Trigger warnings are highly controversial and the debate whether they should be used or not is up in the air. The term “trigger warning” has come to refer to introductory statements on web postings of graphic descriptions of rape, eating disorders and self-harm. They are used to alert readers who may be struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder related to those topics so that they can choose whether to continue reading. The purpose of using a trigger warning in the classroom is to let students know that the material that their professors have assigned may cause physiological or psychological reactions as a result of past traumas. The debate over trigger warnings is not a simple black and white answer. There are many angles to how this …show more content…
She states that professors who let students dictate what they teach are cowards. She goes on to say that she lectures what she wants and if they have a problem with the material being discussed then they can miss that day. This author is very persuasive in her writing style, but there is one significant flaw in her article. Because she has tenure, she is nearly impossible to fire. This diminishes her credibility because she is in a completely different boat from the original article. Schlosser does not have tenure so he is much more likely to be …show more content…
I think that we should not just completely get rid of trigger warnings or have trigger warnings on every single article ever written. I think there needs to be a good balance between the two. Trigger warnings also raise an important question. Do trigger warnings actually work? Is there enough evidence to show that trigger warning actually help PTSD victims and rape victims? I tried searching the internet for any evidence if trigger warnings help I think that they should be mainly used in colleges in universities where there is a discussion about rape or
In Kate Manne’s article “Why I Use Trigger Warnings”, she argues that trigger warnings are an important feature to incorporate in an educator’s curriculum, but not as a safety cushion for millennials to fall on to avoid work and serious or uncomfortable topics. Using PTSD studies along with failed tests of exposure therapy for the foundation of her points, she explains that trigger warnings can help mentally prepare a student for what they are about to read instead of blindsiding them and throwing them into a potentially anxiety-induced state where they can’t focus. Manne also brings up how people can react when reading political or religious material in comparison towards reading possibly triggering material in order to differentiate between
The authors of “Coddling of the American Mind,” Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, use ethos, logos, and pathos convey their negative stance regarding trigger warnings and the effect they on education. Lukianoff and Haidt’s use of rhetorical appeal throughout the article adds to the author’s credibility and the strength of the argument against increasing the use of trigger warnings in school material. The authors, Lukianoff and Haidt, rely heavily upon the use of logos, such as relations between conflicts surrounding trigger warnings and other historical conflicts impacting student ethics. Examples of the use of these logical appeals are the relation between the Columbine Massacre and the younger generations ideology. The author goes on to mention other societal turning points such
Essentially students were afraid that the professor would irrevocably confirm their academic inadequacy.” She was speaking upon professors who have an “I am better than everyone” attitude. Students feel as if they cannot reach out for help because they will feel unintelligent. Students fear they are not meeting with the teachers wants for turning in assignments and as if their work is not good enough, feeling almost too embarrassed to submit assignments. They feel looked down upon by professors and are scared to speak up or ask questions about assignments. So instead they fall between the cracks and struggle their way through college. I was able to relate to that statement because there have been moments in college where I have had a fear to ask a teacher questions. A fear that they will tell me “I explained that topic in class already.” or “Were you not paying attention during the lecture?” I have heard teachers answer students with those exact words therefore I never wanted to ask questions about anything if I really did not understand the material. That alone can make a student feel as if they do not want to be a bother to the professor. A students own fear is what continuously inhibits them from college
They should start discussions about rape and sexist cases because it’s going on in today’s society and for people to know it’s okay to talk about it if it ever happened to them. Colleges need to prepare students for the real word so they need to have real life discussions in class for the students that are growing up and entering the workforce. College campuses are going through the mircoagression theory and professors fear to talk about trigger warnings in class when both students and professors should have freedom of speech in classrooms. “One of my biggest concerns about trigger warnings,” Roff wrote, “is that they will apply not just to those who have experienced trauma, but to all students, creating an atmosphere in which they are encouraged to believe that there is something dangerous or damaging about discussing difficult aspects of our history.” (49). Professors try to avoid teaching material that will upset sensitive students, but instead they should start warning students about the materials they are going to teach and set boundaries so students can know what they are about to learn to prevent teachers from getting in trouble or risk getting fired from their
