But what if
you are a student and you grew up with an alcoholic parent? What if
the your partner beats and threatens you regularly? What if you
are a survivor of rape or systematic abuse? What if the thought of suicide is
crossing your mind regularly?
If we are
not accepting that these kinds of trauma are sure to affect the long term
ability to learn, we are ignoring what may be the single most important reason
why some students cannot function (Chen et al. 2006,
Knox 2010, Basch 2011a, Basch 2011b, Coohey et al. 2011,
Karande and Kuril 2011,
Krishnakumar et al. 2011,
Makrill and Hesse 2011,
Afifi et al. 2012,
Snyder et al. 2013,
Swanston et al. 2013)!
Failing to respond when being exposed to individuals caught in such abuse would
not only be to fail as teachers, but also as human beings.
In January
2013 I participated in the international conference “Higher Education – Higher
Level Learning?” in Tallinn with national and internationally renowned experts
in educational development. There was not one word on the
importance of social issues in affecting learning outcomes. So, not being an expert, I raised the question
myself – several times. In all forums, it was considered important – and that it should be addressed.
At least I
was confirmed that my wonder was justified. But the silence on the matter was
deafening.
In other
institutions, like the military, a stable person is recognized as being of
importance for the success of the mission, unit, and the function of the organ
as a whole. I was once told that the elite forces in Denmark, and elsewhere, are
expected to “clean up” at home before going on a mission. This means that you
go home and solve your private problems: settle arguments, say your goodbyes,
get issues out in the open, discussed, and closed. A person on a military
mission with issues at home is considered unable to function optimally and may
be a serious liability to the whole group.
Young
persons entering the military and academia are about the same age – but it is
not my impression the young adults are helped in academia to address these
imperative skills for success.
I currently
teach veterinary students in Estonia. So, if I look at my classroom of 100 apparently normal students as a
statistical representation of Estonia the group would roughly contain the
following:
- around 17
of the females would have been physically attacked by the person they have chosen
as partner within the last year (Laanpere et al. 2012). The numbers for males being
attacked are unavailable, but likely similar.
- around 4
of the females would have been exposed to sexual violence (rape or attempt of
rape) within the last year (Laanpere et al. 2012). The numbers for males are unavailable.
- as the
European country with most alcohol-related deaths, many of the students would either have experience with alcoholism themselves or in their network (EUROSTAT,
2013).
- With the
second highest age adjusted suicide rate in Europe, at least one is likely to
have considered suicide or know a person in their network that did commit
suicide (Schneider
et al. 2009, EUROSTAT 2013).
- Currently
ranking third place in homicides in Europe, there is also a chance of a person
having lost somebody to violence (EUROSTAT, 2013).
Or in other
words, several of my students are likely to carry some kind of severe trauma
that no human should have to endure. Should I as a teacher be aware of that when
evaluating my student’s performance or just chase the thought out of my head as
somebody else's problem?
Image: triplehelixblog.com
The
problems is, that if it is somebody else’s problem in Estonia, finding that
person who will actually do something is very hard; at least to my personal intensive
experience on the subject. And those persons I have been in contact with have a
very high acceptance towards violence (“that is just how it is”), and a much looser
view on upholding the country’s laws that I used to think were instated to
protect people from harm.
There is a
strong rhetoric from many governments that we need to educate skilled young
people with our educational system. My point is: is that possible without
addressing the crushing social issues openly and actively in an effort to
reshape the culture from its current status of silently accepting abuse? How fragile is your country if you build it on ignoring broken people
and only pay lip service to your laws?
I am sick
and saddened to my core every time I hear about a child witnessing their
parent beat or kill the other, or themselves getting beaten or tortured! I hear some
teachers and social service workers almost casually play it down to a “the child also
have problems at home and have good days and bad days in school”. It has appeared to be impossible to make psychiatrists, psychotherapists
or social services even blink when repeatedly asking if they have considered
domestic violence in such a case (I have personal experience of this).
I was
presented with an interesting viewpoint when writing this article. Perhaps
education is also a welcome escape to persons who carry a trauma! Schools and
university may be a place where they get a feeling of worth to counter a
feeling of less-worth that may be imposed by abusive peers or self-inflicted.
Or, education may be a physical escape option in life from a secret treadmill
of violence. These points may very likely be the case for some individuals. On
the flip-side, then are very tough educations, like the veterinary education I
am involved with. The pressure of high expectations could amount to an
enormous personal stress from both personal and educational life.
TED: Pearl Arredondo: My story, from gangland daughter to star teacher
Improving
on the situation will take decades, perhaps generations – certainly longer if
we do not address this problem openly.
I can
accept that there are finite resources to address the many problems of a country and
specifically education. What I personally cannot accept is the silence that
allows the problems to continue generation after generation and impair personal
development and the society as a whole.
TED: Ken Robinson: How to escape education's death valley
Various traumatic
experiences are a natural part of life whether inflicted or naturally
occurring. Being silent about the life-long trauma students may experience,
such as violence, is also stigmatizing them – even if they are far
from alone with their problems. In such an environment, the survivors have to
endure two types of attackers: the actual person attacking them and those who
cover for the attacker with the silence. In my personal experience, the latter
is the one that I find the hardest to accept.
If you are
a teacher I urge you to be brave enough to talk about the importance of
a stable and violence-free social environment as a perquisite for successful
learning. I hope this can be done without falling into the rhetoric’s of only
accepting conservative family concepts (a good background can be many things)
or accept labeling people as non-fitting as self-explanatory for learning difficulties - which may
cause more damage than good if placing these above the need of the persons in
question.
Good
luck working on your morals and your courage!
More food for thoughts:
