Five Tips for Beginner University Teachers on How to Create a Safe Space in Higher Education

The video contains my best tips for beginner university teachers regarding creating and maintaining safe spaces in Higher Education. I decided to split it into five points:

1. Establish Ground Rules: Before beginning classes, introduce rules everyone must follow. These should include general expectations (e.g., respect one another, listen to each other, and avoid interrupting) and specific policy reminders (e.g., no hate speech or discrimination). Ensure the class knows what those policies are and why they are essential.

2. Welcome Open Dialogue: Encourage students to engage in meaningful discussions about complex topics without fear of judgment or criticism from their peers or professors. This can be done using various techniques such as back-channeling, summarizing, and checking for understanding throughout class.

3. Respond Immediately to Reports of Hate Speech or Discrimination: If any student reports feeling attacked due to their identity or beliefs, faculty members must act quickly to address it to maintain an environment of respect and acceptance in the classroom community.

4. Utilize Resources: Many universities have various resources available for students dealing with mental health challenges or other identity-related issues, such as LGBT centers and social justice task forces; make sure your students know they exist to better access them while attending college courses.

5. Foster Inclusivity: Remind your students frequently that everyone is respected, accepted, and included regardless of their background or beliefs within the classroom; this will help create an inclusive learning atmosphere where everyone feels heard and comfortable discussing challenging topics openly with one another.

[databang]

I dunno, introducing the notion "safe-space" blurs the line between security against physical harm and giving offense. Also it implies that everywhere else is unsafe and allows for intellectual dishonesty by attempting to infantilize students who need emotional safety from divergent ideas which anyone could label "hate-speech." This stuff might seem good on paper syllabus or in a kindergarten setting, but elsewhere it just seems like a strange expectation of feels-over-reals.