Lillie Doherty
Professor Dorfield
Rhetoric (first draft)
September, 25th , 2017
Rhetorical Analysis: Grant Addison “Stop Coddling College Students”
In our higher education society, many argue we are transitioning in the act of coddling today’s college students with their very own preferences and opinions (Addison, Peyser, Jackson). There have been instances today in which Student Associations are seeking to address the issues of coddling each other and other students throughout our higher education world. At Brandeis University, the Asian American Association “…put up an installation at the Rabb steps to bring attention to microaggressions (a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group [such as racial minority]) that are frequently heard in and out of the Brandeis community”. In this particular situation, students who were a part in the Brandeis Asian American Association, were attempting to raise awareness of the microaggressions being exploited towards them. While giving examples of these unintentional sayings on the steps of the campus, students who were not part of the project found the words microaggressions themselves. The association responded with an apology for their project to those who felt threatened and posted their mission statement to demonstrate their morals and values. We are essentially catering to the college and university students and coddling “treating with extreme or excessive care or kindness: pamper…” them on their terms. In this particular circumstance, the university stated they were going to increase their efforts in assisting students to feel included and working to diminish the use of stereotypical words whether meant to be hurtful or not.
In the written article, “Stop Coddling College Students” recently produced in June of 2017, there were a numerous amount of opinions contributed by Grant Addison. This text originally appeared in the U.S News as an expanding issue targeting millennials that are beginning to attend college. As stated by Addison, “Intellectual protectionism is shortchanging students’ cognitive and social development while trampling the first amendment”, which epitomizes the thoughts of professors and educators all over the country. The main concern of this article, is the impression that students perceive they can coast through higher education with their parents nurturing and protecting them as they did throughout high school.
In the article, “Stop Coddling College Students”, I can really agree to when Addison mentions, “…matriculating students arrive burdened with the ever-greater cost of postsecondary education as well as historically high rates of political polarization, psychological distress and civic illiteracy”. I can relate because I can vouch for our generation in the sense that millenials do not necessarily know what is happening in our government or are in tune with the everyday world news. As denoted by the “Alexandria School of Medicine”, there has been a significant increase of students who are attending college as first-years to exhibit stress and anxiety from previous education. I can agree with this as well as the thought that Addison mentioned in terms of at my high school which was a private Catholic high school, we were put under a lot of pressure. East Catholic had a demanding curriculum for students, and I endured a great deal of stress as my teachers were very straight forward of what I should anticipate in college. These psychological distresses have transferred over into my college career, and I can relate to that aspect of the article, “Stop Coddling College Students”.
Universities and colleges should not only maintain their students to their right of freedom of speech but encourage it as well. Mainly this text is directed towards a middle to higher class who are more literate and who may not be aware of the coddling happening at universities and colleges. Addison presents the opinion in his article that, “…such attitudes are not new; yet they are having a profound impact on higher education today- largely because institutions themselves are intentionally catering to their students’ every adolescent predilection”. This quote alone epitomizes only literate people would understand where students are getting their thoughts as their parents and grandparents are the one’s coddling them. This also discusses the main points of the article which are presented clearly by Addison. Personally, I am part of the audience in the general sense that I am a first-year college student, but I do not particularly have the same thought process that other students do with their right of the first amendment.
In the article “Stop Coddling College Students”, Addison appeals to logos with the explanation of an analogy to describe how higher education students view their education. Addison states, “…I already know what I want, and since I’m paying, I expect it served to me just as I asked, immediately.” This specific analogy appeals to logos because there is a clear perspective being displayed in front of the audience, that is students feel they can take their education into their own hands. Personally, I can agree with Addison’s above analogy, because students of my generation are already introduced to being coddled and that began with their parents. I feel as though that Addison shows a deeper understanding for how students are treating their educators and professors and gives a glimpse of how students expect to be treated nowadays.
Ethos is the secondary appeal to this article because Addison mentions of the book by Professor Tom Nichols, “The Death of Expertise”. As described by Addison, Nichols “commits a full chapter to “commodification” of higher education…noting rigorous intellectual training has been replaced with “full-service experience of going to college”. Addison shows true expertise, such as providing insight from a Professor who knows first-hand the dangers of coddling students of higher education. Besides the visual imagery of how students treat their education as “ordering off a fast-food menu”, Addison validates his analogy with the expertise of Nichols’ book. What I am really loving about Nicols’ supposed “commodification” chapter, is that the specific word is a true identification of how students value their education and how they perceive it as a commodity.
