Summary of the Student Fear Factor
The author of The Student Fear Factor, Rebecca Cox, is an education assistant professor at Seton Hall University. She studied community college students to write this book so as to effect real change. She includes an interview with different students; mostly, she encountered to show the students were stressed and the mixed emotions they felt as a result of being a student, especially first-year students. This was also to show that the higher education system is not favorable for the students as it is currently. She argues that higher education in America requires to be reinvented (Cox, 25). Dr. Cox wants to change the system structure and how the professors teach their classes so as to meet the students’ needs better (Cox)
When talking about student anxiety, Dr. Cox describes how the transition from high school to college is sometimes challenging as the students are transitioning to adulthood, which is characterized by a lot of freedom (Cox, 22). She gives an example of Melanie, who fits the successful college student profile. Melanie talks of how anxious she felt on her first day in college, thinking of all the freedom she had and the responsibility to make all the hard life choices. Colleen also viewed the first semester in college as unfamiliar, scary, or life-changing, just as Melanie did.
Dr. Cox feels that there exists a disconnection between the expectations of the professors and those of the students, and some teaching methods being used currently to teach in class might be increasing the gap. The students admitted that the professors made them feel intimidated by their academic knowledge and the power they had to assess students and give grades (Cox, 26). The students were afraid that the professors would fail them hence confirm the academic inadequacy the students felt. The students consider some professors as “high and mighty” hence believe they look down on the students (Cox, 26). Ryan and Serena students who were also interviewed gave examples of their professors that were not “all high and mighty” instead were friendly. However, they still did not admit they still hesitated to approach the professors.
Some students applied several measures to prevent them from being afraid. Dr. Cox acknowledges that taking such actions could divert students from attaining their initial goal (Cox, 31). For instance, quitting is an effective strategy to manage fear, as it offers a means of doing away with the source of anxiety. However, students did not opt-out of the school; instead, they employed strategies that enabled them to continue with school while personal failure worst forms. (Cox, 31)Choosing not to quit but decide to face the fear proved to the students that they could succeed. DR. Cox realized that the students who know what is required and are confident from the beginning as college students are likely to be successful (Cox, 42).
Work Cited.
Cox, Rebecca D. The college fear factor. Harvard University Press, 2009.