Dr. Kate Rowbotham
Adjunct Assistant Professor
she/her
Dr. Rowbotham is able to create safe spaces for students to express themselves without having to fear judgement or criticism. She handles situations with a lot of grace and care. She understands the pressure and stress of students. She listens and makes every one of her students feel heard.
Dr. Rowbotham is relatable, compassionate, understanding, caring, fair, and overall amazing.
Anonymous Students
As someone who has struggled with mental health challenges, defining mental health can be tough. For me, mental health speaks to my capacity to be able to handle whatever is going on - sometimes I'm really on top of it and other times not so much. A big part of my mental health comes from reaching out to others for support, whether that's to family, friends, or mental health professionals.
I think my students can best speak to how I support student mental health, but here are a few things I can offer. First, I see teaching as an act of love, drawing on bell hooks' idea of love as a combination of care, commitment, knowledge, responsibility, respect, and trust. I talk to students about trust, compassion, and flexibility, and demonstrate how these principles foster excellence in the classroom by giving students opportunities to build their own capacity for handling what's going on around them. Next, I also draw heavily on a Pedagogy of Peace, as articulated by Lindsay Brant, my friend, co-teacher, and Queen's Educational Developer, Indigenous Pedagogies and Ways of Knowing. Adopting a pedagogy of peace means focusing on supporting learners with integrity and loving-kindness through different educational frameworks and techniques. Finally, I talk to my students about my own mental health and the challenges I've faced, as a way to address some of the stigma around mental health conversations. It's tough for me to talk about but I know that sharing my experiences, particularly how I got help as a Queen's undergrad, has encouraged some of my students to seek help themselves.
--- Dr. Kate Rowbotham