Teachers become afraid to challenges students values and beliefs, also creating a repressive area for debates. The article “On Trigger Warnings” by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) states that “the presumption that need to be protected rather than challenged in a classroom is at once infantilizing and anti-intellectual”. Demanding trigger warnings make comfort more of a priority than learning. Faculty may feel like they need to warn students about the course material because some students might find it disconcerting, but the voluntary use of trigger warnings on syllabus could be counterproductive. Just because some material may cause one person to have trauma does not mean everyone will and by putting a trigger warning on the syllabus might cause others to expect something upsetting. This could cause students to not read assignments or it might provoke a response from students they otherwise would not have had. Trigger warnings also signal an expected response and discourage the reading experience and even eliminate spontaneity. Trigger warnings make students into victims and makes both teachers and students fearful to ask questions because it might make someone uncomfortable. The goal is to educate and challenge students, make students question things and debate on things that they normally do not think about. AAUP also says that “the call for trigger warnings comes
According to The Coddling of the American Mind, trigger warnings and microaggressions confine professors’ and well-educated adults’ unalienable right of speech; furthermore, they can impact one’s health. Protecting rights have a unison consensus; the authors unite them and the audience together to persuade the well-educated adults to protest the use of trigger warnings and microaggressions. While concluding that vindictive protectiveness is the reason for trigger warnings and microaggressions Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt state, “A campus culture devoted to policing speech and punishing speakers is likely to engender patterns of thought that are surprisingly similar to those long identified by cognitive behavioral therapists as causes of depression and anxiety.” (45) The word “policing” holds a negative connotation implying regulation, and no one wants their first amendment right of free speech stolen from them. Also the idea that trigger warnings and microaggressions may lead to depression and anxiety gives more logical reasoning to end trigger warnings and microaggressions in higher level education. When the authors specify the change that colleges should make, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt write their idea of the purpose of college, “Rather than
...ssibly help more than harm. Experience has taught me that when a child walks in fear of expressing their feelings they bottle up all of their emotions; simply because they’re afraid of the consequences. Teaching children to appropriately use and appreciate violent media will help them build confidence, “power, and selfhood.” (Jones 287) He successfully executes the use of rhetorical methods and offers solutions to the opposing viewpoint. Jones’ consistent use logical and emotional appeal entices the reader and effectively persuades; this clearly substantiates his deserving of the top persuasiveness prize.
In the article The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, the authors go into great detail of describing the effects of trigger warnings. Using real world examples, Lukianoff and Haidt describes how college students are oversensitive and carried along the school year. The authors explain how this is a negative thing for the college students going into the work force in the future.
Trigger warnings? Some may say necessary while others think of it as people being weak. Imagine sitting in a class and the topic at hand is the war. The professor without giving any warning decides to show a video of the gruesome war. Little did they know in their class sits a student who has just returned from the war and wanted to push their life forward. By not giving this warning, the student freaked out and caused a whole disruption. They managed to calm him down and tired to continue the lesson. Now would you be comfortable to continue the lesson after a huge disruption, or do you think that even a little warning in the beginning of class could have prevented this? Trigger warnings help even in the smallest ways. Trigger warnings are
The prevalence of trauma of all types is widespread throughout much of the world and includes trauma from accident, child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, political conflict, war, or other human struggles. The many faces of bullying, hatred, economic insecurity and oppression (racism, sexism) leave a steady stream of survivors carrying the burdens of fear, anxiety, rage, and physical illness.
Schoedel III, R. C. (2012). Morse v. Frederick: Tinkering with School Speech: Can Five Years of Inconsistent Interpretation Yield a Hybrid Content-Effects-Based Approach to School Speech as a Tool for the Prevention of School Violence?. Brigham Young University Law Review, 2012(5), 1633-1664. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.wnc.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=85445691&login.asp&site=ehost-live&scope=site
The aforementioned are example of student trauma, that can lead to further bad behavior and many harshly repeated reprimands targeted toward so-called problem students, for minor infractions that use mean a visit to the principal’s office or staying after
Rape can be seen anywhere in our culture. Not only in media, such as television or social networks, but in everyday conversation. The phrase, “That test raped me” gets thrown around at the drop of a hat (4a). Countless internet memes are made at the expense of women s...
The introduction gave an appreciable background information of the topic, in terms of defining terms. However, the grabber wasn’t completely effective in catching the reader’s attention. The writer could have used a shocking statistical fact like the one stated in paragraph 2 rather than simply defining the term bullying. Furthermore, a transition sentence is needed to link the grabber to the thesis statement. The grabber defines bullying then specifically cyberbullying; the thesis, however, spoke about cyberbullying in today’s society among teenagers. A sentence connecting Teenagers in today’s society to cyberbullying would have been useful before the thesis statement. The thesis statement is a single declarative sentence that states the topic
Psychological Trauma can alter, destroy and create a lot of bad impacts in a person’s life. The main definition of psychological trauma is the results of unique individual experience of an unusually event that invaded a person’s sense of security and safety, making he or she feels helpless and at risk of dangerous situation, and the ability to assimilate his or her emotional experience is overwhelmed at certain situation. (Lawrence Robinson, 2011)