Kenzi's Site

Agree w/ Dweck:

Some students viewed the task as “tragic, catastrophic. From their more fixed mindset perspective, their intelligence had been up for judgment, and they failed” (00:36). I agree with Dweck’s idea that a fixed mindset is seen as your intelligence being tested because that thought process is a very accurate representation of what most likely went through those students’ minds. When reading The Coddling, Lukianoff and Haidt seemed to have a very similar fixed mindset way of thinking about trigger warnings.

Disagree w/ L&H:

L/H explained trigger warnings to be causing a movement of mentally fragile college students which subsequently would turn college campuses into places where all the students are shielded from such triggering words or phrases. I disagree with L/H because the use of trigger warnings should not have affected the fact that schools should be a safe space for students to learn. School is a place where things can be discussed safely, and if someone is not comfortable with a discussion topic the trigger warnings help immensely. 

Agree and Disagree w/ D:

Dweck explains that a growth mindset means that the individuals can understand that their abilities can be developed. I agree with the idea that abilities can be developed, but Dweck does not go into depth on which abilities she is talking about. The problem with not specifying this is that there are so many aspects of a person that can be changed or improved upon, but she doesn’t go into how, why, or which abilities are important to improve.

Agree and Disagree w/ L&H: 

L/H believe that colleges need to extensively prepare their students for encountering triggering words out in the “real world” environment. I agree that students should be knowledgeable of the fact that these triggering words will pop up, but I feel like L/H still don’t understand the reason why trigger warnings showed up in the first place. Students should be mentally prepared to have run-ins with triggering words, but trigger warnings are more common to try and stop the use of such triggering words and phrases. L/H think that colleges are trying to shield their students from such words, but the students are trying to create a change throughout the world so people understand why those words and phrases can be such a problem.

• What big concerns did you have about your draft as you completed the first draft?
  • I felt like it was very short and I feel like me trying to prove my point was too short and didn’t make sense. I also felt like my growth mindset paragraph really didn’t fit with what I want my main idea to be.
• What did your peers like most about your paper? Be specific, perhaps by quoting from one (or more) of the comments on your paper. Be sure to credit your peer!
  • Khloe said she liked my attention grabber a lot. Both Khloe and Hunter thought I did good with my Barclays paragraphs since they made the point of my paper clearer for them.  
• Where are you working best with Dweck? What do your peers think you can do to improve on that section? You might quote from a peer, and give credit.
  • I feel like I am working best with Dweck’s ideas of fixed mindset. My peers believe I could try to explain more about what I think the connection of fixed mindset is towards Lukianoff and Haidt. 
• Where are you working best with Lukianoff/Haidt? What do your peers think you can do to improve on that section? You might quote from a peer, and give credit.
  • My peers really liked the way that I interpreted their article, but they also think I could say more on why I think Lukianoff and Haidt are overreacting.
• According to your peers, what are your two biggest challenges in your work with the texts? How do you think you can address those challenges in your revision? If you need quotes or “evidence,” be specific about the text you should bring into a revision. If you need stronger explanations of your Dweck-Lukianoff/Haidt or Dweck-Lukianoff/Haidt relationships, be specific about what you need to explain. (Don’t re-write the paragraphs or sections for this homework. Rather, explain what you need to do.)
  • According to my peers and our writing fellow, I don’t have to write much more and just need a little more explanation of how I’m connecting Dweck and “The Coddling”. I need to write that connection a little better because I haven’t fully explained how my view fits into the connection, which is what the whole paper is about.
• Using the guidance from your peers, put your overall perspective (viewpoint/argument) into a sentence or two. How will you help your reader “get” your perspective?
  • Using Dweck’s view of fixed mindsets, Lukianoff and Haidt have a fixed mindset towards bettering themselves along with the rest of society. I am going to add another body paragraph solely for the purpose of trying to explain my view of how the fixed mindset connects to Lukianoff and Haidt. I’m going to find another quote from “The Coddling” that I feel really exemplifies where I understood that the authors had a fixed mindset.

