Feel free to elaborate on the "pedagogies" below:

What are the assumptions of this pedagogy regarding teaching, learning, literacy?
Who are the central theorists or researchers in this intellectual movement?
How do these approaches inform classroom practices?
How do these pedagogies define the roles of students, teachers, or educational institutions?
How can our "curriculum": http://collegewriting.us address the goals and application of these pedagogies?
What are some of the inconsistencies, obstacles, problems with these grand theories?
Please be sure to add your wikisignature where appropriate.

Process Pedagogy

The techniques of process writing work; students produce better essays. However, I do have some issues with grading. If I have a student who can sit down at the computer and by him or herself write a B essay, as an English teacher, I know about how well that student can write. If a student has help from a peer group, a writing center, and is allowed to revise the paper after a teacher's critique, do I really get the same quality of assessment of how well the individual student can write? I know that eventually the techniques of process writing should result in the student gaining writing skills for him or herself. However, at the time of assessment, one student will likely perform more competently than the other when performing solitary writing tasks. Is it really fair to give both students the same grade? Is the grade a fair assessment of the skills of the student? In the real world of business, the peer support group and teacher will not be there to help. NancyFletcher

At the end of the semester spent diligently writing in an English Composition course, most students will be able to offer a clear, albeit blunt, description of a Process Pedagogy. One student recently replied, “Well you make us write all the time, shouldn’t we be great by now?” Well, should they be great writers if they write regularly? Or do they have to come to terms with the processes of writing. When fingers fly over the keyboard, great writing may not necessarily be produced. But involvement in the process of writing, all of the processes, should produce a more adept writer. Students need to be encouraged to edit and revise. They should also be taught the striking difference between the two. The last step to the writing process, publishing, also tends to be out of their grasp and that might be a stumbling block the process pedagogy can eliminate. If students have a definite purpose and an ultimate goal for their writing, then the process will be completed and the gap in the circle closed. TaylorjoyMitchell

Ah, but anyone can have a support group for writing outside of the classroom. When I myself are not lazy or have procrastinated severely, I have others read my work for ideas and editing. I know as a grad student that I can punch out an A- paper at the last minute with no help from anyone, but I also know that if I give myself a little extra time I can improve it by giving it to a family friend who can edit anything, or to my grandmother who has wonderful ideas. The point of process pedagogy is to make students aware that there IS a process. There are different things you can include in your own process IF YOU CHOOSE. Our job as instructors is to make students aware that part of the process is collaboration and feedback, and what benefits can be had from this part of the process. They can see that they write on B level, but after peer work and instructor feedback they can turn it into A work. If we only get them to realize the potential of the process, then we have done our jobs: it is up to them whether or not they make it a lifelong benefit. -- DarcyWebber

The core essence of process pedagogy is that

focus on student writing (not reading the 'Great Literary Works')
emphasis on creating

*Assumes that reading, writing, and thinking are intertwined/inter-related.

*Assumes that students/everyone have an authority when it comes to their own writing skills. Respectful Stance.

*Assumes that writers gain power by writing about personal, meaning topics.

*Appreciation for individual.

How fine is the line between Process Pedagogy and Expressivist Pedagogy?

Common Problems

Don't teach basic linguistic skills because the focus in one developing the students voice through creative projects.

Undervalues the collaborative and social nature of writing.

Fails to complicate the notion of voice/identity.

Student writing becomes stunted because the publish aspect of the process pedagogy is absent.

Portfolios...A component of process pedagogy

One of the strengths of the portfolio pedagogy is that instead of evaluating the writing skills of the student based on one stressed-out sample, the evaluator has access to a body of the students work, written over a period of time. This should allow the evaluator to make a more accurate assessment of the student's skills. Another advantage of the portfolio process is that the student, in writing the cover letter for the portfolio, is given the opportunity to reflect on what they have written. Thus, the student becomes part of the evaluation process and more learning occurs. In addition, in this electronic age e-portfolios are being used for job skills assessment; they are a common addition to resumes. This grounds the pedagogy firmly in the "real world" and forestalls the usual student complaint that they are being taught inappropriate skills. NancyFletcher

