Difficult Knowledge, Trauma Informed Pedagogy and Safe-ish Spaces

Trauma-Informed Pedagogy & Safe-ish Spaces | Teaching in Troubled Times | UC Berkeley

The amount [of resources] we have should not be the operating principle for which you dream and imagine what you want to do.
Elisa Huerta
There is a performative expectation especially of people of color, expectations of bringing your voice to the classroom to speak to traumas, but there are ways of doing that in which we perpetuate traumatic experiences .
Elida Bautista
[Generosity] is humanist, not humanitarian. It is not condescension, not paternalism.
Zeus Leonardo

Event Description

Violence and trauma are all around us—fatal shootings by police, sexual violence, family separations, addiction, abuse, displacement of refugees. Often, these situations give rise to individual healing journeys and collective efforts to create change. But the pain and loss embedded in them also have a damaging effect long after the events have passed.

We invite many difficult experiences into our classrooms, historically intimate and distant, often through written and visual text depicting traumatic events and experiences. At the same time, we have many students bringing a history of trauma into the classroom, fighting a variety of battles that have been woven into their lives from childhood. Exploring the impact of this emotional and intellectual terrain, and on whom, is increasingly rooted in our pedagogy, and yet also entangled in dilemmas and sharp concerns.

Panelists

Facilitator

Topics

Identified Resources

The Gold Folder

As discussed in the session, faculty and staff are in a unique position to demonstrate care and compassion for student sin distress. The purpose of this folder is to help you recognize potential symptoms of distress and identify appropriate campus resources to refer students to. 

University Health Services(UHS)

Students can use the medical services at the Tang Center just as they would their regular doctor's office and urgent care center. Our facility is fully accredited, staffed by licensed and/or board-certified physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, a nutritionist, and nurses. Learn more about general services the university health center offers here

UHS Counseling and Mental Health Services

University Health Services (UHS) offers counseling and mental health services to all UC Berkeley students (regardless of insurance plan). The highly skilled and culturally competent team are here to serve anyone with a wide range of programs in Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and Social Services. Learn more about counseling services on their page.

Health Coaching Services

Health coaches support you through the process of defining and achieving your health and wellness goals by creating a sustainable and achievable action plan. Resources available are wellness health coaching and healthy sexuality coaching & education. Please be advised that coaching sessions are not a substitute for medical appointments. Coaches cannot diagnose or treat medical issues, or authorize medical tests. More than one visit is possible.

CAPS Handouts

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) supports the emotional, psychological, educational, social and cultural development of all Cal students through a wide range of multiculturally based counseling, psychiatric, career, consultation, training and educational services. Access their resources and handouts here.

Recalibrate

Wellness is personal, multi-dimensional, and our needs are frequently changing. This site offers tools that will help one identify their own unique system of wellness.

Recommendations for Instructors

Faculty Recommendations

This session produced especially rich dialogues full of recommendations for faculty. We organized and prepared information from these dialogues into a downloadable pdf summarizing detailed takeaways. Download pdf. 

Abridged Recommendations

Scaffolding the Classroom as a Place of Learning

  • think about your role in the classroom. [26:21]
  • self-regulate and ground yourself. [12:42]
  • evaluate the extent of your knowledge on classroom issues. [1:22:11]
  • be aware of the student dynamic. [28:21]
  • create healing work. [1:26:31]
  • understand that trauma shows up in different ways. [13:47]
  • set up a condition of risk in the classroom. [9:09]
  • acknowledge material conditions of violence. [19:04]
  • recognize moments of tension and violence in the classroom. [22:21]
  • create an environment for ongoing learning. [35:35]
  • build community. [19:34]
  • notes on creating safe spaces for instructors. [1:11:19]

Practicing Generosity within an Institution

  • tap into people-centered motivations and create people-centered structures. [56:59]
  • de-center hierarchy in spaces. [39:47]
  • break down the institutional values of elitism. [59:21]
  • build bridges, not walls. [40:56]
  • someone who challenges you is not an enemy. [42:28]
  • practice constructive criticism. [57:43]
  • shift the frame of thinking to an abundance model. [1:00:51]
  • be generous to yourself and others. [1:05:37]

Forming Relationships

  • relationships can be knowledge. [31:56]
  • relationships are critical in these spaces. [32:47]
  • integrate relational work. [34:07]
  • embody ultimate trust and ultimate honesty. [37:48]
  • be consistent. [38:19]
  • open up your time to students. [1:21:23]

Terms to Consider

Materials from the Event

Dr. Joy DeGruy on Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome

Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome was a key topic that was discussed by Elida Bautista in this session. Dr. DeGruy has developed her theory of Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome after 12 years of research, and published her findings in the book Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome – America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing. Read more about PTSS on Dr. DeGruy's page.

"Pedagogy of fear: toward a Fanonian theory of 'safety' in race dialogue"

Attached is an essay by Zeus Leonardo, Associate Dean and Professor at the Graduate School of Education, and Ronaldo K. Porter,  “Pedagogy of fear: toward a Fanonian theory of 'safet' in race dialogue,” which formed much of the basis for the discussion of “violence” and Fanon in this session of Teaching in Troubled Times. There is also a bibliography where many, if not all, the readings Dr. Leonardo referenced during the discussion appear.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Paulo Freire in his book discusses the concept of generosity as a pedagogical concept.