Now that you have had a chance to read North and the background of writing centers from the Allyn & Bacon guide, reflect on what a writing center is. What did you think a writing center was before you encountered this week's readings? What is it to North? Have the readings changed your perception of what a writing center is, and if so, how?
Make sure to also look at your colleagues' perceptions of what a writing center is in the blog comments, and make connections to one another's ideas in your comments.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
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These readings have helped expand my current knowledge of writing centers. Before reading the information provided, I thought that writing centers were available for students needing assistance in creating/understanding their writing and sought the reiteration of basic English concepts. I was aware that writing centers offered more than guidance; for example, some centers host classes to inform students of the different aspects of composition. Still, I envisioned such a place to be helpful more so for students that needed help with building essays and professional editing. After reading North’s essay and the writing center background, I further understand the purpose of writing centers. I realize, as North pointed out, that writing centers provide assistance to all writers during the writing process. Note that in both of the assigned texts students are considered writers, not students, seeking/utilizing the help of the centers. North did not appreciate the devaluing of writing centers; he expressed his anger towards the ignorance of many individuals’ opinions of writing centers. He sought to inform his audience of the importance of writing centers; he also defined them as merely a place of conversation. I never thought of a writing center to be just a place where writers could converse, but it makes sense. When struggling with a written assignment, I feel it is more appropriate to get the ideas flowing through a conversation prior to writing the piece. Coming to this realization after the readings, I now have a better understanding of a writing center’s purpose. Like North, I see that students are already writers and should seek writing centers to improve/build upon their current composition skills. A writing center is not in place for students to expect everything to be done for them; it is a place where students can participate in their work, in hopes of better understanding themselves as writers.
ReplyDeleteIn accordance with the previous post, I also thought that writing centers were places where simply any student who needed help with their writing should go. I never had a defined idea of what writing center tutors helped students with; I always figured they helped them with anything that pertained to writing. After reading North's piece and the Allyn and Bacon chapters, I am now fully aware of just how little I knew about how writing centers actually operate and what their purpose is. I believe I may have been ignorant in just assuming that what I heard from other sources about writing centers was true; I never thought to investigate the facts myself. According to these readings, some of the things I heard were true, and others were way off the mark. There are lots of little details about writing centers in North's piece, many of which help to paint the big picture of what their tasks and goals really are, that I never knew about. Knowing these little details helped me realize not only what the general mission of a writing center is, but to understand, at a much greater level, why they are so utterly important to helping any given writer reach their full potential.
ReplyDeleteI had always thought of a writing center as a place designed for students seeking help with a particular assignment or with general writing skills. While this definition is true to some degree, it does not encompass all that takes place within a writing center. Like Revae, I was intrigued by North’s description of the writing center as a place of conversation. Imagining this place of conversation led me to view the writing center not as a place where the tutor talks to the writer in a teacher-student manner and acts as a leader of a lesson, but as a place where ideas are exchanged to give power to the writer in his or her individual quest. North also emphasizes that the writing center exists as a separate entity from a classroom. Although the writing center is an arena for writers to expand their skills as they would in a classroom, it is also an arena in which the writer, not the teacher, defines the agenda. Tutors must learn from the writers if they are to be able to help them. It is critical that tutors understand the writer’s learning style as an individual and give the writer control over his or her own work. Examining these elements of the writing center has allowed me to better understand the complexity of the writing center system. A writing center is designed to do more than just help with class assignments or writing skills; it is designed for the writer as an individual, giving it a seemingly limitless range of purpose and potential.
ReplyDeleteNorth mentioned that a common misconception of a writing center was that it was thought to be a place where only people with "special problems" went to, a place where the "worst writers" with "twenty-five errors per page" could go to get their rocky piece ironed out a bit... Honestly, that was totally my conception of a writing center for a while. I thought that it was more of a bleed-over-the-paper grammar-correction thing.
ReplyDeleteBut now I realize that a writing center really is a place where any writer can go, in whatever stage of work, to respectfully receive feedback about their work. It is a "safe house" where a tutor knowledgeable about the process helps a remedial writer learn how to improve their work. The key here is trust-- it took plenty of guts for the "writer," being perhaps a student without much skill in writing, or a student with strong skill seeking feedback, to walk in the door and schedule an appointment to have their paper reviewed by someone else. But in the writing center, a peer is looking over the document, instead of the (probably intimidating) professor.
I am also going to agree with Karena's mention of the writing session being an arena led entirely by the writer/student themselves-- each meeting is pretty much tailored to fit each student individually, and from there stems the idea of "seemingly limitless potential." The writer, in a sense, has a bit of control as to what they'd like the tutor to give them feedback on.
