Dear Members of the Silberman Community,
As our community responds to the devastating attack on Israel and its aftermath, including its effect on Palestinian civilians and other people around the world, our priority is to ensure that faculty, staff, and students have the resources and support they need to navigate a crisis that is not likely to end soon.
We have spent the last few days reaching out to those directly affected by the conflict and offering support.
As a school of social work, we have a long history of mediating conflicts, modeling respectful dialogue and interactions, and aiding and comforting people in need. In the coming weeks, we will likely encounter moments in the classroom, and beyond, that will require us to draw on this expertise and experience. We will be called on to engage in difficult conversations and to bring together a community with strong and disparate views, while supporting our colleagues and students who are personally affected. This is both a teachable moment, and a way to reject attempts to splinter communities, rather than build them.
Below, we have assembled a list of resources to provide support through this challenging time. We ask you to reach out to us to contribute your own ideas, resources, and support.
In this challenging moment, let us harness and engage our core values to remain connected despite differences, to respect each individual’s worth and dignity, despite disagreements, and to have these difficult discussions with integrity.
We are committed to ensuring that our profession’s values are reflected in our teaching, leadership, and community interactions.
Sincerely,
Mary M. Cavanaugh
Dean, Silberman School of Social Work
Hunter College/CUNY
RESOURCES
For students:
Hunter Counseling and Wellness Services
Room 1119B, East Building
695 Park Ave.
New York, NY 10065
212-772-4931
personalcounseling@hunter.cuny.edu
For faculty and staff:
CUNY Work/life
800-833-8707
www.myccaonline.com code CUNY
CCA-YS_Brochure.pdf (cuny.edu)
For the classroom:
The Hunter College ACERT and Center for Online Learning have assembled resources for facilitating difficult conversations in the classroom. These can be found at the Resources for Course Design page and are also listed by topic below:
- Discussing controversial issues in the classroom – recording of ACERT lunchtime seminar
- “Norms of Engagement” handout – handout provided by Michael Lewis
- Leading critical conversations on race, identity, and social equity – recording of ACERT lunchtime seminar
- Classroom Talk for Social Change – book by Melissa Schieble, Amy Vetter, and Kahdeidra Monét Martin
- Critical Talk Moves and Critical Listening Exercise – handouts by Melissa Schieble, Amy Vetter, and Kahdeidra Monét Martin
Additionally, you may want to adapt teaching strategies from the following resources:
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. https://www.ushmm.org/teach/teaching-materials/antisemitism-racism
- Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching; Teaching in Times of Crisis | Center for Teaching | Vanderbilt University
- Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching on Teaching Race; https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/teaching-race/
- Columbia Univ Center for Teaching and Learning on hot moments in the classroom; https://ctl.columbia.edu/resources-and-technology/resources/navigating-hot-moments/