1. Original: In her experiments, students were given slightly hard math problems to solve, and students with fixed mindsets reacted in a negative way. Some students viewed the experience as “tragic, catastrophic. From their more fixed mindset perspective, their intelligence had been up for judgment, and they failed” (00:36). These students felt as though it was the end of the world that they were unable to solve these problems.

Revised: In her experiments, students were given slightly hard math problems to solve, and students with fixed mindsets reacted in a negative way. Those students believed the task was “tragic [and] catastrophic. From their more fixed mindset perspective, their intelligence had been up for judgement and they failed” (00:36). These children were presented with a task that was supposed to be hard, but their minds told them that their skills were not enough to figure it out. The fixed mindsets of these kids made them believe their skills were not enough and could never be enough.

Explanation: I changed the introduction of the quote to make sure the quote flowed better as a sentence. I also added brackets for the same reason because the original quote with just a comma felt very weird as an incomplete sentence. I also tried to change the explanation of the quote to fit more into the idea of the essay.

2) Original: Yet, when thinking critically our fixed mindset can change. In “The Coddling” by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt they stated that “critical thinking requires grounding one’s beliefs in evidence rather than in emotion or desire, and learning how to search for and evaluate evidence that might contradict one’s initial hypothesis” (para. 19). Critical thinking and emotions decide whether we stay in a fixed mindset or break out into a growth mindset to think of new ways around a problem.

Revised: Yet, when thinking critically our fixed mindset can change. In The Coddling, Lukianoff and Haidt perceive critical thinking as “grounding one’s beliefs in evidence rather than in emotion or desire, and learning how to search for and evaluate evidence that might contradict one’s original hypothesis” (para. 19). Critical thinking is a skill that can be improved upon with a growth mindset, this skill can allow those with fixed mindsets to rationalize the problem and work through it. 

Explanation: I changed the introduction of the quote since I had already introduced the article and the authors earlier, so I no longer needed their first names. I also changed the word “stated” to “perceive” because the quote shows what the authors think critical thinking is, not stating the definition. Also changed the explanation of the quote because the original explanation was a little confusing to follow after the quote.

3) Original: Dweck explains how she observed which children possessed a growth mindset out of all the children who received the same math problems as mentioned before.  “Some of them reacted in a shockingly positive way . . . They understood that their abilities could be developed. They had what I call a growth mindset” (00:36).  Those students weren’t held back by their emotions, but were stimulated at the idea of trying something new. 

Revised:  Dweck explains how she observed which children possessed a growth mindset out of all the children who received the same math problems as mentioned before. Compared to the fixed mindset students, she saw some students “[react] in a shockingly positive way . . . They understood that their abilities could be developed. They had what I call a growth mindset ” (00:36). These students did not think about the fact that their skills might not be enough to solve the problems, they just dove right into them. They were excited by the idea of trying something new, which is pivotal for having a growth mindset.

Explanation: I had to add in an introduction to this quote because I forgot to in the original so it was a free standing quote. So, the introduction I added makes the quote fit better into the overall paragraph and gives something to go off for why the quote is actually there. I also added brackets since the word “reacted” wouldn’t have been grammatically correct and would have made the whole sentence sound off. For the explanation of the quote I tried to change it around but I’m not sure if it makes more sense or even less sense than the original explanation. Overall, changing the signal phrases/ introductions of each quote made them feel easier to read as just one sentence instead of a clear distinction of the introduction and the quote.

1. Dweck and Lukianoff/Haidt can be related by the idea of Fixed Mindset. Dweck explores what makes a fixed mindset a fixed mindset such as, thinking your intelligence is being tested and subsequently feeling like you failed. In “The Coddling” the authors reference how people spoke in the past a lot. In the present we are obviously evolving the way in which we speak to others all the time, which means acknowledging the past to discuss why it was wrong or destructive. “The Coddling” presents the fact that the newer generations are seen as “sensitive” and “can’t take a joke” but all the newer generations are trying to do is acknowledge the past and change for the better. But some want to live in the past and not the present and refuse to change the ways in which they speak, which I feel is a great example of fixed mindset. You are in your comfort zone, while individuals from the new generations push to better themselves.

