Trouble of Writing Centers

I am thinking about my final project of promoting the Writing Center. Certainly I want to address that there is a Writing Center and that there are resources for all students. Then I thought-- well what about all of the concerns and questions that people have about the Writing Center. We addressed some of these concern in class-- Will my teacher grade me harder if I go to the Writing Center? Will the tutors actually help me? Will they proofread my paper for me? I decided to look up what other Writing Centers may have trouble with and came across the article "College Composition and the work of the Writing Center" by Nancy Maloney Grimm. She addressed some similar themes-- what is the role of the writing consultants, what is the faculty opinion of  the writing center, are the tutors really qualified to help me??

All of these thoughts have led to me to think that we need to address these questions in out advertisements. We need people to know that the Writing Consultants take a course to become Writing Consultants, that most (all??) faculty support the Writing Center, and that Writing Consultants can help at any point of the writing process.

Check out the article: http://www.jstor.org/stable/358600

How about a rap?

I was doing a little research on writing center promotion and I came across what seemed to me like a really cool poem. It was formatted like a poem, short lines and dashes dispersed throughout, but as I read this "poem" I realized that it was just a formatting issue and was really just an essay. Then it dawned on me-- someone should right a poem to advertise for the writing center. It should describe what the writing center is all about, where it is located, how to make an appointment, etc. Then I thought--poems are kind of boring, but raps are exciting! If I had any musical talent or the ability to rap I was make make my final project a rap about the writing center. So for anyone out there who might has knack for rap I think you should write one! I know there must be someone who hasn't written there project proposal yet so please use the idea!

Collaboration

As I reflected on my consultation with Gyra the word collaboration repeatedly came to mind. I felt as though what we were doing truly a collaborative effort. She would make a comment about something that would spark a thought in my mind. The dialogue was back and forth back and forth and we developed new ideas or ways of phrasing ideas. With this in mind I decided to do a little more research on collaboration in Writing Centers. In an article by Murial Harris called Collaboration Is Not Collaboration Is 
Not Collaboration: Writing Center Tutorials vs. Peer-Response Groups I learned about the distinction made between what Writing Centers accomplish and what peer response sessions are like. She also differentiates between collaborative writing versus collaborative learning. On page 370 she says that collaborative writing is when multiple people work to create a piece of writing while collaborative learning is the process by which  writer and a reader work together to improve a piece of writing. While collaborative learning occurs within the Writing Center, peer response groups are often very informal and take place in the dorm, study rooms, or coffee shops. Harris thinks that students do not often understand the importance of having a serious review of their work rather then just having a friend proofread it. I think this is a really good point. While it is good to have a friend read your paper, it is always better to make the review part of your learning process by going to a consultant and having a serious session about your paper.


Check out the link to this arcticle.. it's pretty good! http://www.jstor.org/stable/358228?seq=1

response to Professor Dolson's comment

Professor Dolson commented on my blog about the success story I had with my brother. She asked: As you look back, what do you remember as key moments? Do you think you can learn from your success with your brother in a way that you can apply to working with strangers and friends?

To answer her first question, there are a few moments when I remember thinking to myself: "he is starting to get it!" I taught him a revising revising tool that I use to make sure that my points flow from paragraph to paragraph and with the second paper I helped him with he said, "I did what you taught me to make sure it all flows and I really think this paper does." It sure did! This is a moment where I was helping him to help himself. I gave him this tool and now he is able to do it and check on his own. I also think that I was able to help his clear up some of his ideas. Ironically, just last week we both had a paper due on John Rawl's. I really enjoyed helping him with that paper because I was able to talk to him about the content. How crazy is that??? Talking to my brother about the Original Position and the Veil of ignorance?!

With regards to the second question I think the most important thing that I have learned from helping my brother is that your demeanor can make a big difference in the consultation. You can imagine that with my brother I could have easily acted like a goofball with him or told him that his 3rd paragraph was ridiculous, but instead I take a professional outlook with him. When I think about what it would be like to work with a stranger I think it is really important not to act too formally with them. I am someone who is very comfortable with strangers. I love chit chat and finding connections. I think by establishing with a stranger that we are peers and can act as friends is better than acting sternly. It is all about finding that middle ground!

Valentine's Day Promotion

I am incredibly excited about this Valentine's Day promotion that Gyra, Rachel, and I are going to work on for our final project. We have already done some brainstorming and think that this could actually be something that be implemented if we take all of the right steps. Certainly there would be flyers posted all over campus (D-flyer included!), we could put notices in mailboxes, and table. Professor Dolson mentioned that something similar to this was done a Randolf Macon. We could contact their Writing Center and see how they work their promotion and also if they see an increase in students. I think this could be really great and super fun!

Boy's and Girl's Club

Davena was on top of her game at the Boy's and Girl's Club on Monday. She had her interview done and her story written out so we were ready to roll! Gyra and I helped her edit her narrative and add some imagery to set the scene. We told her that she did a great job, but to be honest I was not all that impressed. Before I continue I must admit that I have not had much experience working with children in the classroom so I do not know what most children her age are capable of, but her writing just did not seem to be at a 5th grade caliber. Her sentences we random. There was no sequenceing and the majority of the narrative was unrelated to the topic.She seemed really proud to have interviewed her Daddy and Uncle and tell us about them. Their pearl of wisdom was "Obey your parents". Nice job Dad--just sneak that in there! I imagine that most parents would have given a follow your dreams-type pearl of wisdom. Interesting...

