At our back-to-school webinar, HEP authors Ed Brockenbrough, Dorothy L. Espelage, and Charol Shakeshaft discussed what teachers and parents can do to promote and protect the well-being of students. They delved into research from their respective books—Learning While Black and Queer, Feeling Safe in School, and Organizational Betrayal—and provided guidance on what to watch out for as the new school year begins.
“Student safety is safe boundaries between adults and students that are never crossed,” stated Shakeshaft. “Students [should never] have to feel that there’s some misunderstanding or something they don’t know how to deal with.”
“As we started talking to students in the last ten years, they feel that physical safety is important…but what they were very clear about is that there is very little attention [being paid] to their emotional safety,” added Espelage.
“One of the things that my book brings up is that some groups actually have not been protected from [physical harm] as effectively as others,” said Brockenbrough. “A big challenge for adults is to learn how to listen and to create space where young people’s voices are coming to the fore.”
Watch the webinar recording below, and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel here.