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"A Glimpse of the Classroom Light"
Co-hosted by Audrey Peng & Ryan Li - Shanghai Starriver Bilingual School

Our Story

As a victim of classroom traumas caused by abusive teachers, I know how my fellow classmates also experienced bullying from teachers, especially in Chinese public schools. Granted, sorrow can be a blade. It once tortured me and broke me apart. But in this secure community, we support each other in recovering from traumas and becoming better people. Here, we use the blade of sorrow to stand up to violence and stop punishing ourselves for other people’s meanness. I now wield it as a powerful weapon to fight against injustice.

The “Glimpse” Initiative

In facilitating awareness towards the occurrences of "classroom trauma", the "Glimpse" Initiative is implemented on a tripartite model:

Story Collection

Writing is one of the best of personal catharsis, and sharing the trauma is the first step to recovering from it. We interviewed people around us who have experienced classroom trauma and encouraged them to write down their stories. We hope in the safe “Glimpse” community, people can feel supported so that they can have the courage to embrace their vulnerability and confront the trauma.

Badge of Healing

We’ll give each person who shares their experiences two colorful badges that show a fractured mirror behind representing people’s broken hearts, which can be comforted by the healing eucalyptus plant in the middle. With the eucalyptus plant, the broken mirrors become stained glass that, showing how we create beautiful rainbow tapestries when the light of hope is behind us. Each author can keep one badge as a souvenir and provide the other pin to people who need to be “lightened.”

Proactive encouragement

One cause of classroom traumas is the unequal distribution of power in classrooms. Usually, only students receive comments from teachers. However, the ideal classroom atmosphere should be on the grounds of mutual respect and understanding. Therefore, we encourage students to give comments to praise the good teachers they encountered. This not only let students know their strength but also reinforce empathy-based education.

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