Against Post-Election Infantilizing (of college students)

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Posted on 11/29/2024 7:49:46 AM PST by karpov

After the 2016 election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, many faculty at universities canceled classes, either due to believing that they had to take time to deal with their own disappointment or that students needed time to process their negative emotions. Other professors took class time to allow students to “process their feelings” and deal with what was perceived as a devastating event for all on campus.

In 2024, some faculty followed the same playbook at universities such as Harvard, Michigan State, and UPenn, among other institutions, by canceling classes or using class time to deal with anticipated student emotions. This was a mistake for a number of reasons.

Let us start with the faulty assumptions made by faculty who are canceling their classes or using them to deal with students’ emotions.

Myth I: Every student in their class is devastated by the results of the election. Given that Harris lost much of the youth vote (18-29 age range) compared to Biden in 2020 and beat Trump only 52 percent to 46 percent, this is a faulty belief. Certainly some, if not many, students in these classes favored or voted for Trump.

Myth II: Students who were disappointed with Trump winning are not mature enough to deal with losing an election. They therefore need time to handle their emotions because they cannot function otherwise.

(Excerpt) Read more at jamesgmartin.center ...

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1 posted on 11/29/2024 7:49:46 AM PST by karpov

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