To begin with, I would like to apologize to the group for not posting on our last reading (Corbett). I am really overwhelmed right now. Three jobs plus grad school will do that to a gal!
Enough sniveling!
Carino’s central argument is that Writing Center tutors shouldn't be too trepidatious about taking a bit of an authoritative role in a tutoring situation. I agree. Why?
First of all, I don’t agree with him that “power” and “authority” are not nice words. It depends on the context. If I have the “power” to help a student build his confidence in his writing abilities, that’s a good thing. If I have some “authority” on what makes a workable thesis statement, that’s also a good thing.
But let’s also address the lens I’m looking through. As I keep reminding everyone (ad nauseum, perhaps), technically speaking I’m not a peer to the students who come into the Writing Center. I am not currently enrolled at CWI (although I was in 2012) and I earned my bachelor’s degree 18 years ago. I am currently a graduate student and I have taught English for 12 years. So, does that make me a peer or someone who can be thought of as having a bit more authority? I don’t know the answer to that, but I will say that I am completely comfortable with asserting my knowledge of what needs to go into a paper, and if it’s something that the student needs to hear, something that would help the student understand the task at hand, I’m probably going to say it. Why else are we there? Besides, if a student doesn't want to get it right, he wouldn't be in the Writing Center in the first place, would he?
Moving on, Carino puts the Writing Center in the role of being the political underdog,
“While the classroom holds the high ground, the hegemonic position afforded by institutional recognition, writing centers have functioned more like a minority party, recognized as a voice but lacking institutional power, operating pedagogically somewhat clandestinely…” (p. 116).
I find this particularly interesting. Honestly, I never would have thought of a college/university Writing Center as a breeding ground for subversive ideals. From what I observed last week, our Writing Lab is there to help students be more successful in their classes, not rally students to become agitators. I've been in plenty of college classrooms, on the other hand, where the professor preached to us to think for ourselves and fight against the hegemony Carino mentions. His experience with writing centers, vastly superior to my own, makes me want to visit others. I want to see those that he cited from Grimm (1999) and Davis (1995) that “take a subversive stance, seeing as their duty exposing students to what they perceive as the oppressive power structures of the university and society itself”. POWER TO THE TUTORS!!! THE MAN IS KEEPING US DOWN!!! (Tongue firmly planted in cheek!!).
You know, the more I think about it, the more I think you're right about that "power" and "authority" can be nice words. There's a reason why so many advertisers use "power" because it means something to people. They use it as the means you're describing. Thank you for bringing that up. He has to mean specifically to this situation because I can think of all kinds of places where power is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI also love the energy that you put into this post. You do mention, "am I a peer tutor?". I think so simply on the grounds that you are the same age as the rest of us. We're all adults of varying ages and we're all learning whether we are on the job or not. ;) Just because you're not a student doesn't mean you're not a peer. I think peer is too vague a term to define that way.
You also picked out the one paragraph I struggled to understand. I suppose that means I have to actually go back and define all the terms I don't know. I usually don't mind, but... usually there aren't so many. @.@
Good luck, Anne-Marie!
Your ending made me laugh out loud, I must say! One of my professors at Boise State talked about another Writing Center, I don't remember where, perhaps in Florida, where the tutors are required to dress in professional attire and have at least associates degrees. It was obviously a 4 year school, but I don't know I would be comfortable going to a writing center with so much "pedigree and sophistication." I feel that kind of environment would scare less-educated students away.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this setup blends in with Carino's essay, but the idea of "power" and "authority" in a writing center really brought it to mind.
I love your insight when we discuss what we read. I always learn something from your perspective. We do have power and authority and we simply need to employ them correctly. And I enjoyed your ending as well. I think I have heard Rick touch on this gently in the past, by saying we need to keep our opinions about assignments and practices of the teachers to ourselves. Our focus should be on the writing and helping them to succeed, not bad mouthing the professors and the institution in general. I hadn't had any of these thought while reading the article but after reading your response I thought about how silly it was, but perhaps there was something to be seen there. Something that we could learn from this that can be applied to our writing center at CWI. I have enjoyed very much digesting these readings with you. Good luck to all!
ReplyDelete