Trauma-Informed Teaching during and beyond COVID-19

The current pandemic has caused us(educators) and students to respond to COVID-19 with stress and anxiety. Amid uncertainty and confusion, we are continuing to teach with the hope that students will continue to learn from us, sweeping the troubles of COVID-19 such as health disparity, unemployment, xenophobia under the carpet. As the days goes by, it is not hard to not notice that students are struggling to cope, there is a sense of hopelessness, panic attack and some admit suffering from insomnia. We can somewhat relate to these experiences ourselves as adults and wonder how students who are barely 21 are coping? As educators as much as we want our students to learn, we need to think of ways on how we can teach students better as well, now more than ever. Past research highlights that educators could cause unintentional re-traumatization, secondary traumatization, or new traumatization if they are not mindful in their service to students. This piece is written as a result to not only create awareness among educators and universities “to stop harming” but to elevate our care and support with the help of Trauma-Informed Pedagogy as an essential checklist to provide hope to our students during this difficult chapter of their lives.