The potential of portfolios is so great that it is hard to express it. Most students see portfolios as a one time thing: they put it together for the class and once they recieve the grade it is no longer in their thoughts. The point of portfolios is growth and reflection; a portfolio can be made over a lifetime, can be visited over and over again. It is satisfying to review what you did in second grade on a piece of writing, to see the horrible spelling errors but good ideas. Then you move on to the later years and see the improvements in thought and mechanics, maybe you want to revisit a piece and change it, revise it, or start it all over again because a good thought was there but at the time you did not have the abilities to make it great. Even if your portfolio is never "discovered" as a treasury of writing after you are gone, you can still have the personal satisfaction that "I have done this". -- DarcyWebber

Portfolio pedagogy is an adaptation of a distinct field of assessment: the art community. It is strange that it has taken this long for the writing community to comprehend the values of the portfolio and even stranger that some in the Rhetoric field still want nothing to do with portfolios. But what is not outlandish is that a body of work is a better representation than a single text. Artists produce portfolios of their body of work to express their range of talents. Why not apply this to writing? Every assignment offered is a variation on a skill and together these final assignments create a whole view of a student’s work. Growth is depicted by the viewer but also by the student putting the portfolio together. Patterns of error can be assessed and trends in writing skills noted with portfolios. When these aspects of the writing personal writing process are noted, reflection and contemplation are possible. TaylorjoyMitchell

IS this even a pedagogy?

One Feature of Process pedagogy

Expressive Pedagogy

Expressivism began in the 1960s as a reaction to the current-traditional approach to teaching writing that used traditional academic forms and lots of grammar instruction to teach students to write. Whereas the current-traditional approach put the writing at the center of the process, Expressivist pedagogy is student-centered; the key to the assessment of expressivist writing is developing the voice of the student. Expressivist teaching employs many of the same tools as process writing, such as free writing, peer review, and reflective writing. However, expressivists place the student and the intellectual, psychological and moral development of the student at the center of the process. However, there has been some criticism that the movement emphasizes the individual rather than the individual as a responsible member of the social and scholastic communities. NancyFletcher

Within the heading of "expressive pedagogy" is what bell hooks calls "engaged pedagogy" (33). hooks emphasizes the role of the teacher as an active participant in the exploration of “voices in the classroom.” hooks believes that teachers must first find their voice in order to lead students to this self-actualization (33). Peter Elbow shares hook's outlook: "...empowerment cannot happen if we refuse to be vulnerable while encouraging students to take risks" (33). -- MarisaIglesias

I think the notion of expressivist writing in relation to the classroom is a double edged sword, having both progressive and hindering elements. The emphasis on the individual becomes problematic with students that are unable or unwilling to "find and express their voice". In ENC1101, the memoir project is intended to ease students into academic writing by positing a topic more familiar and personal, but I have found that many students find it hard and/or uninteresting to write about themselves. The self-reflection and strong individual persona of this assignment (and expressive pedagogy in general) alienates and frustrates those students who have previously been unable or discouraged from developing an individuality. I had a couple students ask if it would be alright if they did a research project instead. For some writers, the subject of the self and the focus on themselves as a writer is frightening. For one reason or another they feel as if people will critique them as a person, instead of looking at the writing sample itself. In relation to Marisa's comment on the teacher's necessity to have a "voice in the classroom", I am going to admit that it took me a long time to become comfortable enought, especially with my personal and more "expressive" writing, to share it with other people and open it up to criticism, so I can definetly relate to some of the concerns voiced by my students. Just as with any other pedagogy, we must be careful with expressive pedagogy since it may not be ideal for every student, and instead of promoting writing, may in turn hinder the "voice". - LinaMichalewicz

*Dominant Writing: Memoir, Autobiography, Everything is autobiographical.

DEMOCRACY...when the democrats became bearers of the dirty words, expressivism took on a soft connotation.

A program that uses Expressive Pedagogy lean towards using projects that develop the inner voice of the writer.

Expressive voice is the root of literacy.

Teach Process in 1102 even though there are no memoir projects. Do we teach expressivist pedagogy?

Rhetorical Pedagogy

Rhetorical pedagogy focuses taking the best of the techniques from the past and applying them to the present. As teachers, our responsibility is to make students aware that, for example, Aristotle and his ethos, logos, pathos approach to writing arguments is still relevant. Attention to the history of rhetorical forms and adapting the traditional forms of argument for successful classroom use gives our students access to a powerful argumentative methodology for their writing. NancyFletcher

Not so well...What is rhetorical pedagogy?

No, more than ethos, pathos, logos.

