+
upworthy
Education & Information

English professor's message to her students exemplifies the grace we need in these times

English professor's message to her students exemplifies the grace we need in these times
Photo by Jeswin Thomas on Unsplash
smiling woman in gray hoodie beside smiling boy in blue and red jacket

After a year and a half of a global pandemic and domestic upheaval, most of us are feeling some variation of tired, fried, exhausted and generally done with everything. We've been swimming through choppy and uncharted waters, and even strong swimmers need a life jacket under such conditions.

We can all use an extra measure of grace and understanding as we navigate these waters, which is why this email from a professor to her English 101 class is so dang heartwarming. This message went out to students the day after their first essay was due, with the subject line, "You need a break today."

Here's what it said:

"All,

The pandemic is kicking everyone's ass. Can I say that? I don't know, but I did.






woman writing on dry erase board Photo by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

This is just a reminder, based on several guilty-sounding student emails, that you can turn anything in late during the pandemic for no penalty. Yes, you absolutely can do all late work for no penalty by December 7.

Even late responses in discussions can be done, but for those, you must also email me the exact date of the assignment where you did late responses, and know that I will get to those points eventually, but they are lowest priority so it may be awhile.

Use this permission to help yourself, not hang yourself. Try not to get too far behind. That said, I did have one person finish the whole course in a couple of weeks at the end once. I do not recommend that, but I want to give you space and ease today when you need it. I recommend prioritizing your other hard-deadline classes when necessary. You will not offend me. I do recommend caring for yourself when depressed or ill. I recommend earning enough to eat and keep shelter and I recommend caring for your kids.

And then just keep plugging away at our assignments. I repeat, you will not offend me.

In addition, I am posting in each shell today some Optional Replacement assignments. These are part of an effort to be more neurodiversity-friendly in my class. This is to say, our brains are good at different kinds of skills. Some of you might not like Essay Two or Essay Three.

You still have to do all the 5, 10, and 20-point assignments in our course. You still have to read everything and engage in discussions. You have to push yourself toward new skills that much.

But if your brain finds Essay Two or Essay Three "not right," I am posting two optional replacement 100-point essay assignments at the bottom of our course shell for you. I am always building new assignments for my classes, and these are two I am just sketching out. You can take a look at them if Essay Two or Essay Three gives you trouble.

Have a great day! You can do this!"


man and woman sitting on chairs Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

The student who shared the email with me says it was a huge relief to get such a message of support and understanding, especially during the pandemic when so many people's lives have been derailed. "It felt like she cared," the student said.

Students respond well when they know a teacher cares about them as human beings and not just temporary names on a class list. What's beautiful about the professor's message is that she's clear about having expectations of students—it's not like she said it doesn't matter if students do their work. She simply gave them options to work on their own timeline and provided choices for certain assignments so they can learn however they learn best. This gift of empathy and understanding will likely go farther than a hard-nosed approach in gaining students' respect.

And look at the valuable lessons being taught just in this one email: Your well-being matters. Your unique needs are recognized and honored. Authority doesn't have to be rigid or uncompromising. There is more than one way to do things. Standards and expectations can be balanced with kindness and understanding. As human beings, we take care of one another.

These are wild and wearying times. Kudos to this professor for offering her students some much-needed, well-balanced grace and encouragement. Here's hoping some of it comes back her way as well.

The gaze of the approving Boomer.

Over the past few years, Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964) have been getting a lot of grief from the generations that came after them, Gen X (1965 to 1980), Millenials (1981 to 1996), and now, Gen Z (1997 to 2012). Their grievances include environmental destruction, wealth hoarding, political polarization, and being judgemental when they don’t understand how hard it is for younger people to make it in America these days.

Every Baby Boomer is different, so it's wrong to paint them all with a broad brush. But it’s undeniable that each generation shares common values, and some are bound to come into conflict.

However, life in 2023 isn’t without its annoyances. Many that came about after the technological revolution put a phone in everyone’s hands and brought a whole new host of problems. Add the younger generations' hands-on approach to child rearing and penchant for outrage, and a lot of moden life has become insufferanble.

Keep ReadingShow less

Klein Kwagga understood the assignment at his sister's concert.

