breaking with the “it’s been a joy to teach these students” genre, but moments of energy and connection were overshadowed by long stretches of begging folks behind black squares to say, write, and do anything that allows for human connection & collective learning. 2/

What makes the convoy different from protests that Ottawa had seen? The trucks, for sure. But more than that: while participants claimed to put pressure on the federal government, they systematically harassed, targeted, and put pressure on residents. #Ottawa #convoy 1/x It is one thing to put pressure on political authorities, which will have collateral effects on citizens. But what we have seen is the harassment of residents with the purpose of swaying the government. You protest those in power, not your neighbours. This has never been okay. 2/