Knowing audience, setting, time. Being aware of who one is speaking, writing to. Context and communication can be defined.
A real sensitivity to audience. Also, a sensitivity to genre.
Different kinds of communications require different modes/genres. Greater appreciation for sample readings.
Situated in History
Gives a body a content in English. Using ethos, paths and logos to teach that body of content.

*Use of all types of rhetoric. Visual media is especially important to today's technology savvy.

*Manipulation of audience, language to get points. Hitler. Thank you for Smoking. Atomic Cafe.

Collaborative Pedagogy

Collaborative Pedagogy, as the name suggests, takes the focus of composition studies away from individualistic teaching methods and towards collaborative working methods such as small-group discussion, peer response, and collaborative writing (55). Kenneth A Bruffee, a leading scholar in collaborative pedagogy as it applies to composition studies, writes of the benefits of collaboration. He believes that a collaborative environment not only allows for students to engage "more deeply with the text," but also allows students to participate in intellectual conversations (65). MarisaIglesias

There are many intelligent reasons why collaborative pedagogy should be beneficial. Almost all teachers now use some form of peer review in their classes; group projects for underclassmen are common. However, as far as true collaborative essays or projects, I do not believe that they are likely to be practical in America, land of the individualist. Using collaborative writing in our college classrooms would require more than just a major revamp of the grading process; it would require a basic change in the type of individual student taking the course. In countries like Japan, where the culture is organized more around collectivism, collaborative learning in the college classroom might be successfully introduced. However, in America and Europe, while it is common for great artists to take their inspiration from the people and things that they find around them (Shakespeare is a good example), there is usually a guiding genius that resides for the most part in one individual. The only exceptions to this rule that I can think of come in music, where for relatively long periods of time, two people (Rogers and Hammerstein) have collaborated on musical compositions. At this time, I do not think that collaborative pedagogy will be successful to any great extent in America, not because of a problem with the pedagogy; the problem is with the people. NancyFletcher

This is collaborative. Working together to...the heart:

notion that all academic works stand on the shouldes of other, previous academic writing and research.
Yet, why does academia desire the single author?

FACTHumanities have worst completion statistics for dissertation...because they go add all the time and are not allowed to write collaboratively. 30-40% higher rate of writing on your own. Council of graduate schools keeps records. Things are changing.

Cultural Studies and Composition

With the onset of the culture wars, writing and teaching writing became a political act. Race, class, and gender (all grouped under the heading multiculturalism) became the spring board by which scholars discussed theories of literacy. Scholars like Raymond Williams, Righard Hoggart, and E.P. Thompson began to ask questions in their works about the unheard voices and power structures of the elite Ivory Tower-ites. The shift to Cultural Studies is reminiscient of (the very Romantic) Expressivist Pedagogy and Feminist Pedagogy because it upholds different voices and values. What are the problems when Cultural Studies combines popular culture (of the people), mass communication and teaching composition? Cultural Studies, to an extent, supports what it is trying to break, that is elitism within academic discourse. Cultural theorists act under the assumption that they are the only ones who can understand a pop culture document, for instance. They give no agency to non-academic viewers, who may or may not find a message from cultural products. As a teacher of this style of pedagogy or theory, always be aware of other opinions and meanings that other people may have. SarahWray

Having lived through a greater number of years than most graduate students of a canon that privileged white, male, American-European, Judeo-Christian authors to the exclusion of almost all other writers, I may see the need a bit more clearly for a pedagogy that recognizes that the world does not and should not revolve around the aforementioned patriarchal system. The cultural studies pedagogy shares the concern of the expressivists for the feelings of the individual, but it acknowledges that the individual is, in large part, a product of his or her culture. It is somehow appropriate that this pedagogy be taught in the "melting pot" or "salad bowl" of American education. NancyFletcher

Coming from a background that is not American, the idea of cultural studies has always fascinated me, both in theory and practice, and I agree with the problems that Sarah Wray finds within Cultura Studies Pedagogy. Especially in dealing with freshmen students, it is difficult to create an awareness of culture and culturally shaped assumptions when approaching a text. I had my class read Kafka's "Metamorphosis" as their literary analysis text, and when I asked the students about the setting, in their opinion, of the short story the answer came back as England. The argument paraphrased, according to one group of students, was that the dialogue was different from American English so it must, therefore, by default be British. The notion that the original text was written in German by an Austrian author was not even considered, eventhough the story uses "Herr" instead of "Mr.". Most students didn't even consider the possibility of translation.

