The Process of Learning and Triggering Language

In the “Ethics of Trigger Warnings in the Classroom” blog post, I found myself thinking a lot about what students might say during a discussion, rather than the class material itself. A quote from Brittney Cooper states:

“When students of color who have endured racism have to hear racially insensitive comments from other students who are in the process of learning, the classroom is unsafe. The classroom is unsafe for trans students who are often referred to by the wrong gender pronoun by both students and teachers. The classroom is unsafe for rape survivors who encounter students in the process of learning why getting drunk at a party does not mean a woman deserves to be raped.”

I agree that there is no such thing as a safe space, for the very reason that there is no way to truly control what others do or say within a space, nor do I think this level of policing is necessary or helpful. I’ve cringed in classrooms as students have misspoken, sometimes saying something unintentionally problematic, or sometimes making flat out offensive remarks. I’ve also been the person saying what I thought was a well-thought out opinion in class, only to be called out on whatever privilege or internalized prejudice allowed me to think something through in a closed-minded way. The thing is, although these situations are unavoidably awkward and uncomfortable, being on the receiving end of a call out has been where I’ve done some of my best learning, and I like to think that’s true for others as well.

Now, I understand that this opinion comes from a privileged place – I’ve never been triggered in the classroom, or even deeply hurt. I understand that not everyone can say that, and I don’t want to advocate for everyone making blatantly racist remarks, or throwing around transphobic slurs. But I do want to focus on Cooper’s emphasis on these problematic remarks coming from students who are “in the process of learning.” Both inside and outside of the classroom, I’ve witnessed a lot of different reactions to someone saying something unintentionally offensive, and I don’t think any reaction is flat out wrong, per se. I have been on the receiving end of justified anger when I’ve made a misstep, and it has helped me become more self-reflexive, and to either research things well before I come out with a strong opinion, or to just shut up and listen when it's necessary. That being said, intersectional feminism is important to me, so I want to learn as much as possible about how I can unlearn oppressive beliefs and language. For people who are less invested in this, I wonder if being shot down for making a mistake might discourage them from wanting to do better next time. Sometimes, I wonder if knowing the right way to speak about locations of oppression, and always being up to date about what words have become problematic, might be a privilege itself.

I guess what I’m struggling with is how we can foster a classroom setting that allows for students to mess up and learn from it, without completely shutting down conversations. However, I don’t want to make these learning processes more important than the safety of those who have lived through constant microaggressions and straight up violence, and are understandably fed up with having to teach people “How Not to Be an Asshole 101.” I also don’t want us to just stop calling people out because I really do believe that’s an essential part of learning. Am I privileging prejudice with my concern?