Boundaries, Self-Care, and Empathy - Building an Empathic Teaching Survival Kit

Oct 15, 2026

Boundaries, self-care, and empathy frame a proposal for writing programs to better support Gen Z students, graduate teaching assistants, and instructors facing rising mental health concerns. The article analyzes how anxiety and depression intensify under modern campus conditions and argues that empathic responses should guide teaching and professional development. It proposes creating empathic “survival kits” inspired by Sara Ahmed to foster compassionate pedagogical practices and healthy boundaries without draining teaching staff.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

A Pedagogy of Empathy

Boundaries, Self-Care, and Empathy: Building an Empathic Teaching Survival Kit Kimberly D. Thompson, Zachary T. Singletary, Tracy Ann Morse, and Abigail L. Morris We have observed a change in students, graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), and instructors as more Gen Z members enter the university. Many are facing mental health issues and sharing about them in ways prior students, GTAs, and instructors did not. Knowing in general that Gen Z students have more anxiety and depression, we argue that empathic responses should inform our work in program administrating and teaching (Parker and Igielnik) . While academic conversations have explored empathy at global and local levels, such as making empathy in writing program administration and in writing classrooms more transparent, many writing instructors and administrators may face challenges envisioning a teaching praxis grounded in empathy. In exploring three spaces—professional development, classroom, and administration—with a reflective lens, we assert that writing programs can help develop empathic versions of Sara Ahmed’s “feminist killjoy survival kit” (Living a Feminist Life) to help writing instructors find more compassionate paths of survival inside and outside classrooms. The creation of such toolkits can improve writing instructors’ and administrators’ abilities to foster pedagogical practices that encourage empathy, selfcare, and healthy boundaries in a larger culture of anxiety and depression without depleting students, GTAs, and instructors. Introduction Over the last few years, we have observed a change in students, graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), and instructors. As more Gen Z members (people born after 1996) enter the university, many are facing mental health issues and concerns and sharing about them in ways prior generations did not. In Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt point to several factors that may be contributing in different ways to what they call a “culture of safetyism” and fragility when students face perceived opposition and demands for multitasking (125) . One of these factors is the increased rate of anxiety and depression in Gen Z (Parker and Igielnik) . Lukianoff and Haidt reference a “2016 report by the Center for Collegiate Mental Health, using data from 139 colleges, [that found] by the 2015-2016 school year, Composition Studies 50.2 (2022): 34–52 half of all students surveyed reported having attended counseling for mental health concerns, especially increasing rates of anxiety and depression” (156) . The pandemic only exacerbated some of these issues and made them more apparent. In addition, time spent on social media has been cited to contribute to this anxiety and depression in Gen Z students (see Parker and Igielnik) . In“Gen Z More Likely to Report Mental Health Concerns,” Sophie Bethune reports that Gen Z is collectively more anxious about social issues (e.g., illtreatment of immigrants and migrant families and sexual harassment and assault) and self-report having poor mental health and seek professional help at higher rates than other generations. In addition to Gen Z students, GTAs, and instructors, new and established writing instructors of various generations (particularly contingent faculty) are experiencing an increase of mental health concerns—including empathy burnout—because of our current context. In “Don’t Blame the Pandemic for Worker Discontent,” Kevin McClure reminds readers that “burnout, demoralization, and disengagement aren’t really about individuals waking up one day and feeling depleted”; rather, such conditions speak to “individuals interacting with our organizations and experiencing unfair treatment, excessive workloads, chronic stress, inadequate resources, and threats to physical and social safety.”Contingent faculty often must make physiological and psychological sacrifices, necessities ne

FAQs

Why does the article emphasize empathy for writing instruction and program administration?

It argues that more students, GTAs, and instructors—especially Gen Z—face mental health issues and share concerns in ways prior generations did not, making empathic responses necessary to shape teaching and professional development.

What factors does the article cite as contributors to increased anxiety and depression in Gen Z?

It references scholarship describing a “culture of safetyism,” an increased rate of anxiety and depression, counseling trends reported in a 2016 collegiate mental health report, and the role of social media.

How does the proposed “empathic survival kit” connect to boundaries and self-care?

The article calls for writing programs to help instructors adopt empathic “survival kit” practices that encourage empathy, self-care, and healthy boundaries, aiming to support everyone during periods of acute stress without depletion.

Oct 15, 2026

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