Translation is also an interesting concept that I sometimes struggle with. Having studied Polish Lit. in its original language and then looking at english translations of the same texts, I at times find it hard to reconcile the two versions. Without question, words have different meanings and connotations in different languages, and any act of translation is also an act of interpretation, so in essence what we get with any translated text is one translator's view on the original. I do think it is important to still have translation, since it provides access to literature/text of various languages and cultures that would otherwise be unapproachable, but the reader should be aware that they are not reading an original text but one that has been filtered. - LinaMichalewicz

Heart of Cultural Studies and Composition:

Voices that have not yet been heard. There are voices that have been excluded. Equalizer or Power equalizer. Privileging one cultrue over the others.
Are changing. Profound Change.
Media allows us to peek into other cultures back alleys.
Different things.
Awareness of influences outside of yourself in writing. Culture shapes everything, even the words on the page.
Awareness of how cultures are disappearing. Be wary of assimilation, because they want to retain their unique cultural aspects.
Sensitive to gender and sex.

McDonalds is taking over the world. May I help you. Would you like fries with that?

Language

Is language gendered, male-agressive and heterosexual.

Is this a pedagogy or just a content?

Critical Pedagogy

Ideally, the university is a place for humans to freely cultivate knowledge and theory without constraints. Critical pedagogy can work, if, as Ann George says, students and teachers remain on the same wavelength of respect and trust. I, perhaps idealistically, believe that we can force our students to question why they believe what they believe without overstepping our bounds and without imposing our own views upon them. This does not mean that students are forced to abandon their nicely packaged beliefs, only that they must unwrap those packages and examine the contents. It seems to follow that critical pedagogy should take place in the composition classroom. Let us bring them to the edge and leave them to find their own way out, let us tenderly bring up that which makes some uncomfortable and allow it to air, and let us drop in values or theories that we may not hold ourselves, only to make them inspect their own thoughts. Students may then be free to have the undergrad “ah-ha” moment, when they realize that the world they want to see may not exist, when they think that they hold the power to change the world into the one they want to see, when all they once knew breaks down in order for them to peer over the rubble and see the vast landscape of knowledge spreading out in front of them. ENC 1101 is constructed to give us the potential to expose our students to questioning the world. ENC 1101 is the ideal starting point for questioning themselves-- for asking, what is knowledge? what is truth? what is art? I feel as though these students are just waiting for us to ignite their minds into the beginning of critical thinking. -- JamieKinsley

What Jamie wrote is absolutely lyrical and I don't know that I could improve upon it except to say that I have a practical problem with it in everyday classroom use. No matter how hard I try, if I even give a hint about my opinions in the classroom, the greater majority of my students will either agree with me or pretend to agree with me to get a better grade. In other words, I do not have to impose my views on them; they do that much too readily to themselves. However, on the positive side, one of the best responses I got all semester was from a student who had written from an extremely homophobic viewpoint in her blog. When questioned about her views, she said, "I wasn't thinkin; I was just writin. Now that we have talked about it, I wish I had written something else. I don't really hate gay people; it's just that a lot of my family feels that way." That student learned something about gay people, but hopefully she also learned not to express hurtful opinions without thinking about them. Thank the gods for the process method; she rewrote her blog. I think that critical thinking is going to be one of the hardest things to teach. NancyFletcher

notion that not only are we teaching that people are oppressed but working with the language that oppresses them.
Resistance to language.
Getting people to look at how culture shapes us.
Why is our government fighting this war in Iraq?

*Difference between knee-jerk response and the way students really feel.

*How to unpackage the stereotypes indoctrinated in our students from their parents, home-town, high-school.

*Continuing one with lanuage cultural war. Our job in a way is to correct errors in language use; we are the gatekeepers.

*Language is a commodity we are offering our students for exchange of what?

*Students should be authors of their words, not prisoners of them. Language is a tool to use, but one doesn't have to be defined by it. Offer the peasant the language of power to fight against power. Take care of the children. peasants, those not educated. Paul Feriero (sp). (Students are not peasants.)

*We are changing these students through teaching a particular type of discourse. Deconstructing what our students know throughout four years and yet, most people return to from where they began.

*Inculturation of education.

