Have you ever thought of violence impacting learning?
We (people from many different organizations) made a website about this because people often feel they are stupid, can’t learn, or are told they are lazy, have learning disabilities, or mental health problems – and feel isolated and alone. It is not easy to talk about something we think will show us as stupid or crazy!
But when we know that past or present experiences of violence are getting in the way of our learning, or the learning of people we are trying to teach, it can make a huge difference. We can make it ordinary – something we can talk about – and try out great strategies to make learning easier…
It seems so obvious – experiences of violence impact learning. Of course they do – violence likely impacts everything in life.
But what does that mean for all the learning we (or those we work with) want to do? Are we scared to take on courses? Do we take courses and feel stupid? Are we disconnected from our bodies? Do we have trouble taking good care of our health?
Take a look at the IMPACT section of learningandviolence.net to see more about what those impacts may look like….
And don’t forget there are many forms of violence – whatever you think might be included as “violence” is. Racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, and so many other systemic forms of violence layer up with other individual experiences to have a harsh impact.
Check out how many different forms of violence there are – they can all leave us feeling on the outside – unable to learn.
But most important check out how you can help yourself learn or support someone else to learn
There is even a whole student kit where we can explore many ways violence impacts learning and find out what we can do to learn with more ease and success.
You or someone you know can get on the road to learning once you know what has been getting in the way….
This is just a start. There are many other places to explore and lots more materials we need to add to the site to make it work better on mobile devices, to make sure that we include men’s experiences, support educators in every setting, and learners of any age…..
Unfortunately we haven’t yet been able to find funding to edit and update the site so you may find some areas where links have gone dead or are directing you to somewhere obviously wrong. If that happens many apologies.
We are still hoping to update and add to the site. What would you hope we take on first?
Add your suggestions below…