HW for 9/20
TASK ONE
Original:
Dweck describes her idea of a fixed mindset as students that when faced with problems that are challenging, just give up or look for shortcuts. “They run from the error. They don’t engage with it”. These people are similar to the oversensitive students. Instead of hearing words and topics that are uncomfortable and possibly triggering, they would prefer to hide from the topics altogether. People with a growth mindset when encountering a problem “engage deeply. They process the error. They learn from it and they correct it.”(Cite appropriately) Universities should try to foster communities instead that promotes having a growth mindset. They could teach students how to deal with hearing something offensive, and learning that the world is full of many offenses that they cannot control. Having a growth mindset is about overcoming obstacles, and not quitting. Universities should stop promoting the use of trigger warnings in classrooms, because they impede the learning process. “The presumption that students need to be protected rather than challenged in a classroom is at once infantilizing and anti-intellectual,” (American Association of University Professors). Although this doesn’t mean campuses should be devoid of safe and comfortable environments.
Revised:
Universities should stop promoting or requiring the use of trigger warnings in classrooms, because they impede the learning process. “Trigger warnings are alerts that professors are expected to issue if something in a course might cause a strong emotional response” (Lukianoff and Haidt 3). Students are demanding for the requirement of trigger warnings, and are becoming outraged if offensive material is brought up without a previous trigger warning. Outraged students have made complaints to deans about professors who are using offensive material, “with or without warnings,” (Lukianoff and Haidt 19). In a report from the American Association of University Professors’ they discussed the reason to dismiss the use trigger warnings, “The presumption that students need to be protected rather than challenged in a classroom is at once infantilizing and anti-intellectual,” (qtd. In Lukianoff and Haidt 26). Demanding trigger warnings can damage the intellectual relationship that the professor can have with the students because they need to worry about getting in trouble. The constant worry about if certain topics are socially allowed to be talked about in class is not beneficial. Sensitive students have created a hostile, anxious environment where other students and professors do not feel safe to have open discussions in the classroom without repercussions. As one current college professor wrote, “I’m a Liberal Professor, and My Liberal Students Terrify Me,” (Lukianoff and Haidt 2). Although while trigger warnings should not be mandatory this doesn’t mean campuses should be completely devoid of safe or nurturing environments.
Explanation: In the original paragraph I wrote about how students relying on trigger warnings was a clear example of a fixed mindset. Although I decided to take that entire part out of the old paragraph and write another new paragraph describing the problem of trigger warnings in greater detail. I wanted to do this to give the reader a clear example of how a fixed mindset can be detrimental to success.
#2 Original:
Developing the most productive students that are prepared to succeed outside of higher education depends on their mindset and the school itself. In “The Coddling of the American Mind”, Lukianoff and Haidt explain that many students today on college campuses are being protected from words and ideas that might be viewed as offensive or cause discomfort. They suggest that the unwillingness from students to think outside their comfort zones may be detrimental to their future success in life. The universities themselves are policing students’ speech very closely, and making people nervous to express ideas in case they are deemed as offensive. The authors claim that this affects students because it “prepares them poorly for professional life, which often demands intellectual engagement with people and ideas one might find uncongenial or wrong.” Creating a culture where speech must be monitored and topics must be banned is only going to hurt students when they eventually leave college. A possible solution to this problem could be an idea presented by Carol Dweck in her speech, “The Power of Believing that you can Improve”. Dweck explains that students who are successful and resilient have what she calls a growth mindset. Having a growth mindset is about overcoming obstacles, and not quitting. People with a growth mindset when encountering a problem “engage deeply. They process the error. They learn from it and they correct it.” Universities should try to foster communities that promote having a growth mindset by teaching students how to deal with hearing something offensive, and learning that the world is full of many offenses. This kind of mindset would better prepare them for professional life outside of college.
Revised:
Developing the most productive students that are prepared to succeed outside of higher education depends on their mindset and the school itself. In “The Coddling of the American Mind”, Lukianoff and Haidt explain that many students today on college campuses are being protected from words and ideas that might be viewed as offensive or cause discomfort. They suggest that the unwillingness from students to think outside their comfort zones may be detrimental to their future success in life. The universities themselves are policing students’ speech very closely, and making people nervous to express ideas in case they are deemed as offensive. Lukianoff and Haidt claim that this affects students because it’s not a realistic representation of the professional world outside of college, “which often demands intellectual engagement with people and ideas one might find uncongenial or wrong.” Creating a culture where speech must be monitored and topics must be banned is only going to hurt students when they eventually leave college. A possible way to combat this negative counterculture is by developing growth mindsets in students. Dweck explains that students who are successful and resilient have what she calls a growth mindset. Having a growth mindset is about overcoming obstacles, and not quitting. Universities should try to foster communities that promote having a growth mindset by teaching students how to deal with hearing something offensive, and learning that the world is full of many offenses that they cannot control. This kind of mindset would better prepare them for professional life outside of college. It should be the university’s responsibility to stop coddling their students, and to successfully prepare them for life.
Explanation: My main revision to this paragraph was the ending sentence I added. This sentence I felt connected the paragraph more to my thesis, by stating how the university needs to prepare the students for success. Other things I did in the paragraph were I reworded the first quote. I liked the way it sounded in the revised better because I felt it set up the quote more effectively. It was a better signal phrase if you’d call it that.
TASK TWO
Dweck suggests that the only way to achieve intellectual growth is through breaking out of that comfort zone. “In one study we taught them that every time they push out of their comfort zone to learn something new and difficult, the neurons in their brain can form new, stronger connections, and over time, they can get smarter” (Dweck).
Dweck suggests that the only way to achieve intellectual growth is through breaking out of that comfort zone. “In one study we taught [student’s] that every time they push out of their comfort zone to learn something new and difficult, the neurons in their brain can form new, stronger connections, and over time, they can get smarter”.
The brackets now allow the reader to more easily understand that Dweck was referring to the students in her research.
Dweck advocates that the only way to achieve intellectual growth is through breaking out of that comfort zone. “In one study we taught them that every time they push out of their comfort zone to learn something new and difficult, the neurons in their brain can form new, stronger connections, and over time, they can get smarter” (Dweck).
Dweck advocates that the only way to achieve intellectual growth is through breaking out of that comfort zone. “In one study we taught them that every time they push out of their comfort zone to learn something new and difficult . . . over time, they can get smarter”.
The ellipsis makes the quote more straight to the point.
The authors claim that this affects students because it “prepares them poorly for professional life, which often demands intellectual engagement with people and ideas one might find uncongenial or wrong.”
Lukianoff and Haidt claim that this affects students because it’s not a realistic representation of the professional world outside of college, “which often demands intellectual engagement with people and ideas one might find uncongenial or wrong.” (6).
“The presumption that students need to be protected rather than challenged in a classroom is at once infantilizing and anti-intellectual,” (Lukianoff and Haidt 26).
In a report from the American Association of University Professors’ they discussed the reason to dismiss the use trigger warnings, “The presumption that students need to be protected rather than challenged in a classroom is at once infantilizing and anti-intellectual,” (qtd. In Lukianoff and Haidt 26).
Having a fixed mindset is a major setback for those who want to succeed after college. What colleges are teaching students according to Lukianoff and Haidt:
It prepares them poorly for professional life, which often demands intellectual engagement with people and ideas one might find uncongenial or wrong. The harm may be more immediate, too. 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. The new protectiveness may be teaching students to think pathologically. (6)
The block quote won’t work on the eportfolio. I can’t make the margins 0.5 inch on the blog but I can do it on Google Docs or Word.
