Pulling the Trigger

"Their responses range from nervous fidgeting, laughter and downcast eyes to vocal anger and confrontation. It’s uncomfortable. But I stand my ground and teach the material, because that is what I am there to do. And then I create the context for students to work through it. Overwhelmingly students let me know at the end of each semester that though the discussions were hard, they are glad we had them.  Trigger warnings might have scared these students away from participating in discussions that they were absolutely capable of having. And in that regard they do more harm than good. So for the sake of my students, you won’t find them on my syllabi."


Brittney Cooper in Salon writes that "[e]ncountering material that you have never encountered before, being challenged and learning strategies for both understanding and engaging the material is what it means to get an education."