Today (wed) was our second class back since the shooting.
We did not talk about the shooting. But I could tell somehow that my students were a lot worse for wear today than they were on Monday. I couldn’t put my finger on anything specific, but I had a palpable sense that they were struggling today.
a few of them seemed more tired than they usually do. A few of them just kind of looked disheveled. This is not uncommon for an 8 am class, but there was a vibe in the air, strong enough for me to pick up on. When I looked at one of my students, I felt sure that he/she had been up all night crying. I don’t know why I should think this exactly. I might be mistaken. Still, something was definitely wrong.
I think this is normal after a trauma. I had a feeling that they were putting up a bit of a front on Monday. But I will have to keep my eyes open in the days to come.
I should also point out that they were pretty well focused and put up with a somewhat boring lecture and group exercise on bibliographic entries.
