The Coddling of the American Mind In recent discussions about the sensitivity of college students, a controversial issue has been whether a movement involving the removal of college and university curriculums that use words, ideas, and subjects of discomfort within the college community. On The one hand, some argue that college students are being overprotected as a younger child, therefore are becoming more sensitive as they grow older. In September 2015, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt wrote an essay called “The Coddling of the American Mind,” which centers around the idea that enforcing strict rules that offend students negatively will only do more harm than good for their future. From this perspective, the authors suggest that training
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Persistent overreaction of the school’s curriculum by the student body are forcing schools to reevaluate what can stay taught in their lesson plans. Lukianoff and Haidt state “some students have called for warnings that Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart describes racial violence and that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby portrays misogyny and physical abuse, so that students who have been previously victimized by racism or domestic violence can choose to avoid these works, which they believe might “trigger” a recurrence of past trauma.” In other words, the authors are saying that certain literature offends students, therefore the colleges and universities need to mindful of what these books are trying to portray. Some say implementing “trigger warnings” is beneficial for professors, since they will be able to notice beforehand if any emotional reactions will occur, although the authors thoughts are “trigger warnings” have no business in a college or university …show more content…
According to Lukianoff and Haidt, Coddling the minds of college students should not be a practice in educational institutions and, consequently, is causing a negative effect on the student’s thought processes, which is then transitioning into the real world. Throughout the essay, the authors discuss the effects of coddling, these issues are oversensitivity, college and university curriculums, and a system to ready college students for the real world. Both Lukianoff and Haidt suggest that colleges and universities should in no way support coddling students, since it is affecting their long-term future. According to Lukianoff and Haidt “There’s a saying common in education circles: Don’t teach students what to think; teach them how to think.” From this point of view, the authors are recommending that colleges and universities should stick with the curriculum as it once was and focus more on teaching the students how to cope with these coddling
Persistent overreaction of the school’s curriculum by the student body are forcing schools to reevaluate what can stay taught in their lesson plans. Lukianoff and Haidt state “some students have called for warnings that Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart describes racial violence and that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby portrays misogyny and physical abuse, so that students who have been previously victimized by racism or domestic violence can choose to avoid these works, which they believe might “trigger” a recurrence of past trauma.” In other words, the authors are saying that certain literature offends students, therefore the colleges and universities need to mindful of what these books are trying to portray. Some say implementing “trigger warnings” is beneficial for professors, since they will be able to notice beforehand if any emotional reactions will occur, although the authors thoughts are “trigger warnings” have no business in a college or university …show more content…
According to Lukianoff and Haidt, Coddling the minds of college students should not be a practice in educational institutions and, consequently, is causing a negative effect on the student’s thought processes, which is then transitioning into the real world. Throughout the essay, the authors discuss the effects of coddling, these issues are oversensitivity, college and university curriculums, and a system to ready college students for the real world. Both Lukianoff and Haidt suggest that colleges and universities should in no way support coddling students, since it is affecting their long-term future. According to Lukianoff and Haidt “There’s a saying common in education circles: Don’t teach students what to think; teach them how to think.” From this point of view, the authors are recommending that colleges and universities should stick with the curriculum as it once was and focus more on teaching the students how to cope with these coddling