I suppose that you get back whatever you put in... or, perhaps this cliché fits better: the session is whatever the writer makes it.
My original perception of a writing center differs from the previous posts. I transferred to the UofA from a school that emphasized collaborative learning and the importance of peer reviews and tutoring. Unfortunately, even with this understanding I was hesitant to visit a writing center. This hesitation came from the high school stereotype that a writing center is meant for students with writing deficiencies, a stereotype North addresses and despises. I felt like going to a writing center showcased my writing weaknesses. In theory, I was all for them and had a minor grasp on their purpose yet I couldn't bring myself to drop the high school stigma. This week's readings were effective in expanding my grasp on their purpose and helping me release the stereotype. North's concept that a writing center is meant to create better writers was a crucial point. With this idea, a writing center is no longer a quick fix location, it’s a location of supplemental growth. It doesn’t matter if you’re an amazing writer or a poor writer, there is always room for growth and knowledge. From this perspective, it’s a tutor's job to completely focus on the student (more appropriately, the writer). The tutor has to actively listen and respond while working with the student's personal abilities, not by a set standard of writing (Freshman, Sophomore, etc). By coming into this conversation, as Revae and Karena discussed, we, as tutors are able to help writers find their own "unique voice" (Allyn & Baco). A writing center revolves around the writers (students), not the tutors. It is a safe environment that allows writers to discover and strengthen their voice, no matter their current ability level.
ReplyDeleteI believe my former perception of what a writing center is was always muddled due to the offered modes of assistance; via one-on-one appointments as well as walk in. I could never really distinguish the two, and often times, the thought of "quick-fixing" might have crossed my mind, though, not purposely. I always thought of the writing center as a place to, like those said above, as a place to hold conversations about writing. Having tutored before, most of my students would merely just need a person to vocalize their ideas to, not so much as focusing on grammar, but basically understanding the concept they need to illustrate through words. From this, it was confusing for me to understand the intentions of walk-in tutoring that doesn't last more than 15minutes. But now, after evaluating the purposes of further planning on making one-on-one appointments to follow up, it makes more sense. I personally love the analogy given above of the meetings being "arenas" because you never know what you're going to get, in terms of problems being faced. That's why it is so crucial to understand the writing center as a place for this conversation to brew, not lessons on punctuation and organization.
ReplyDeleteContrary to what some of the above posts seem to have stated, I didn't really feel as though my overall understanding of writing centers was altered or revolutionized by North's essay. The basis of a writing center, North ultimately claims, lies in conversation between the tutors and their respective tutees (which, as some of the above posts have pointed out, were generally referred to in our assigned readings as "writers" (something that I really liked)). The goal of a writing center, North states, is not to point out individual flaws in the visiting writers' pieces, nor is it to re-write their works. Rather, the goal of the tutors and of the writing center is to provide a location for discussion: a safe haven in which writers may gather to read, contemplate, and ultimately improve upon their own abilities (for as North states, it is the writer that should grow from a visit to a Writing center...not the writing). North's overall definition of a Writing Center was, for the most part, what I went into the essay with.
ReplyDeleteThis all is not to say, however, that I left North's essay unaltered. He certainly succeeded in adding to my definition of what a Writing Center does. For instance, he successfully stripped away some of my more "romantic" and "idealized" notions of just what it is tutors, Writing Centers, and even teachers are capable of accomplishing. His logical and manner of fact description of the job of a Writing Center helped ground my somewhat naive perspective in reality; and while his mention of the difficulties many tutors are faced with (for instance, having to work with unmotivated, uninterested students/writers/tutees) made me feel intimidated and slightly depressed, having my fears brought to the foreground will, I hope, ultimately help me as I attempt to become as good and effective a tutor as possible.
Posted for Maitri:
ReplyDeletePrior to reading the articles, I had a very vague concept of what a Writing Center was and how it specifically functioned. Shamefully, I have to admit that some of what my hazy definition entailed was a place where students brought their assignments to simply be proof-read--exactly the dangerous presumptions of writing center that North warns against.
After doing the reading, however, I find myself aligned with North's passion and fervor, and ultimately, his eloquent definition of what a writing center actually is. Like my peers have said in previous comments, one of the most striking aspects of North's argument was his assertion that a writing center is not a "fix-it shop" or a supplement to the "real" work of the classroom, but rather, a free and open forum for students--namely, writers--to feel comfortable bringing their ideas. The concept of a writing center as a safe-haven for discourse is extremely appealing, chiefly because this kind of arena is rare.
Additionally, I appreciate that North touched on the misnomer of the "grammar center" or, like I mentioned previously, the "fix-it shop," as well as admitting that it's impossible to force a student to come into a writing center. Writing centers are places for those who actively seek to improve not only a singular assignment or essay, but their entire process of writing and, ultimately, their skills as a writer.
