BY SUZANNE A. WHITEHEAD
It has been several months since I first penned my new Academe article, “How Do We Teach Now,” and a year after I created a study at my university with counselor education graduates and students. The article is all about the change in the national administration in Washington, and many of my students’ reactions to the drastic differences in policies, especially regarding DACA/Dreamers, immigrants, and refugees. The article revealed how the counseling students at my university were coping and dealing with their own feelings, while also trying to be there fully for their counselees, families, and friends, many of whom were dealing with their own continual fears and concerns of possible deportation.
With the passage of time, it was a hopeful wish that the administration may begin to soften their hardline approach to many of these difficult issues. Instead, it appears the approach has only been embedded more deeply, and the divisiveness of our nation has been celebrated all the more. As a Counselor Educator, I am privileged to hold open dialogue in my classes with students regarding diversity, equity, access, equality, and social justice. To be sure, we have students in our classes from a wide variety of backgrounds and belief systems who vocalize their opinions and insights openly. But therein belies the difference: students must feel comfortable to share what they believe, support, and advocate, without the fear of recrimination. Making our classrooms a safe place for invigorating discourse is paramount to them realizing that persons can freely disagree, while also being supportive of each other and finding solutions in a democratic society.
I invite the readers of this article to respond to this blog and/or article with your own thoughts, impressions, and insights. As per the great theorist, Dr. Viktor Frankl, of “Man’s Search for Meaning” fame, that is how we each grow incrementally towards our own purpose and meaning in life.
Guest blogger Suzanne A. Whitehead is assistant professor and program coordinator of counselor education at California State University, Stanislaus. A licensed counselor, she has more than forty-four years of experience in the human services professions.
Articles from the current and past issues of Academe are available online. AAUP members receive a subscription to the magazine, available both by mail and as a downloadable PDF, as a benefit of membership.