Some kids are too shy to ever want to get on a stage, some will spend most of a performance staring awkwardly at their shoes, and some kids love the opportunity to show off what they've practiced in front of an audience.

And then there are the kids were simply born for the spotlight. You know them when you see them.

When Dirkco Jansen van Nieuwenhuizen hopped on stage with all of the other brothers and sisters of the dance students at René’s Art of Dance in South Africa, no one expected a viral sensation. According to Capetown Etc, it was the school's year-end concert, and siblings were invited to come up and dance to Bernice West’s Lyfie—a popular song in Afrikaans. And Dirkco, who goes by Klein Kwagga, took the assignment and ran with it.

Keep ReadingShow less
True

After over a thousand years of peaceful relations, European semi-superpowers Sweden and Switzerland may finally address a lingering issue between the two nations. But the problem isn’t either country’s fault. The point is that the rest of the world can’t tell them apart. They simply don’t know their kroppkakor (Swedish potato dumpling) from their birchermüesli (a Swiss breakfast dish).

This confusion on the European continent has played out in countless ways.

Swedish people who move to the United States often complain of being introduced as Swiss. The New York Stock Exchange has fallen victim to the confusion, and a French hockey team once greeted their Swiss opponents, SC Bern, by playing the Swedish National Anthem and raising the Swedish flag.

Skämtar du med mig? (“Are you kidding me?” in Swedish)

Keep ReadingShow less
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

People share the most practical ways to support new parents

There's a lot of preparation that goes into having a child well before they're even born. First there are the physical changes your body makes to clear up some space for a tiny human roughly the size of a watermelon. Then there's preparing the nursery, buying lots of extremely small clothes, diapers and an expected understanding that while sleep may be your friend, you won't be getting any of it for about a year.

Lots of people give plenty of advice to help you cope in the early days but after the baby arrives, the focus shifts to solely the baby. It's obviously not a deliberate shift. Babies are just more shiny and new that the parents. But not everyone forgets about the parents once baby makes their grand entrance–some go out of their way to make sure the parents feel supported.

Upworthy asked its audience, "what was the best non-baby related gift you received as a new parent," and the answers were a masterclass on how to care for new parents.

Keep ReadingShow less
Family

A mom seeks doctor's help for postpartum depression and instead gets a visit from the cops

Too many women lose out on much needed support because of unwarranted stigma.

Canva

Postpartum depression is very common, and treatable.

Jessica Porten recently visited her doctor four months after giving birth to her daughter, Kira. She wasn't feeling quite like herself.

She had been dealing with overwhelming sadness and fits of anger, which she knew was likely stemming from a case of postpartum depression.

In a Facebook post, Porten recounts the story of that appointment.

Keep ReadingShow less
Identity

Formerly enslaved man's response to his 'master' wanting him back is a literary masterpiece

"I would rather stay here and starve — and die, if it come to that — than have my girls brought to shame by the violence and wickedness of their young masters."

A photo of Jordan Anderson.

In 1825, at the approximate age of 8, Jordan Anderson (sometimes spelled "Jordon") was sold into slavery and would live as a servant of the Anderson family for 39 years. In 1864, the Union Army camped out on the Anderson plantation and he and his wife, Amanda, were liberated. The couple eventually made it safely to Dayton, Ohio, where, in July 1865, Jordan received a letter from his former owner, Colonel P.H. Anderson. The letter kindly asked Jordan to return to work on the plantation because it had fallen into disarray during the war.

On Aug. 7, 1865, Jordan dictated his response through his new boss, Valentine Winters, and it was published in the Cincinnati Commercial. The letter, entitled "Letter from a Freedman to His Old Master," was not only hilarious, but it showed compassion, defiance, and dignity. That year, the letter would be republished in theNew York Daily Tribune and Lydia Marie Child's "The Freedman's Book."

The letter mentions a "Miss Mary" (Col. Anderson's Wife), "Martha" (Col. Anderson's daughter), Henry (most likely Col. Anderson's son), and George Carter (a local carpenter).

Dayton, Ohio,
August 7, 1865
To My Old Master, Colonel P.H. Anderson, Big Spring, Tennessee

Keep ReadingShow less