"It Was Just That I Was Afraid": Promoting Success by Addressing Students' Fear of Failure

I realize this article is torturously long, even by my standards. I promise to find a shorter one next time.

We know that writing anxiety is an equal-opportunity affliction for our students, but this article suggests racial and socioeconomic factors may influence strategies students use to cope with that fear. Although the research focuses mostly on Black and Latino students, I wonder if the author's findings also apply to any first-generation college student.

Sadly, these strategies--"postponing matriculation, scaling down, avoiding assessment, and redefining success"--often impede student success. They may allay fear and anxiety in the short run, but they keep the fearful student from completing her program.

We do see some of these strategies in the Writing Center, and not just from students of color. Vulnerable students may be reluctant to share their work because they're afraid of exposing their imagined inadequacies. They may drop out of school because they don't know how to navigate a system that's easier for middle-class, college-generation students. Humiliation is crushing for any one of us, and we all adapt strategies to avoid or minimize it.

So what can we do at the Writing Center to sidestep our students' defenses? What lessons can we take from the two beginning composition professors cited in this article? If we truly want to work toward an equal playing field (excuse the cliche), how do we adapt our approach to particularly high-risk students here?