Last night in class, we talked about basic writers, and Justin brought up a catalytic point. He said that working with basic writers is great because they possess a raw talent that hasn’t been tapped, and that they aren’t “bored” with their writing yet. Melissa expanded on that point, bringing in her experiences of teaching English 90, 101, and 102. She told us about how hard it is to fail a student who tries their hardest to pass, but just isn’t up to standards. She told us stories of her beginnings as a teacher, feeling overwhelmed by her students’ first papers, and then being blown away by their improvement in the second round of papers. The entire time, I was hanging on Melissa’s every word. For some reason, these stories sparked something inside of me. I have this plan, (that I thought was perfect), to graduate from BSU with my English degree, then travel somewhere to get my TESL certificate, then travel elsewhere to teach abroad for a while, and then eventually return to the states to get a Masters degree in Counseling. But ever since last night, I think I want to be a professor… and teach basic writers the invaluable skill of writing. I feel a little shaken up today, because all this time, I didn’t think I wanted to teach in America. Now, after hearing Melissa’s stories, I’m rethinking everything!
It was odd: as my brain was processing this realization, I resisted it. I didn’t want to reconsider my plans, and I didn’t want to be pulled into this world of teaching composition, because I thought I knew what world I wanted to be in. Now I’m wondering what to do and how to do it all over again. I think I still want to teach abroad, but what after that? I’m lost again, and it kind of feels good… exciting! So, Melissa, thank you for your enthusiasm. You are a refreshing teacher that seems to look at and express things differently, and perhaps that is what I needed to point me in the right direction.
Okay, now onto other things. This week, I had five more consultations. I will have more on Saturday, because I’m working for three hours to fill in for another consultant. That much closer to being paid for this, which will be nice, even if it’s not much! I had a consultation with a sweet lady who immediately told me that she hadn’t written an essay for 17 years- wow! She was very open to suggestions and willing to learn. It was an enjoyable consultation. She reminded me of my aunt, and that’s a good thing. I have had other consultations with non-traditional students, but this one was my favorite so far.
I also had several required visits, inevitably. Both were first-year, stereotypical guys 100-level classes. Except one was engaged and excited to be there, and the other sat back, slouched in his chair. It was all I could do to get the latter student to stay for a full 15 minutes. I searched and searched for useful information in his mind for brainstorming, and I think I helped a little bit. But honestly, he didn’t want to be there. I did get him to smile and laugh a few times so at least we were on the same page about something. I hope he has a better opinion of the Center after that visit.
I also had my first “repeat customer”. We had a brainstorming consultation that was very fun. I got to help her think of ways to approach an environmental research paper, which of course I’m interested in. She’s going to bring it into me when she has some of it written. I love that I can see her progress with the essay, and I love that we are actually establishing a personal relationship, kind of like the Fannie reading we had this week for class. I’m envious of those who get to develop a personal connection with their students and I’m stoked that I am beginning to!
One last thing about learning disabilities: this Michael character made an appointment with me for next Thursday. It’ll be my first time working with him. After last night’s class, I can’t wait to work with him! I had no idea what his situation was and am grateful that Andrea brought it up last night.
Happy Halloween everyone!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
E-mails, editing, repeats, and bios
This week in class, we talked about e-mail consultations. I’m really excited to get started with e-mails. I have a feeling that it’ll be something I easily take to. My best friend, Lisa, lives in Florida, and she frequently sends me things that she writes. (She is a Creative Writing major at University of Central Florida). So I have gotten in the habit of doing a sort of e-mail consultation, at least with Lisa. But because I only spend four hours a week in the Center, I don’t want to do too many- maybe one a week. Otherwise, I’m sure I’d miss the face-to-face interaction that e-mails can’t provide. Anyway, I think I’ll probably be the type of e-mail consultant that uses smiley faces. :) :) :)
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about editing as a potential career. I think I might like being a magazine editor. These are all relatively new thoughts, but I can’t help but draw comparisons to the work I do in the Center. It is the same idea in many ways: helping improve writing and develop ideas for an intended audience. But it’s different in that I think editing is less-collaborative. Not that I know for sure, but I view editing as a more linear process: a writer turns in an article to an editor, who corrects and edits it to prepare it for publication. There is less back and forth, less interaction, less conversation. Am I off-base about this?
This editing thing gives me another potential article topic for later in the semester. Is there much written about this connection? Do writing center consultants often end up as editors? Or is it disappointing to them because the interaction factor is missing?
