Helping Students See They Matter

In higher education’s current landscape, many thinkers in teaching and learning are arguing that we need to emphasize that college is more than just the acquisition of knowledge and skills.

We want students to recognize the value of learning in community, listening and speaking to the people around them. We want them to feel like they belong, that they have a place in our courses and on our campuses. We want them to develop confidence in their voices, to feel comfortable sharing their unique perspectives with the world.

Philosopher Rebecca Newberger Goldstein has written a new book, The Mattering Instinct: How Our Deepest Longing Drives Us and Divides Us, which offers insights into who we are as humans that point to another goal we should hold for a college education: helping students believe that they matter.

So what does it mean to matter generally, and to matter in a classroom more specifically? And what can college teachers do to instill that sense of mattering in their courses?

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