North's essay has also made me hyperaware of the level playing field that defines the writing center. Just because one is deemed a "tutor" and another is deemed a "student" does not imply that the tutor is superior to the student in any way. The tutor is simply someone who seeks to help others with their writing process, and I appreciate that North acknowledges the misconception that tutors are somehow possessive of a rare brand of genius. This isn't the case.
The key aspect I've taken from the essays is that a writing center is a living, breathing entity, concerned not only with grammar and syntax--in fact, these seem almost peripheral--but rather, a venue free of pretension and expectation where writers should feel comfortable discussing and honing their ideas.
Ben:
ReplyDeleteKudos on your post, I was in the same shoes as you and could not really describe that in my post. You expressed yourself very well in your post and I agree with your statements in regards to the purpose of the writing center and its initial intimidation to a lot of students.
-Peace and love and chicken grease y'all. See you on thursday night! :)
Reading North's essay, an interesting thought occurred to me. I feel that one of the reasons that students sometimes struggle with their writing is because of the unintentional divide that occurs between an instructor and her student. In other words, often times a professor--especially one who emphasizes the importance of writing--can be intimidating. I can definitely relate to this as an English major myself, simply because sometimes it really CAN be frightening to approach your professor with a piece of writing, hoping for feedback. Even more so, the fear of making a good impression knowing that your grade is ultimately at stake can be almost unbearable to some students, especially to those who just need to bounce their ideas off of someone else--person to person, not professor to student.
ReplyDeleteOne might say that a simple solution to this problem would be to have students in a class gather in groups and workshop together. From my experience as a student, doing this has been somewhat helpful to me, but at the same time, I cannot say that in-class workshops do actually diminish that "wall." Naturally, students in the same class are at some level in competition with one another. Because of this, there is a certain disconnect between peers in an in-class workshop. That is not to say that fellow students are not capable and do not offer useful feedback to one another, because some of my best ideas in the past have come from the advice of my peers. But unfortunately, in-class workshops cannot account for every student's success, simply because some students require an open and equal environment to realize their full potential--as cliche as that sounds. Until reading what North had to say about writing centers being a place for conversation, it had not even occurred to me that writing centers could bridge the divide that the classroom setting creates.
In a writing center, the writing tutor's sole purpose (and sole motivation) is to help her student. With this knowledge alone, a student can already feel at ease. Whether the tutor raises the student's grade or improves her writing is, at some level, not the most meaningful benefit of going to a center. A tutor's most imperative function is to give her student the confidence to speak her mind and give her the confidence to speak her thoughts out loud without stressing over the consequences. This sense of comfort, which some can only achieve through the kind of experience offered at a writing center, is to me the most essential ingredient to "good writing."
I realize this is late (my apologies), but I still wanted to participate in the discussion.
ReplyDeleteAnd Ravae, I’m pretty sure you commented on someone else’s blog, because I am just now writing mine. But I highly appreciate your encouragement and, well...love, peace, and chicken grease to you too, friend.
Chapters one and eleven and the North essay were definitely edifying for my concept of a writing center’s identity and purpose, and, to echo Adam’s post, the reading brought me back down to earth in terms of what a tutor’s role is and what is achievable in a writing center. That is not to say that there aren’t endless possibilities and abundant life-changing experiences in our near futures, but I see now why we need to have a practical understanding of what we do and why we do it, as well as realistic expectations.
The section on theory in chapter eleven resonated with me, especially in the idea of the writing center as a Burkean parlor (yes, partly because I am a big fan of the late great K.B.), or in other words as a center for collaboration. The idea of having an ongoing, nonjudgemental, intellectual dialogue with peers to further our learning and look honestly at our own writing is extremely far from a “fix-it shop” or the stereotypical know-it-all tutor v. remedial student experience––and to me, it is an integral part of the college experience. So why don’t people associate it with writing centers? It’s easy to empathize with North (‘cause that’s just DUMB!).
I too have kept my distance from tutoring and writing centers throughout high school and college because of the “stigma of remediation.” Why is seeking help and feedback always associated with weakness or inferiority? It seems a very American, individualist bias, don’t you think? This reading, thankfully, has shown me that I am just as guilty as the rest North's audience.
All that said I hope we can continue to change people’s minds this semester about what the writing center is and what it does. And great blogs everyone––I really look forward to working with a group of such critical thinkers! WOOT.
-Ben
WOW. i am definitely impressed with the quality of these posts. you guys are a pretty shiny bunch of thinkers. (-;
ReplyDeleteAnd my apologies, Brenna the comment i posted was intended for your post, not Bens :)
ReplyDelete