When I first began my journey in English 383, I struggled (as you could see in my earlier posts) with the concept of making better writers, not necessarily better writing. After some reflection, I think that I struggled with this idea because of the way that I learned to write well.
When I was younger, my parents would read my writing and show me where I had made errors, whether they were sentences that didn't make sense or a comma that was in the wrong place. The next time I would write, I would concentrate on the mistakes that I had made earlier to ensure that I did not make the same mistake twice. Granted, I was about eight years old and my errors were minor, but I truly believe that that is the way that I learned to write. I think that I had to come to terms with the fact that not everyone learns that way and that fixing a peer's writing won't always make that peer a better writer.
As a result of the many readings that we have done and my own personal observations, I think that I now understand the concept of minimalism in the writing center. While there are some errors that we could simply point out to the writers, in order to improve the writer in the long-term, they must find and correct errors on their own. This is not to say that we cannot lead them to those errors, but rather that we must take more of a "behind the scenes" role during consultations.
I do not think that anyone would respond to a writing consultant pointing out an entire essay's worth of errors to them, the way that I had when my parents had edited my papers. I think that I have come to the realization that we are not authority figures, like parents or professors, but play the role of a knowledgeable friend who you would go to when you don't understand a concept. While your friends might help explain general ideas to you, the only way that you will truly grasp a concept is if you come to conclusions on your own. I now understand that idea and plan to carry it with me when I become a writing consultant.
There's a place where Emerson's idea of self-reliance meeting our writing pedagogy. We want to help writers, but they must be engaged in the process.
ReplyDeleteIt puzzles me that so many are not engaged. Faculty bear some responsibility, since we could give writers more engaging assignments.
At the same time, we might look at what writers do to avoid work--procrastination, poor planning, lack of experience. A Consultant cannot fix either the writer's or faculty member's shortcomings.
This is where some form of minimalism comes into play; the writer simply must do the work herself. We are the coach on the sidelines, showing and cajoling. We cannot step into the game ourselves.