This is an email from BRIGHT Magazine.
Why she stopped giving trigger warnings in class
Dear Bright community,
We recently published an opinion piece by an adjunct professor that explains why she no longer gives trigger warnings to her class before discussing potentially disturbing literature. Trigger warnings — indications to students that they may find material upsetting or difficult to deal with — have become commonplace on college campuses, and their growing popularity has been accompanied by a growing disagreement about their merit.
I knew the piece would attract some attention, but I have been surprised by the number of responses it has received and delighted with the thoughtfulness of those comments. Feelings run high on either side of this debate, but Bright readers have kept nastiness to a minimum, choosing instead to explain rationally and clearly why they think the way they do.
At a time when open debate on college campuses is under threat, when bipartisanship in Congress is all but dead and when fake news has become something to worry about, it’s heartening to see that people who disagree can still do so in a respectful and sober manner.
Thank you, readers of Bright, for your civility and your participation.
And now, a heads up: Honeyguide Media has a new website! You can find us at www.honeyguidemedia.org. Come on over and take a look. We’d also love to see you on Facebook and Twitter.
Here is this week’s selection of good stories from around the web:
These Undocumented Teens are Silent No More
By Soni Sangha in Bright
There are 725,000 kids age 18 and under without citizenship in the U.S. They have kept quiet for a long time, worried that drawing attention to themselves would result in deportation. But a growing number are becoming activists in spite of the risks, urging politicians to pass laws that will allow undocumented students to attend college and work without fear of being kicked out of the country. An important story.
13, right now: This is what it’s like to grow up in the age of likes, lols and longing
By Jessica Contrera in The Washington Post
This is the first story in a series about the ways digital relationships affect teenagers’ lives. The series is a finalist for the 2016 Education Writers Association awards, and is a stellar piece of feature writing. It delves into the online life of a 13-year-old girl, tracking her cyber moves and explaining what this digital landscape looks like. A must read.
The Trump-Era Push to Encourage Girls to Run for Office
By Patricia Alex for Bright
In the aftermath of the presidential election — when Hillary Clinton lost the electoral college vote and Donald Trump, who was caught on tape boasting about groping women, won — women around the country felt a renewed sense of urgency to teach girls about public office. The hope is that if girls are exposed to the possibility from a young age, they will later run. As Alex writes: “Across the board — from town councils to the nation’s highest offices — women are significantly underrepresented in politics. More than half the population is female, but men hold more than three-quarters of elected offices nationwide.” It hasn’t been a hard sell: the girls are interested in running for office, too.
Betsy DeVos said, ‘There isn’t really any Common Core any more.’ Um, yes, there is.
By Valerie Strauss in The Washington Post
What is it about the education secretary and education policy? First, DeVos vowed to get rid of the “federal Common Core.” Oops. There’s no such thing — states decide if they want to adopt the math and English standards. This time, DeVos told Fox News that, as the headline says, “There isn’t really any Common Core any more.” Except there is. Strauss sets the record straight on what Common Core is and isn’t, and how DeVos got it wrong.
Never Mind the Students; Homework Divides Parents
By Kyle Spencer in The New York Times
Getting rid of homework has become a thing with elementary schools around the country. While it’s not hard to guess the kids’ reaction, not all parents are happy. In New York City, some “parents with fewer means say the new policies don’t take into account their needs and time constraints, and leave them on their own when it comes to building the skills their children need to prepare for the annual state tests,” Spencer writes. Others in the pro-homework camp believe it teaches kids that “learning doesn’t happen only inside a classroom.” A fascinating debate.