Feminist Pedagogy

Before we discuss Feminist Pedagogy, a definition of Feminism is in order. bell hooks says in her work Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics that feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression (viii). -- SarahWray

Even though it may be more "a set of questions, than a list of practices," (126) feminist pedagogy strives to make clear that Feminism in general centers on ceasing sexual exploitation and basic oppression. Feminism is a wide embracing theory which seems to mesh well with the ever increasing theories of compositional pedagogies. Working towards guiding writers as opposed to leading them, Feminist Pedagogy can focus on gendered language, the politics of power, and the presence of oppression. Feminism pedagogy has a "relentless capacity for dialogue and self-critique and its ability to read and listen rhetorically" (119) speak on behalf of its many strengths. As with other rhetorical pedagogies, feminist pedagogy is not the whole answer to the issues that have been plaguing composition since its inception. Yet, the strengths of feminist pedagogy can be utilized to create a more supportive realm for student writers. TaylorjoyMitchell

Let me preface my remarks by saying that I am a feminist. I believe that the feminist pedagogy takes the best from several of the other pedagogies. The feminist pedagogy shares the process pedagogy's attitude toward the teacher as guide and mentor rather than authority figure. From expressive pedagogy, feminist pedagogy takes the valuing of the writer's feelings. Feminist pedagogy certainly has a lot in common with cultural studies pedagogy; in many cases, women are the primary archivists of the culture. Finally, feminist pedagogy is concerned with social and community issues; a feminist knows about power and political action. -- NancyFletcher

A feminist pedagogy is the only way to end certain forms of bias or discrimination inside and outside of academia. All too often academia is treated as if it is its own world and that all of the social and ethical problems that exist outside its walls do not exist within it. However, this is not true. Going by bell hooks definition of feminism, it would seem that this type of pedagogy is fundamental for teaching at the university. --SusanSavageLee

Although the label "feminist pedagogy" appears to exclude male scholars, it is important to recognize that it is an inclusive methodology. Susan C. Jarratt comments on this idea: "Just as many women in the feminist movement are deeply commitedto antiracism, and straight people work toward the eradication of homophobia and raising consiousness about discrimination toward gay and lesbian people, men have a deep stake in the goals of feminism" (116). -- MarisaIglesias

My only problem with Feminist Pedagogy is that it is rooted in gender stereotypes: the nurturing woman and the aggressive man. Perhaps by accepting these stereotypes as a Pedagogy, feminists can reinscribe and reclaim these categories. We can only discuss ourselves in accessible, available terms, which I think is the problem with this Pedagogy. First society needs to realize that women and men are not biologically gendered as much as socially gendered. -- SarahWray

By introducing students to the goals of Feminist Pedagogy, we have the opportunity to teach them to be aware of how gender roles can restrict identity and how these roles function in our society. This is an important step towards teaching them how to become critical thinkers and Feminist Pedagogy provides a valuable starting point for this process because everyone is included in gender debate. - TiffanyLowden

Community-Service Pedagogy

Representative Charles Rangel, the Draft, and Community Service Pedagogy

Ain’t going to study war no more.—John W. Work, 1940

Nothing to kill or die for… John Lennon

Even though no military draft presently exists, a federal law remains on the books that require males to check in and sign up with the Selective Services of the Armed Forces when they reach 18 years of age. Representative Charles Rangel of New York has expressed strong interest in actually reinstating the draft. According to an article in the November 20, 2006 issue of the St. Petersburg Times, Rangel “sees his idea as a way to deter politicians from launching wars and to bolster U.S. troop levels insufficient to cover potential future action in Iran, North Korea, and Iraq.” Rangel’s argument makes sense if America is genuine in its war efforts on terrorism and its solid drive to pave the roads of the world with its idealized brand of democracy. However, “polls have shown repeatedly that about seven in 10 Americans oppose reinstatement of the draft, and officials say they do not expect to restart conscription” (Times). This statistic clearly indicates America’s lack of commitment and willingness to subject its youth to the trials and dangers of warfare. In other words, more than half the American population oppose at least resist military fighting.

Rangel’s plan is more of a compelling strategy to bring attention to the present “all-volunteer military that disproportionately puts the burden of war on minorities and lower-income families” (Times). The African American congressman is an outspoken and highly respected northeastern democrat who is a veteran of the Korean War. On CBS’s Face the Nation that aired on November 19, 2006, Rangel said, “There’s no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft and members of Congress and the administration thought their kids from their communities would be placed in harm’s way.” Proposal for conscription, nonetheless, is a long shot and even outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld recognizes its improbable return (Times).

