43 Responding to student disclosures
How did/would you (help your TAs to) respond to disclosures from students about sexual violence, food/housing insecurity, etc.?
ES: Unfortunately, many of my students were dealing with quite a few personal issues during our time together. I received disclosures about homelessness, sexual assault, sick and dying parents, medication switches — the list goes on. I treated these disclosures as I would if a friend reached out: empathy, concern about their wellbeing, and asking what I could do to help. Students are very aware of what help they require, but I also offered suggestions, such as extensions, rejigged assignment weights, and links to the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office. Overall, I am happy and proud to say that almost all of my students experiencing major life events finished the course with good grades, but that required a lot of flexibility and empathy on my part.
BF: I don’t remember mentioning this specifically in our first TA meeting, although I hope that I made it clear they were welcome to come to me if they had concerns about students in their tutorials. See my answer below for some further context.