I have two main research ideas that I’ve been going back and forth between, mainly because I’m unsure how to approach researching. To start out, the first idea I thought about doing was looking into the use of body language during consultations. I focus quite a bit on body language inside of my consultation observation because I felt like there was more to be learned about obsession was going through the body language rather than through the actual speech that occurred. The second idea that I had was an in-depth study of the environment that was set up in the writing center and how that encourages writers to feel comfortable in the environment. This is the study that I’m leaning more towards, just because I am someone who hadn’t stepped foot in the writing center until I took this class. In my personal experience, I found it to be significantly more welcoming than I had expected. I’m not talking about the people, who are obviously welcoming, but the open bright environment puts the anxiety to ease a little bit. In that particular research project, I would go on to discuss the importance of this type of environment.

Essay: Writing Centers and the Idea of Consultancy by William McCall

 

This article essentially covers the pros and cons of using the term tutor versus using the term consultant. I find this idea to be very interesting namely because I’m at myself have been thinking about which term to use when writing up my essay on the writing center observations. I’m feeling myself using consultant rather tudor due to the fact that my previous understandings of both words align to better with the idea of the member of the writing center being a consultant. I found it particularly interesting that McCall decided to include a chart of connotations with each word, which line with my views of each word. I am rather glad that he decided to address this issue because as someone who does not use the writing center, I find the idea of using the term consultant to be more approachable then tutor simply for the fact that tutor implies wrongdoing or inadequacy. This is another thing that McCall talks about in his essay. With my limited experience of observing consultations in the UNL Writing Center, I believe that the word consultant fits the environment and approach of the members of the writing center.

Text: Collaboration, Control, and the Idea of a Writing Center by Andrea Lundsford.

As I read through this piece, I felt like Dr. Lunsford made some very excellent points about the general outlook of writing not just the perspective seen inside of writing centers. The concept of “Storehouse” centers and “Garrett” centers, as she calls them, I found accurately describe the perspective of my teachers and professors from elementary school through my college experience. I do have to agree with the idea that collaboration can help inform education, however, I find the idea of refocusing all education on collaboration rather disgusting if I’m honest. I say this not because I dislike or disapprove of collaboration. I have had some wonderful experiences that increased my knowledge and understanding of difficult subjects through collaborative work. The issue is Dr. Lunsford seems to want to change all of education to this collaborative process. The reason I think this would not be a poor decision is that when you solely teach collaboration and learn through collaboration you lose sight of individual education. I firmly believe that your education is entirely dependent on your will to learn and improve. While I think our country has gotten better at focusing on individual student’s educational needs, you can see that this idea of group learning has its downfalls. For example, my grandmother graduated from high school. She had her high school degree but never knew how to write a paper. She didn’t know how to read, all because she was able to work along side her peers to assist her through her schooling. The only reason she made it through college was that my aunt and my mother helped her learn how to read. This was when I was twelve years old, she was in her fifties at the time. Yes, I believe that collaboration is an excellent skill that should be learned and treasured. I just can’t stand behind a system that would ignore individual educational needs or hold collaboration above individual learning. That balance between the individual and the group is what I believe a writing center should reflect, not the sole focus of the group as a whole.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton