Best Practices
Recognize the incredible value that student veterans bring to your classroom. Veterans arrive on college campuses with a wealth of experiences, knowledge, and skills that should be acknowledged and incorporated into lesson plans and class discussions. Draw on their background of travel, camaraderie, efficiency, and dedication.
Learn about military culture to help ease the transition. Training, communication, writing, instructions, and relationship dynamics in the military are vastly different from those we experience on college campuses. For example, while college students are often encouraged to seek help from resources outside of just the professor (Writing Center, teacher's assistants, etc.), veterans may not always feel comfortable doing so because of a hesitance to step outside of the "chain of command." Learning about military culture from your student veterans as well as doing your own research may help you lead open and honest conversations in your classrooms about these differences, which can also help demystify what it means to be successful in college.
Know that each student veteran is different. Just as traditional students vary in experiences and skill level, so do student veterans. Some vets joined the military straight after high school, while others may have a couple of years of college already completed or earned college credit through their work in the military. Some of your students may still be active-duty. Although it is important to be able to accommodate symptoms of combat-related injuries such as traumatic brain injuries, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, blindness, and amputation, among others, faculty should also recognize that some student veterans may not face these challenges in a way that needs to be addressed in the classroom.
Understand that being a veteran is not someone's only identity. Although many veterans are proud of their service and will acknowledge their veteran status, overemphasizing this may lead to the risk of isolating student veterans who are working to also learn or re-learn what it means to be a college student. Striking a balance between valuing a student veteran's experience without reducing them to only this experience is a tricky but important move to make as an educator.
Practice sensitivity. It's important to understand that some veterans do not feel comfortable talking about their experiences in the military, or even identifying themselves as veterans. Being mindful of this will help to create a safe space for students to share as much as they are ready to. Having politically charged conversations may also cause some discomfort or tension--prefacing potentially emotional discussions with disclaimers and ground rules for disagreeing with others may be helpful.
Also, although working to engage student veterans with relevant material is a wonderful goal, it is important to be mindful when choosing intense or raw texts that might trigger symptoms of PTSD. If you would like to include texts that you feel are critical to your course but may contain touchy subject matters, present the material in a way that allows students to prepare themselves and even opt out with an alternative assignment if necessary. Using the phrase "Trigger Warning" orally and in writing can prepare students for texts or audio/visual clips that may trigger trauma.
Here are some other tips for maintaining sensitivity when speaking with student vets.
Use existing resources on your campus. If your campus does have a veterans' coordinator and/or a certifying official, get to know them and see if you can receive any tips on working with student vets. Many campuses have at least one knowledgeable or experienced staff member on the counseling or disability support services team who may also be able to provide informal or formal training on best practices in working with student vets.
Keep an eye out for symptoms of TBIs and PTSD, but know that you don't have to be an expert in accommodating students who struggle with either or both, only that you can reach out to those who specialize in those areas for support.