Boundaries in an Empathetic Classroom
Understanding one’s position and privilege – how does this affect teaching?
It is important, especially when teaching a diverse group of students, to be aware of and understand one’s privilege in the classroom. Attending higher education is a privilege within and of itself, as is teaching these students. As a professor or TA, you are often in a position of power over students. This can create a disconnect between the two groups, which can exacerbate misunderstandings and inequalities not only between professors and students, but even with how different students are treated (Davis et al. 2015). Students can be privileged based on both their identities, and how those identities relate to you as an instructor. Being aware of this possible bias while teaching with empathy is necessary to maintain a balance of equity and equality among the students in your classroom. It is also important to note that not every professor or TA has the same privilege (Pittman & Tobin 2022). Each of you comes from a different background and holds different privileges and identities within your career, which can affect the interactions with fellow coworkers and students. Understanding how your position may affect your own identity and those around you is helpful in building an empathetic classroom that may reflect both your needs and those of your students.
Recognizing privilege both inside and outside of the classroom is essential to understand the impact your teaching can have, as well as how students may face different struggles. Many students are struggling with balancing jobs (SERU Brief 2022) or personal responsibilities with schoolwork. Dealing with this, mental health, and classes can be overwhelming. Recognizing this and individual paths or lifestyles is important to effectively teach students. This is also important to understand to practice empathy in the classroom. One way to discuss privilege and position in the classroom is to tell privilege stories (Davis et al. 2015), which can help to identify the importance of topics being discussed, as well as the instructor’s position of privilege or oppression.This is not the only way to form a connection or position oneself in their classroom, many of the other techniques mentioned above could also help in doing so.
Setting proper boundaries for students
Although practicing empathy in the classroom is beneficial to students, some practices can lead to burnout or extra stress on instructors. Finding a proper balance between using empathy in the classroom and creating boundaries is important to eliminate these feelings of burnout. This could be as easy as communicating expectations for students in a course, or by communicating about when you may or may not be available to help (Sachdev et. al 2020).
These boundaries are also extremely important for classes to remain rigorous and for students to remain involved. It is important to understand the limits of empathy in the classroom and at what point it can cause harm to a student’s education or to a professor’s credibility. Simple practices, like those mentioned above, will not do this, but excessive empathy in the classroom can. It is also important to understand how the use of empathy, especially with specific students, could lead to unfair grading or unequal treatment in the classroom. Being aware of individual biases and keeping conscious of when you may privilege one or a group of people over another is critical when practicing empathy (Sachdev et. al 2020). Finally, as a professor it is essential to understand your identity and possible oppression or privilege when creating an empathetic classroom. Strategies of empathetic teaching may vary per class depending class structure, topic, and your identity or position (Pittman & Tobin, 2022).
Practicing self-care to be a successful empath
Being an empath can be exhausting, especially when proper boundaries are not set out or communicated. This can quickly lead to burnout and extreme stress. Practicing proper self-care, both in and outside of the classroom, is important. To discover how to practice self-care and other tips and tricks go to chapter 1: Supporting Instructor Well-Being.
Final Takeaways
Practicing empathy in the classroom has been proven to help students stay motivated and learn more efficiently in college courses. There are many strategies in creating an empathetic classroom, a few of which we have mentioned above. Many of these can be easily implemented, with little or no change to class syllabi or course calendars, allowing for simple changes even in the middle of the semester. These strategies can benefit both students and professors in creating an understanding learning environment, which in turn can better mediate learning and take away from the stress of college. These strategies have been provided to switch the narrative in the classroom from one of intimidation and worry to enjoyment and understanding. We hope this chapter has provided you with a better understanding of what it means to teach with empathy, as well as answer any questions or worries on empathetic learning. We recognize that these strategies may not fit every course, or that you as an instructor may not be comfortable with all of them. This is merely a starting point to teaching with empathy and we hope it can lead instructors to be more aware of their teaching styles and help better care for the students in their classrooms.