So I read an excellent article in APS News today by Julie Libarkin, someone that I met during my time at MSU. This article is entitled, Yes, Sexual Harassment Still Drives Women out of Physics. This is an article that physicists need to keep reading as long as the field is so significantly out of demographic balance.

But I was left wanting. Don’t get me wrong, the case laid out is strong. There are lots of statistics supporting that case. The sample surveyed in the study being discussed is 5-10% of the population. But this is a lesson that I’ve learned. I don’t need to be convinced, and I know that I have colleagues in the same place. I need some combination of marching orders and best practices for discussing this issue with my class and ensuring my classroom and department are a healthy place for all students.

You see, this past semester, I was blindsided a bit with an issue in my classroom this semester. I found out that one of my students had been asked out on a date by another student–another member of her group–routinely. I didn’t find out about it until there was an outburst in class. When I realized what was going on, I was upset and angry, not just with the student who couldn’t tell the difference between the county social and a physics classroom, but also with myself. I can’t control my students, but dammit, I want them to be safe in my classroom! And I couldn’t do anything to stop this. I mean, 70% of female physicists experience sexual harassment. The harassment that makes headlines is perpetrated by my peers. But some of that harassment happens in the classroom, and, apparently, my classroom. I did my best once I knew what was going on, and, I would hope that I took action that made this student feel safe in my classroom again. But it was 10 or 12 weeks too late.

I’m thinking about ways I can be more proactive about supporting all students in my classroom and better scaffolding the learning environment that I create in my classroom. I wonder if some of the work Moses Rifkin has done about talking about social justice in his physics classroom and discussing bias in our field. As he states:

As science teachers, we have to take an active role in undoing the bias in our society. Don’t be afraid to try, and don’t wait until you know exactly what to do. Start a conversation, incorporate feedback to improve it the next time, and let me know how it goes.

Maybe it’s time for me to pay closer attention to this important aspect of physics in my own classroom.