Laura Julier, Associate Professor of American Thought and Language at Michigan Stare University, in an essay describes a college course outline in community-service pedagogy that “while students read, critically analyzed, and responded in class to issues raised by American literary and historical texts, they would simultaneously work with various community nonprofit and social service agencies” (132). The service learning projects would then result in what one of Julier’s colleagues refers to as “real world writing.” This approach toward teaching and learning composition writing reflects the educational philosophy of John Dewey, who “viewed community as an integral part of educational experiences, because what is learned in the school must be taken and utilized beyond its bounds, both for the advancement of the student and the betterment of future societies” (133). Congressman Rangel’s conception of “having a draft would not necessarily mean everyone called to duty would have to serve” (Times). Quite naturally and expectedly, many parents oppose sending off their offspring to kill or be killed. Some religions, such as the Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers, adamantly disapprove of war. Rangel expects and hopes “young people (would) commit themselves to a couple years in service to this great republic, whether it’s our seaports, our airports, in schools, in hospitals” (Face the Nation).

During the FDR Administration, many artists and writers across the nation were actively employed in their professional, cultural fields through the Work Program Administration with extreme success. At the same period of time, local parks, public buildings, bridges and highways were improved and beautified through the efforts of the Civilian Conservation Corp. Under Rangel’s proposal, “educational benefits” would be guaranteed to all individuals after the completion of their two-year community service with designs and methods similarly used in the WPA and CCC social programs of the past. Such a favorable, and perhaps patriotic community-service program could easily be combined with a corresponding composition class where civilian-service workers actively engage in relevant, challenging, and simulating readings and follow-up discussions with an emphasis on writing reflectively and maintaining daily journals with thoughts, opinions, and feelings that get shared. What Rangel suggests constitutes a much more practical, feasible, and democratic course in addressing and adopting the principles and aspirations of community-service pedagogy. Rangel’s plan for a draft can be modified and adapted to a learning service pedagogy that will employ, support, and direct American youth not only in regard to acquiring skills for survival, but to help them discover meaning and purpose to their young lives. In the light of a lifetime, two years is not much to request, to sacrifice, or to contribute in hope of obtaining personal satisfaction and enduring happiness. SzewczykHome

Community-Service pedagogy seems to be very admirable, but as I mentioned in class, I am not sure how it can be effectively brought into the curriculum of an 1101 or 1102 course. The writing that seems to stem from this pedagogy is more professional writing than that of writing papers and developing rhetorical analysis. Perhaps one project that is part of an option would be good for those students that feel that they need a more real life assignment.--MarieHendry

For project three in my 1102 sections, we are effectively incorporating this pedagogy into class. The students are excited about exposing hiring discrimination, among other social injustices, and persuading those in power to make positive changes. Collaboration is a great counterpart to community service pedagogy. The students are successfully delegating tasks, cooperatively reasearching, and learning the ultimate lesson of collaboration-that it is a requirement in today's workforce to be able to work well with others. And why are they here if not to learn how to get better jobs and excel in their careers? By sending the students out together into this constructed "real world" to make an effort to change it for the better, I am convinced that community service pedagogy is by far the most productive in my classroom.--VivianTaylor

Community-service pedagogy emerges from the various composition pedagogies as the most promising to help composition students appreciate the importance of good writing skills. While cultural and feminist pedagogies can result in the positive change of perspective, community-service takes critical reflection and research to the next stage of social action. In her “Community-Service Pedagogy,” Laura Julier writes that “composition scholars can be agents of social change outside the university” (138). As students apply their research and writing to social outlets, they are able to immediately comprehend the impact of their writing. Moreover, students under this pedagogy are aware that they are writing for a larger audience. This awareness intuitively heightens a sense that the work must be thorough and correct.