There could be many assumptions made about the article “Stop Coddling College Students” such as the statement, “Several developments have helped shape this landscape: First increased market demand and financial incentives shifted the focus of higher education toward a customer-service paradigm.” This particular statement is essentially expressing the views that without students being overly financially stable, there would not be an issue such as students being coddled. It seems as though that the more money as student obtains, the more they feel that they should have a say in their education. Why do students who are potentially from a higher- class background feel it is right to be coddled by their educators or at their college or university? As mentioned in the article by Valerie Strauss, “Sick of hearing about pampered students with coddled minds? This university president is”, there are many assumptions that promote the claim of higher class students being more coddled than others. Michael Roth the president of Wesleyan University offers the claim that, “So many of the tensions in campus stem from close up recognition-intellectual and visceral- of unequal economic opportunity and its intersection with tradition forms of discrimination and prejudice”. Within these articles by Addison and Strauss, the interpretation is whether or not a student is much more coddled based off their social and economic class.
Addison proves himself to be extremely credible, as he has cited sources such as a quote from Socrates, and claims from The Wall Street Journal and other such newspapers, those known to the literate person. The Wall Street Journal makes note of “…data highlighting the failure of colleges and universities to improve students’ critical-thinking skills”. This aspect alone, verifies throughout the article as a statement that Addison supports and which resources his claims are rooted from. Addison then continues to prove his credibility, by quoting Socrates to sum up the article as it comes to a conclusion. Socrates affirms, “True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing”, which professes the closure that students’ assume they are able to comprehend more than they certainly do, but they haven’t arrived at that conclusion yet. By quoting Socrates, The Wall Street Journal and other cited sources, Addison is proving credibility that this is a controversial issue seen everywhere.
As a developing and flourishing society, students’ no matter their background, ideals, or morals, shouldn’t accommodate themselves, and take their education for granted. There are consequences to millennials being coddled, and that is the lack of having personable and critical-thinking skills which are necessary when going into the work force after higher education. An article by Frank Connolly, “Why Higher Ed Needs to Bridge the Critical Thinking Skills Gap”, there are many concepts that accompany how Addison discusses the issues with work environments. As quoted by Connolly, “Indeed, providing appropriate guidance in critical thinking needs to become a central part of the college value proposition”. We should be proactive in educating millennials in skills they should acquire as they progress through the higher education atmosphere. In the end, they will be more successful, more competent in life and more intellectual for a potential career they could have in the future.
“Coddle.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coddle.
“Microaggression.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/microaggression.
“Screening for Psychological Distress among High School Graduates Accepted for Enrollment at Alexandria Faculty of Medicine: Academic Year 2016/2017.” Alexandria Journal of Medicine, Elsevier, 3 June 2017, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2090506817300738.
Connolly, Frank. “Why Higher Ed Needs to Bridge the Critical Thinking Skills Gap – EdSurge News.” EdSurge, EdSurge, 2 Sept. 2017, www.edsurge.com/news/2017-09-02-why-higher-ed-needs-to-bridge-the-critical-thinking-skills-gap.
Jackson, Abby. “Obama Rips into 'Coddled' College Students at Town Hall in Iowa.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 15 Sept. 2015, www.businessinsider.com/obama-on-coddled-college-students-2015-9.
Peyser, Andrea. “Liberal Coddling Presents a Threat to College Campuses.” New York Post, New York Post, 13 Sept. 2016, nypost.com/2016/09/12/liberal-coddling-presents-a-threat-to-college-campuses/.
Punch, Keith F. “Correlates of Psychological Distress among Secondary School Teachers.” British Educational Research Journal, vol. 16, no. 4, 1 Jan. 1990, pp. 369–382. JSTOR, JSTOR.
Strauss, Valerie. “Sick of Hearing about Pampered Students with Coddled Minds? This University President Is.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 20 Nov. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/11/20/sick-of-hearing-about-pampered-students-with-coddled-minds-this-university-president-is/?utm_term=.de5916681d7b.