2. Barclay Paragraphs Connecting Dweck and “The Coddling”

Fixed mindset can be applied anywhere in life, even in interpersonal relationships and speech. A woman named Carol Dweck performed a ted talk about the differences between fixed mindset and growth mindset. In her presentation she discussed why growth mindsets were better for preparing children for the future, and why fixed mindsets were so detrimental to the percieved idea of intelligence. In her experiments, students were given slightly hard math problems to solve, and students with fixed mindsets reacted in a negative way. Some students viewed the experience as “tragic, catastrophic. From their more fixed mindset perspective, their intelligence had been up for judgment, and they failed.” These students felt as though it was the end of the world that they were unable to solve these problems. A fixed mindset led these students to believe they were incapable and therefore unintelligent. A fixed mindset can sometimes solely rely on our emotions leading us to believe we are truly unintelligent. Yet, when thinking critically our fixed mindset can change. In an article titled “The Coddling” by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haid they stated, “critical thinking requires grounding one’s beliefs in evidence rather than in emotion or desire, and learning how to search for and evaluate evidence that might contradict one’s initial hypothesis.” Critical thinking and emotions decide whether we stay in a fixed mindset or break out into a growth mindset to think of new ways around a problem. If we rely solely on our emotions the true solution to a given problem might never be found. Given this idea, a growth mindset allows us to truly think critically while having our emotions in mind without them being our main focus when confronting  a conflict.

Growth mindset can be used to enact useful change in the world and how we understand each other. Dweck explains how she observed which children possessed a growth mindset out of all the children who received the same math problems as mentioned before.  “Some of them reacted in a shockingly positive way…They understood that their abilities could be developed. They had what I call a growth mindset.”  Those students weren’t held back by their emotions, but were stimulated at the idea of trying something new. They understood that the problems were hard but they also knew they would try their best to solve them. Understanding the fact that your critical thinking abilities can be developed is a huge factor in developing a growth mindset. Lukianoff and Haid stated in their article that, “Rather than trying to protect students from words and ideas that they will inevitably encounter, colleges should do all they can to equip students to thrive in a world full of words and ideas that they cannot control.” Introducing students to the idea of a growth mindset will better prepare them for things they cannot control. Having a growth mindset allows a person to think critically about the problem or situation in front of them, and figure out a way to confront it without fear. Having a growth mindset when discussing personal issues or world wide problems will help everyone in the long run to become more understanding of one another.

1. “These examples may seem extreme, but the reasoning behind them has become more commonplace on campus in recent years” (para. 26). Explain this reasoning in your own words and quote from the text in your response. Also, consider the claim critically. Do you agree? Why or why not? Give reasons!

According to the article, being offended is “a demand that the speaker apologize or be punished by some authority for committing an offense.” Being offended is not just simply someone’s emotional response to a statement, but also calls for an apology since the offending statement insinuates that the offender said something wrong and or insensitive. I understand that a lot of students get in trouble for offending other students, but everyone has the right to be offended because of what someone else might say. You have every right in the world to be offended when another person is being insensitive. But when people pretend to be offended and or shame others for being offended by saying “it’s not a big deal” that is not okay. This reiterates the idea that it is also not okay to invalidate another person’s feelings, even if it is after you’ve realized what you said was wrong and you try to justify yourself. There are times where a headline of someone being reprimanded about saying something offensive might not make any sense to you, but it does make sense to others who might also be offended by it and completely agree that that person was rightfully reprimanded. There are always people who pick opposite sides, stay in the middle, or just not acknowledge the situation at all but not acknowledging that something was offensive can be even more harmful in the long run.

2. What’s wrong with “fortune telling and trigger warnings” (para 31+). This question invites you to say what the authors think is wrong with them AND to think about it for yourself. It’s ok to disagree with the text – with reasons!

