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Brecken Larsen
Mr. Lundstrom
HELA 10 Period 6
January 8 2016
Fear in the Education System
Fear again. If you want to control someone, all you have to do is make them feel
afraid. -Paulo Coelho. The tyrannical rule of a government is often feared and
displayed in the media as atrocious and despicable. However, we scarcely look into our
own lives for such occurrences. One of the most prominent aspects of a tyrant is the
use of fear to control their subjects. Terror is a universal emotion, applicable to
everyone, making it an extremely effective, yet horrid, leverage tool. Fear is
implemented into the education system in order to manipulate students into performing
well. The implementation of fear is fairly discrit and motivates many students without
their knowledge. The education system implements the fear of failure, fear of negative
consequences, and fear of stress and emotional pressures to motivate students to
actively perform and succeed.

Fear breeds upon itself because it is a hermaphrodite capable of endless

reproduction. Fear is a contagious disease, spreading from its first victim to
others in the vicinity until it is powerful enough to take charge of a group, in
which event it becomes panic. Fear is the afterbirth of reason and calculation.
It takes time to recuperate from fear. -Ambrose Bierce, The Moonlit Road
To begin, the fear of failure is used in the education system to control and
manipulate students into performing well in school. One of the most common fears is

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the fear of failure. It is instilled in us every time we interact with another human. The
social consequences of making a mistake is extreme in the modern era. Due to this the
fear of making a mistake in the classroom, failing an assignment, or misbehaving in an
embarrassing fashion keeps many students in line and this prevent many mistakes that
would otherwise take place. Every time a government seeks to commit some great evil
upon the People, it uses extreme fear tactics to accomplish that goal. Terrorizing the
population has become such a useful tactic for scaring the population into obedience
that governments now routinely resort to terrifying the public on every big issue:
vaccines, global warming, gun control, bankster bailouts, and even war (Adams 1).
This quote helps reveal how deeply and severely fear is used by a government. In the
education system the application of fear is scaled down, however the same principles
apply. Students are also afraid of being labeled as failures by the teachers. Teachers
will zero in on meeting grade levels rather than focusing on the personal interests and
overall development of their students. Anyone who doesnt meet the grade standard are
labeled as failures (Unknown 1). Being labeled as a failure in a classroom is a very real
possibility for students. As soon as other students recognize the failure, that student will
suffer various social consequences in addition to the consequences to their grade. This
use in the school district is incorporated very discreetly and is used with a fairly large
level of effectiveness.
In addition, the fear of negative consequences is also an effective tool
implemented into the education system in order to control the students. As humans we
naturally avoid situations that are stressful, negative, or harmful. So naturally when
negative consequences are introduced we automatically try and avoid that

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uncomfortable situation. The education system uses this to persuade students into
obeying their rules. Americans are terrorized into a wave of fear by the media frenzy,
scared into believing that if they dont immediately comply with the government's
vaccination demands, all their children will be fatally infected and killed by an invisible
threat that only the vaccine industry can halt (Adams 1). This quote greatly reveals how
the government uses the fear of negative consequences to manipulate the People. In
the education system this same technique is used with highly similar results. Individuals
can also create fear in people. It sat on my skin like a damp towel and I shivered in its
grip. The entire room was cowering before the image of the warden (Smith 117).
Authority figures that are able to punish and give students negative consequences are
viewed in a negative light. The warden from this quote can easily be compared to a
principal of a modern school. The education system employs many different means of
fear to control the student body, effectively using negative consequences to prevent
students from stepping out of line.
Finally, the fear of stress and other emotional pressures are implemented into the
education system. Whenever certain standards are expected of students, they will
stress. When students complete their assignments on time they have minimal stress.
However, procrastination generates a lot more stress as the student is fully aware they
are in the wrong. There are other emotional pressures as well. Great teachers inspire
their students to succeed, and if a student were to fail they would be ashamed and
afraid to face their teacher. This naturally coaxs students into doing their work as they
want to avoid disappointing their teachers. A students personal emotions can trigger
(emotional) fear. When one feels great shame or guilt whenever school standards are

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not met, then fear of failure is right around the corner (Unknown 1). This quote shows
that increased emotion pressures ultimately lead to a stunted fear of failure. The fear of
negative consequences is very popular and is used in many places other than in
schools. The emotional factor exist as a symptom of our modern social structure. Fear
is also present for those with social anxiety. Actually, I wasnt given a copy of the pirate
handbook when I arrived, so I dont. I replied, cursing my voice, which trembled as I
spoke (Smith 128). Many people have social anxiety and they fear public speaking.
The school system takes advantage of this to persuade many students to put more
effort into their work when they are presenting a slideshow, speech, or some other work.
The education system is able to effectively use personal and emotional fears to
manipulate the students into performing at a higher level.
Despite this, many people argue that this fear is caused by the students, not the
education system. This maybe socially true as all fear is born from within ourselves, but
is the fear spawning rampantly in the middle east caused by innocent civilians? Or
rather the many terrorist groups in that area? The government's implementation of a
grading system for the education system was fully intended to cause fear for students if
they are failing. This addition was fully intentional that had many benefits. The other
aspects of the fear within the education system is implemented in more discrete ways.
As shown above, the school system is able to implement fear into the education
system with extreme efficiency. The education system uses the fear of failure,
consequences, and emotional pressures to manipulate students into performing well in
school. The school uses the fear of failure through the grading system. This makes the
students feel ashamed when they receive a bad grade, making them feel as though

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theyve failed. The fear of failure is extremely common and this strategy is used in great
affect to control students. Next, The education system also uses the fear of negative
consequences to manipulate the student body further. The addition of negative
consequences inflicted unto students for misbehaving is an effective tool for force them
to behave. When a behavior is associated with a certain action students will naturally try
and disassociate with such an action in order to avoid punishment. Finally, the
education system uses the fear of negative emotion to even further control students.
This fear is extremely effective as it also boosts the effectiveness of other fears as well.
This fear is caused by the social aspects of misdemeanors in school. When a student
fails a class there are multiple emotion sources of discomfort, many students are
uncomfortable when they feel they have failed someone that trusted the, like a teacher,
they are also often taunted by other classmates. As you can see, fear is a truly powerful
tool in almost any atmosphere.

Works cited
Adams, Mike. "FEAR Is New Weapon in Greece: EU Leaders Resort to Same Terror Tactics as the
U.S. Vaccine Industry to Scare Everyone into Irrational Obedience." NaturalNews. The
Health Ranger, 05 July 2015. Web. 11 Jan. 2016

Smith, Alexander. Lockdown. 1st ed. Vol. 1. Faber Limited, 2009. 273. Print.
Unknown. "How to Conquer the Fear of Failing in School." ThinkTank Learning. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2016.

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