In practical application of this pedagogy, it is necessary to ground the students in an understanding of what they are hoping to achieve. There are concerns that many students lose focus of the writing aspect of the community-service project and concentrate merely on presentation. To combat this single-minded motivation, it is essential to instill students with the idea that presentation means nothing without a message to support. Strong writing conveys a strong message. If students develop their projects with this goal in sight, it is inevitable that the primary focus of these projects will be powerful theses. In utilizing the community-service project, the research and the paper should precede action in the community. Only after students are satisfied with their message and conclusion should they move on to the development stage of their projects. However, it should be understood that the sequential processes of research, reflection and response are of equal importance.--SaraBaugh

Writing Across Curriculum

The problem with the writing across the curriculum pedagogy is that it is not a practical alternative in our four year college situation. Perhaps at a small liberal arts school, it could be accomplished. However, the implementing of such a program would entail such massive re-organization of the faculty (with the pay scale issues that would immediately ensue), textbook re-organization (from which discipline should the primary text be drawn?), curriculum re-arranging (how will this affect my major?) that it simply is not a realistic possibility in the current four year college structure. Almost every teacher is excited by the idea. Almost all of them agree that it could never work. Reality rears its ugly head.--NancyFletcher

A great way to make this pedagogy work would only take a simple meeting of deans: gather the scientists, engineers, artists, and others to a session of curriculum ideas. The point is not to restructure a whole program, or a whole college, but to turn thinking towards writing for everyone, and that writing across the curriculum benefits all programs within a college. All it takes is for the writing program to assure everyone that we do not have our own agenda in terms of curriculum (we are not here to indoctrinate or assimilate our student to our own ways of thinking), but that the ultimate goal is for students to be successful at writing from start to finish, something we struggle with immensely as a department here. Ask the various departments and schools to give input as to what types of writing their students are required to do for their degrees, and is there some way that we can merge them? Not only would each program then have a hand in shaping our students' writing, but then maybe our students can then have a choice in their projects: a medical student can choose to write a scientific paper on ethics, or an education student can conduct a study and write a paper on the findings. As long as the writing program's goals and outcomes are met, why not? All it takes is a little willingness and flexibility on everyone's part, and no one is expected to do backbends. -- DarcyWebber

*Eventually people will put their money into writing. It will happen. It is going to happen. In the past, a person did not need to be a qualified writer because there was a secretarial staff implemented to aid in writing. Now everyone will have to write for themselves.

Writing Center Pedagogy

A Writing Center encourages writers to discuss confidentially with tutors the client's writing. In a Writing Center tutorial, the discussion is client-centered, client-driven, and has an enormous amount of flexibility. Anything of grammar to idea invention may be discussed at any stage of the writing process by either client or tutor. In other words, the Writing Center tutorial is a place of possibility, where grades are marginialized and the power relationship is noticably different from that of the classroom. Two questions might be asked. First, how might Writing Centers augment the educational mission of the FYC classroom as well as the writing classrooms across the university? Second, to what degree could the Writing Center be used as the centerpiece for teaching writing at the Freshman Level? The Writing Center can be very important to the writing process. Students, who might not feel especially comfortable speaking with their own instructor can find another trained teacher who can give them individualized help. Moreover, students can come back multiple times a week at most Writing Centers. Students then can work with tutors on papers, often times devolping positive relationships and gaining an understanding of the importance of revisions and dicussion in the writing process. However, a Writing Center pedagody requires close interaction among tutors and the FYC program, so that the advice students get in the classroom matches what they get in the classroom. Can a writing pedagogy make up the center of FYC program? Perhaps, but it would require a completely different type of organization, employment and training of instructors, and even set of objectives for the curriculum. - QuentinVieregge

Writing Center Pedagogy is a place of possibility. But only if the student has not procrastinated in writing his/her paper and if the writing center tutor is prepared to read and comment on the written assignment. That's all I have to say about that. TaylorjoyMitchell

*Have a publisher read students' works. Do a study to find out how that particular kind of additional feedback would help student writing? Is it outsourcing academic work to publishers?

*When it comes to teaching doesn't being there help the most? Letting them revise and taking their work seriously is an imporant aspect of writing.

*Writing Center is a branch of the conferencing pedagogy. Writing center is tutorial based. One-on-one help with papers. Empire College does soley a one-on-one basis.

*Students and teachers need to be on the same level when discussing work.

