In the moment of that class I was frightened and worried about my own ability to responsibly facilitate the conflict. In retrospect, I stand in awe of the process, and have gained clarity about the importance of creating safe learning environments that challenge us to engage in conflict with one another and that move us beyond polite political correctness. I am also aware of the need for institutional support in creating these classrooms. It is courageous and creative work. It is the kind of work that initiates all participants into new ways of experiencing ourselves and our worlds.
Initiations require witnesses.
Just as students require a witness to their learning process, a place to speak their experiences, and teachers who reflect their abilities back to them, faculty require an institutional witness. I recently finished teaching this fall's Stories of the Holocaust. At the end of class, as we were reflecting on our experiences with one another, I was struck by a student's comment. Her experience resonated with my own. The journey which began for me in the discovery of my father's story has come to full fruition as I continue to discover myself and the world in our stories.