The authors seem to believe that both fortune telling and trigger warnings are inherently bad. But they also admit that trigger warnings are used to help prevent flashbacks or panic attacks for people who have experienced trauma. The authors specifically reference that “Trigger warnings became particularly prevalent in self-help and feminist forums, where they allowed readers who had suffered from traumatic events like sexual assault to avoid graphic content that might trigger flashbacks or panic attacks”so how are the authors seeing trigger warnings as bad at just a glance? In the article it seems the authors just ignore the fact that trigger warnings do great things by informing people who might need to pass by that information.  But what the authors don’t seem to understand is that you yourself do not need to understand where someone’s strong emotions may be coming from, but you cannot invalidate those feelings from the same lack of understanding. Later in this section of the article, the authors talk about habituation. But habituation can’t be forced upon someone either, you can only offer help or emotional support to see if the individual accepts it or not. I understand that psychology states that it is a bad idea to shelter someone away from what they fear, but it takes people time to try and face their fear/problem. If someone hasn’t had enough time or isn’t open to the idea of being helped, it is not your place to take it upon yourself to give that person treatment/help. 

1. The authors define (and italicize) the terms microaggressions and trigger warnings and offer a set of examples they think “border on the surreal.” They draw a distinction between what they term “political correctness” of the 1980s and 1990s and what they think is happening today. What, on their view, is that difference and why does it matter for education? What do you make of their ideas in the first section of the article? Be sure to quote from the text in your response.

The idea of political correctness from the 80’s and 90’s was to eliminate hate speech to allow more perspectives to be spoken about. But today’s political correctness is about preserving the emotional well-being of everyone around you. This shift in the meaning of political correctness attempts to acknowledge the subjects that certain individuals may find extremely sensitive or triggering. The first section of the article makes the idea of political correctness sound irrational or dangerous to the education system but it really does allow for students to feel safer in their learning environment. The article states, “The ultimate aim, it seems, is to turn campuses into “safe spaces” where young adults are shielded from words and ideas that make some uncomfortable” but those words and ideas are not just simply making someone uncomfortable, they could cause someone with mental illness (such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, etc.) to have an episode or spiral. Mental illness has become more common to talk about with others, so why not try to be empathetic and listen to those who might be suffering in silence? In the final sentence of the section it states that the new idea of political correctness “is creating a culture in which everyone must think twice before speaking up,” but weren’t we all taught this idea of thinking before we speak?

2. Consider the second section of the article, “How Did We Get Here?” The authors offer a kind of historical/social diagnosis for what they see on campuses. Attempt a brief (2-3 sentence) summary of the section and draw a text-to-self connection to a specific passage (quote). You might agree or disagree with them in your connection – or both, if it seems appropriate.

The section “How did we get here?” discusses the possible points and events in our recent history that led to overwhelming numbers of students with mental illnesses. In short, children born in the 80’s and 90’s were brought up with more protection from their parents due to higher rates of crimes in the years previous. Once those children and those born past the year 2000 were introduced to the internet and social media, the infinite expanse of information, more sensitive topics were discussed and more mental health issues surfaced.

The increased rate of crime that caused parents to shelter their children played a huge part in what the world looks like today. The article reiterates something that most individuals had heard as a child, “life is dangerous, but adults will do everything in their power to protect you from harm, not just from strangers but from one another as well.” For me, this statement is only true for my parents and brothers who have always tried to protect me. But it’s not true for everyone, and not everyone’s problems can be solved or stopped by just their parents telling them they are safe. Now that I am older, I understand that life is dangerous and sometimes you can’t help what happens to you, and you need to be willing to listen and help others if they need you. I have tried my best to learn not to be afraid of the world, even when so many terrible things are constantly happening no matter where you look on this planet.  I think the fact that so many children and young adults have mental illnesses is that we see and feel the intense amount of crime throughout the world all because of the internet. We get information at such a fast pace some of us are numb to it all, and some of us get completely overwhelmed and over think and constantly feel unsafe even in our own heads.

3. How might Dweck’s ideas about a “fixed mindset” (or a “growth mindset” if you prefer) relate to ideas in the first three sections of “The Coddling…”? In your response, be sure to quote from both texts and EXPLAIN the relationship you see.