Basic Writing Pedagogy

What could I possibly say to these students or write in the margins of their papers that would help them?—Deborah Mutnick

Education is a process of transformation through conflict and struggle.—Min-Zhan Lu

Although I do not hold current statistics in my hands, I have often heard and read in the news, especially as an interested urban public school teacher, that there are more Black males in prison than there are in college. I am reminded of Malcolm X, who Deborah Mutnick would most likely categorize as an outsider in her essay, who became self-educated in prison, beginning with the memorization of the entire alphabetical list of entry words and definitions appearing in the dictionary he possessed in a jail cell. Incredibly bright, insightful, articulate and eloquent, Malcolm X, for who a school teacher conveyed to him it was unimaginable for a Black child to aspire to become a lawyer, never received an official college degree yet he was invited to major forums such as Harvard University to speak. Even though David Bartholomae ‘‘accounts for privilege in terms of knowledge rather than race, class, gender, or other social structures,” he conveniently dismisses the process in how that knowledge becomes available and obtained. Surely the haves in America have more access to the power inherent in knowledge and relevant information than the have nots. According to Mina Shaughnessy, ‘‘the literacy crisis of her day was in response” to the academic needs of the affluent rather than the socioeconomically disadvantaged (184). This last example identifies the authority of whose voice will be recognized and receive immediate attention.

Americans tend to boast or even insist that everyone in this country is equal, but this belief represents more of a romanticized attitude than factual living history. And even the simplistic idea that every individual has the same or equal opportunity for achievement as any other individual continues to promote fanciful thinking. Students who attend private secondary schools with rigorous curriculums, advanced placement courses, and meaningful and supportive extracurricular activities have much more of an advantage of enrolling and succeeding in highly ranked and prestigious universities than students from impoverished and neglected school districts. An affluent and privileged background assures scholarly preparation and provides academic confidence for those students who have no financial doubt or part-time worry that they will indeed be attending college. Consequently, the metaphorical starting lines vary amongst college students and I must agree with Patricia Bizzell and Mike Rose who refuse to accept ‘‘basic writers as cognitively deficient” (189). Such a negative view resembles more of treating a clinical condition rather than seriously approaching an educational need.

If compositionists consider writing as a process, than incoming Freshman College students will not be perceived in cookie cutter fashion as all existing and starting on the same page. All groups of students, especially in large universities, are relatively diverse requiring a variety of individualistic writing needs. Naturally all students possess varying degrees of strengths and weaknesses; needless to say, “basic writers are indeed educable” (185). If basic writing in this country “signifies struggles for inclusion, diversity, and equal opportunity,” then basic writing students need to be positioned appropriately and viewed fairly in an integral process of becoming better writers, albeit academic ones, instead of becoming figuratively and literally marginalized or abandoned in the academic jungle. Shaughnessy confronts directly the real issue in stating that it is “not how many people society is willing to salvage, but how much this society is willing to pay to salvage itself” (185). In a perfect world, universities would genuinely welcome the diversity of students and not even think “to abolish basic writing” programs (183).

Freshman College composition classes tend to be taught by adjuncts and graduate students. Many would agree with Shaughnessy and Andrea Lunsford in her 1970 study at Ohio State University that “teachers need to better trained” (188-189). The poet, Victor Hernandez Cruz is a former student of Herb Kohl, a well known educator and writer from the late sixties and early seventies whose best seller 36 Children, describes a first year sixth grade teacher’s struggles and triumphs in a Harlem public school classroom. Cruz writes, “before teachers can impose a reality on students, teachers must first confirm the reality of the student.” Americans like to think of America as a classless society where anyone can grow up to become president. However, “to be successful in college, basic writers must eventually choose academic culture and its more socially powerful discourse over their own cultural beliefs” (189). Peter Rondinone believes “that students may have to resist or even abandon friends and family in order to acquire literary skills” (190). Others such as Keith Gilyard disagree; nonetheless, the environmental demands of college pose a threatening and intimidating change for many non-traditional students. Freshmen College composition students deserve teachers with the intelligent compassion of Cruz and Kohl, the determined awareness of Bizzell and Rose, and the faith in the assumption of Bartholomae and Petrosky who value “the academy as an ideologically neutral zone that fosters critical thinking and self-criticism, rather than a key site for the reproduction of the dominant culture, and that literacy is indeed a ticket to upward social mobility' (191). SzewczHome

*Should we deal with grammar?

*Writing Center does not deal with grammar because they focus on higher order thinking. English as second level students can go there for help.

*Writing center was non-directive approach. Focus on higher order levels not grammar. Students have the ability to catch their own grammar mistakes even if they do not know technical terms for those errors. If is "sounds" wrong they usually know how to fix it.