Writing Consulting-cancelled!

Thursday at 3. An appointment is always made and always dropped. The last 3 weeks that I was supposed to go to the Writing Center to shadow I have either been texted ahead of time that the appointment was cancelled or waited fifteen minutes before deciding that no one was coming. I'm not too concerned that I haven't had many shadowings. I feel as if I have gotten a lot of experience working with others and helping them on projects whether that be at the Boys and Girls Club or with my brothers and sister. However, I haven't gotten a lot of variety. I am used to what my brothers and sister need help with. I have not yet worked with an ESL student or someone just has no idea what to do. Again, I'm not too worried though because I think I am a pretty personable person and will be able to help people in some way.

Proud

I have a brother who is a freshman and Northwestern University. Certainly we all know Northwestern is an excellent and challenging school. He plays on the baseball team there so he has a super busy schedule. Needless to say I am super proud of him and could boast forever, but I am writing this blog post today to share a story.

My brother has always done well in school, but to be honest he probably would not have been accepted to Northwestern if he couldn't play baseball so well. With that being said he was really anxious about the academic climate and if he would be able to handle the demanding workload. He was particularly nervous about all the reading and papers that he would have to write. I told him that I would help him all the way through and he could always send a paper my way for me to help him with. He will send me the paper, I'll go through it, and then we usually skype and we work together to make changes. I probably do this once a week I enjoy it because I love doing something for my brother, but also because I am getting a lot of practice as a writing consultant. Well last night he called to tell me that one of his teachers told him that his writing had improved so much in just ten weeks and that she was really impressed with his work. I congratulated him and told him how proud I was of him. He then told me how much he appreciated all my help and that I was the reason that he was improving. Then of course he told me I was the best sister in the world and that he couldn't wait to see me over Thanksgiving. I am just so proud of him!

ESL Conversation

I will begin this blog by saying that I feel mediocre in comparison to everyone else in our class because I can only speak English. I feel ridiculous because I can't remember the name of the woman who came in to speak to us about ESL students, but she asked us all what languages we spoke and as everyone replied with at least two languages, I inadequately replied with "just English". I thought about my inadequacy and tried to find a way to make myself feel better. I decided that I can speak "baseball". I am fluent in baseball. Not everyone understand a dropped third strike or a curve ball falling 12 to 6, but I do! I can have a conversation about baseball with any expert, but not everyone can. Gyra can speak to anyone in Spanish and I cannot. Likewise, she cannot speak to anyone in any depth about baseball. This thought made me feel a little better about myself. So for anyone else out there reading this who can only speak English.. think about what else you have knowledge about which other people may not!

I enjoyed watching the clip about ESL students and their experiences at UR. I had a "that is so true moment" when some one described his first encounter with someone asking him "what's up" as he was passing through campus. This ESL student stopped to tell him how his computer was broken and he was struggling to get that fixed. He realized that the student he was speaking to clearly wasn't that interested in what his problems were. Poor kid..

Reflection on Boys and Girls Club Experience

I had a wonderful time at the Boys and Girls Club yesterday. Gyra and I worked with a fifteen year old girl who was pretty excited about creating a digital story. I think all of the students are probably pretty excited because it is something that they chose today. The student that Gyra and I worked with is looking forward to her interview with a female police officer. I imagine that she will have several "pearls of wisdom" to share. She didn't seem to nervous about the interview or actually preparing the digital story. Similarly to the way I felt before starting the digital story, I had anxiety about how to actually put the story together. I reassured her that while it seemed mysterious now it would all come together in the end. I also told her that if I could do it--she could do it! I am looking forward to going back to help her put her presentation together. I think it will be a lot of fun to work with her again!

Before the Boys and Girls Club...

I am looking forward to meeting the students at the Boys and Girls Club and helping them create their very own digital stories. As I reflect on my own experience creating a digital story I think that the only way I got through it was patience. I found myself frustrated and confused as I created my own digital story--I imagine that it may be difficult to keep the the students attentive and actually teach them rather than do it for them. If I had to guess I would say that some students will be really excited about this project. They will know how they want it to look turn out, but others will not be fully engaged in what they are doing. If the student isn't already really excited about making a digital story I will show him or her some examples of digital story that we made in class. I think that will get him or her excited to get creative and try something new.

I do have one fear. What if I am unable to help my student as much as they need me? I was able to make my digital story because Gyra was able to show me how to use iMovie. I can use iMovie now, but I don't thinhk that is the program we will be using with the students. I hope that it will be similar to iMovie. However, I do feel very comfortable using Audacity. It was a piece of cake!

In all honesty I am mostly excited about meeting someone new. I love to meet new people are hear about their lives--especially children. I volunteer at CHAT and my favorite part is hearing the childrens stories--some sad and some inspiring. I think it will be a great afternoon!