The first three sections of the article are great examples for fixed mindset. What is most talked about is how “uncomfortable” some individuals are with how “sensitive” the new generations are becoming. Those individuals that are uncomfortable enough to not try and change the way they speak and act around other people are the examples of fixed mindset. In Dweck’s ted talk she describes different studies of fixed mindset students, she states, “after a failure, they looked for someone who did worse than they did so they could feel really good about themselves. And in study after study, they have run from difficulty.” The world has rapidly changed for so many years now, and it’s appalling to see how many people don’t feel the need to change themselves as the whole world continues to do so itself. The Coddling brings up an idea that “vindictive protectiveness teaches students to think in a very different way. It prepares them poorly for professional life, which often demands intellectual engagement with people and ideas one might find uncongenial or wrong.” I think vindictive protectiveness does teach us to think in a different way, but it doesn’t leave us unprepared for professional life. Trigger warnings and other protective language allow the students and individuals who have been personally affected by some sort of trauma to be able to steer away from digging up memories or feelings they don’t feel like talking about in that moment. But this also gives an opportunity for those who are not affected by those traumas and memories to learn and try to understand what those individuals go through on a daily basis. By giving people a space to either steer away or learn about each other’s experiences, it actually helps us to try and understand, be knowledgeable about, and or be empathetic to other humans’ experiences. Connecting the fact that some people don’t want to acknowledge others hardships to the fact that acknowledging means learning is what I see as a fixed mindset in the article “The Coddling.” Sensitivity to others is never an inherently bad thing to do, it’s only uncomfortable because you don’t want to step out of your comfort zone of insensitivity.

1. A fixed mindset can be described as hitting your limit and being wary of going out of your comfort zone. In Dweck’s ted talk she talked about an experiment she ran to see fixed mindsets and growth mindsets in children by giving them slightly harder math problems than what they are used to. When confronted with these problems, the children with fixed mindsets “felt it was tragic, catastrophic… their intelligence had been up for judgement and they failed.” These students were confronted with problems they had never seen before and got flustered thinking they needed to get the problem correct. On the other hand the students with growth mindset that were presented with the same problems had a way calmer approach, some of the students “reacted in a shockingly positive way… they understood that their abilities could be developed.” Students with growth mindsets confronted these new math problems in a completely different way. They knew they would try to solve the problem however they could and if they didn’t get it correct it wasn’t the end of the world.
2. Dweck described 2 different ways to stimulate growth mindset in her ted talk. One way would be to praise students based on their process of getting to an answer, not just getting the correct answer. In Dweck’s words, “we can praise wisely, not praising intelligence or talent.” Another way to stimulate a growth mindset is to give the students an active way to be rewarded for taking the time to strategize and work through a problem. Dweck had teamed up with game scientists from the University of Washington to create a math game that rewarded the time for strategies and processes. The results showed that the students put in “more effort, more strategies, more engagement over longer periods of time, and more perseverance when they hit really, really hard problems.” These two ways of stimulating a growth mindset do seem pretty reasonable to me. I feel like some teachers already subtly use this method of praise when we get partial credit in math problems for having the right idea of how to get to the answer to a question even if we get the final answer wrong. But I don’t think we should completely switch to praising only the process to get to an answer, sometimes getting the write answer makes it concrete in your mind that you know how to do those problems.
3. Dweck’s model of intelligence is very different from the one we all resort to in our own mind. Her model is shown not just by what you already know, but your power and ability to think through a problem. The students she observed, both with fixed and growth mindsets, were all intelligent but some were held back by the fear of failure and going out of their comfort zone/ thinking outside the box. Dweck’s studies revealed that “students who were not taught this growth mindset continued to show declining grades.” Dweck knows all students are intelligent, and she wants students to realize that it is okay to be challenged and that being challenged can be rewarding.
4. For my fixed mindset moment I will focus on my Junior year Algebra 2 math class. This math class had been a turning point in my thinking and in my confidence. I struggled the whole year because no matter how hard I tried, I was still getting terrible grades. But my teacher kept reassuring me that I would and can do better. So, I stayed after school many times to get help and made sure I studied more for each test. But I kept getting the same results for a while. But nearing the end of the year my grades were going up not by a landslide but slowly enough to where I could see a difference. Throughout that whole year I learned to step out of my comfort zone because the class was really challenging for me. I created new studying strategies for myself, I made sure to check over my work more, and after a whole school year of working at it I got better! That class helped change my mindset of “I need to get this right the first time” to “If I get it wrong I just need to figure out why and fix it.”