Creating More Caring University Classrooms

In March 2017, Kim Samuel joined top thought leaders at a meeting convened by the Brookings Center for Universal Education to explore “meaningful education in times of uncertainty”. In this outcome article, “Creating more caring university classrooms,” Kim draws on her experience teaching at McGill to make the case for why caring classroom principles must be applied at the post-secondary level, not only the primary and secondary levels. 

Citing recent studies in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, Kim notes how university students are increasingly reporting feelings of loneliness and anxiety. This is why she designed a university course that she never experienced as a student herself. As she explains, her goal was to foster a sense of community within the classroom that ultimately would transcend it, where every student would feel secure, and no one would feel alone.