�պ���Ʒ

Attention to student () well being is a critical component of effective and responsive teaching. There is a direct connection between well being and intellectual engagement, and “” (Kim, 2019). As Maha Bali (2015) noted in an essay on a , “Sometimes, the most valuable thing we can offer our students is genuine care for them, their well-being, their happiness. Not just their grades. Not just their learning. But their whole selves.”

Sharon Ravitch’s reflections on offers five important principles of what she calls “flux pedagogy:” 1) an inquiry stance and distributed wisdom approach; 2) radical compassion and self-care; 3) responsive and humanizing pedagogy; 4) racial literacy; and 5) brave space pedagogy. Similar themes are present in Cate Denial’s . You might also be interested in Lever Press’s open access book (2026), co-edited by Ian Barnard, Ryan Ashley Caldwell, Jada Patchigondla, Aneil Rallin, Morgan Read-Davidson, Ethan Trejo, and Kristi Wilson.

Kathleen Fitzpatrick’s essay on  and Nisha Sajnani’s piece based on her also offer important and useful perspectives. As Cathy Davidson (co-author of , 2022) emphasized in her post on the single most essential requirement in designing a course for the Fall of 2020, “Trauma is not an add on. From everything we know about learning, if the trauma is not addressed, accounted for, and built into the course design, we fail. Our students fail. None of us needs another failure.” 

Resources: 

• If you are concerned about a student’s well-being, please complete  
• The (including recommendations for things you can do in your classes) developed during the 2022 Summer ACM workshop on Student Wellbeing and Academic Engagement
• Former Macalester Director of Counseling Liz Schneider-Bateman’s
• about health and wellbeing from the Hamre Center for Health & Wellness
• Washington University’s resource page for
• Chronicle of Higher Ed’s on trauma-informed pedagogy
• on how professors can prioritize student wellness
• The Center for Religious and Spiritual Life’s incredible resource of
• (tiny ways to infuse delight into teaching and learning)

If you know of a student who is experiencing financial hardship, please encourage them to apply for assistance through Macalester’s Emergency Aid Program. The staff in the Lealtad-Suzuki Center for Social Justice and the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life as well as many departments within Student Affairs are available to offer support. Reminder, if you are concerned about a student’s well-being, please complete . Should you have an emergency or an urgent student matter, please reach out to Public Safety at 651-696-6555.