Tweet was ‘insensitive,’ prof says
An engineering professor has issued a public apology after criticizing the concept of “test anxiety,” saying his original criticism was “ill-advised.”
Jeffrey McCutcheon, a faculty member at the University of Connecticut, initially said on Twitter that “test anxiety” is a fake concept. Those who suffer from it are just “unprepared,” he said, according to The Hartford Courant.
“What got me over test anxiety in college was studying my tail off,” he said.
Shortly after “numerous responses questioning his expertise and explaining the disability,” McCutcheon issued an apology, the paper reports. “My original tweet here was ill advised and pretty dumb, especially after learning more about what classifies as disability. This tweet was insensitive to many who have disabilities. For that, i apologize,” he said.
According to Inside Higher Ed, McCutcheon has since deleted his Twitter profile.
The university is actively investigating the controversy, according to The Courant.
The university’s website lists “test anxiety” as a “situation-specific” variant of anxiety. As part of helping students who suffer from anxiety, the school suggests that individuals avoid “devaluing the information presented.”
The criticism came around the same time that Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin said that Americans are “getting soft” after numerous schools closed in that state due to severe cold temperatures.
“Come on, now. I mean, there’s no ice going with [the cold spell], or any snow,” he said.
Read The Courant‘s report here.
MORE: Students demand an end to in-class presentations citing ‘anxiety’
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