My professor warned me against using trigger warnings in class discussions

Tbh, I thought trigger warnings were just common courtesy until my poli sci prof said they actually shut down real debate. Last semester in a class on controversial topics, she proved it by showing how students who got warnings just self-censored and didn't engage. Has anyone else seen this backfire in a classroom?

3 comments

3 Comments

hayden_craig951mo agoMost Upvoted

My poli sci professor actually ran this exact experiment too. She had us do a debate on immigration policy and gave half the class trigger warnings about the content. That group barely said anything while the other half really got into it. It made me think about how this plays out in real life too, like when people avoid tough conversations at work or with friends because they're scared someone might get upset. We end up tip-toeing around everything and nobody actually learns anything. The whole point of college is to challenge your beliefs, not wrap them in bubble wrap.

allen.iris1mo ago

Saved a whole group of students from a challenging debate? Wow @hayden_craig95, that's wild.

mary_nelson711mo ago

Our firehouse actually did something similar with a new training program on structural collapse response. The chief split us into two groups - one got a heads up about the graphic content, the other didn't. The warned group kept hanging back during the drills, second-guessing their moves, while the other guys just jumped in and learned from their mistakes. After that, the chief decided to just have us sign a general waiver about the course being intense instead of calling out specific scary parts, and it worked way better because everyone stayed focused on the skills instead of worrying about being triggered.