An unrelated concern: we are reading so much writing center literature; it is almost overwhelming, because we are supposed to come up with our own ideas based on all of these readings, and our own observations and experiences. (For the articles we write, and our consulting philosophy). I guess I just worry that since there is so much out there, that we can’t necessarily contribute new ideas to the conversation. And what if we think they’re new ideas, but they’re not?
This week in the Center, I had a consultation with a graduate student who was writing a journal abstract. She asked to set up another appointment with me for next week to brainstorm ideas for an environmental paper she is going to write about feedlots. That means I will be getting my first repeat! I was looking forward to this a lot. Not only do I get to establish more of a relationship with this student, but this also means that I must be doing something right. It’s nice to have that extra reassurance!
Oh, somewhat related to this: I had two consultations this week that answered a question I have had for several weeks now. I wondered if many people actually read our little bios that we have on the online scheduler. I included in mine that I am pursuing an Environmental Studies minor, in hopes that I’d attract environmental papers. And so far, it’s worked twice, to my knowledge. Very cool.
Yet another productive week in the Center!
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about editing as a potential career. I think I might like being a magazine editor. These are all relatively new thoughts, but I can’t help but draw comparisons to the work I do in the Center. It is the same idea in many ways: helping improve writing and develop ideas for an intended audience. But it’s different in that I think editing is less-collaborative. Not that I know for sure, but I view editing as a more linear process: a writer turns in an article to an editor, who corrects and edits it to prepare it for publication. There is less back and forth, less interaction, less conversation. Am I off-base about this?
This editing thing gives me another potential article topic for later in the semester. Is there much written about this connection? Do writing center consultants often end up as editors? Or is it disappointing to them because the interaction factor is missing?
An unrelated concern: we are reading so much writing center literature; it is almost overwhelming, because we are supposed to come up with our own ideas based on all of these readings, and our own observations and experiences. (For the articles we write, and our consulting philosophy). I guess I just worry that since there is so much out there, that we can’t necessarily contribute new ideas to the conversation. And what if we think they’re new ideas, but they’re not?
This week in the Center, I had a consultation with a graduate student who was writing a journal abstract. She asked to set up another appointment with me for next week to brainstorm ideas for an environmental paper she is going to write about feedlots. That means I will be getting my first repeat! I was looking forward to this a lot. Not only do I get to establish more of a relationship with this student, but this also means that I must be doing something right. It’s nice to have that extra reassurance!
Oh, somewhat related to this: I had two consultations this week that answered a question I have had for several weeks now. I wondered if many people actually read our little bios that we have on the online scheduler. I included in mine that I am pursuing an Environmental Studies minor, in hopes that I’d attract environmental papers. And so far, it’s worked twice, to my knowledge. Very cool.
Yet another productive week in the Center!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Halfway
Halfway through the semester now! Yikes. I guess if we made it this far, we can make it through the rest! This week, I don’t have any specific topic I want to write about, just some random thoughts.
I had a consultation this week with a guy who was about to graduate with an Environmental Biology degree. He was applying for a job with a mining company in Challis, Idaho. He brought in a resume and wanted my opinion. He wanted to know what formats he should use, (he didn’t like the current one), and how he could make it more professional. I was a little worried about this consultation when I saw it on the schedule, (“resume” was all he had given me to anticipate), simply because I don’t want to give faulty advice about something so crucial. I was happy to discover that the company requirements for the resume were very lenient. I recommended that he go to Microsoft Office Online to search through their resume templates, and we discussed ways to make his resume more professional, all of which came very easily to me. I really enjoyed this consultation. It makes me wonder, though, if this is where people should be bringing their resumes. I thought that was more for the Career Center than for us. (Not that I’m complaining! I liked it.)
I had a consultation with a girl in Christi Nogle’s English 102 class. I also took English 102 with Christi, so I was familiar with the assignment. She had written a paper about the conspiracies of 9-11. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to read the entire essay- I am interested in her topic. However, this consultation ended up being one of my favorites out of the 14 I have done so far. (I’m trying to keep track as long as I can!) We went through and read her essay for clarity and talked about a few minor grammar things, like “is” versus “are”. (She had brought in some purple beads that someone was handing out on campus. I pointed to them and said, “this bead IS” and “these beads ARE”. I think she will probably refer to the bead memory when she is unsure about is/are!) I taught her a few tricks, and provided her with the punctuation handout, (my favorite). At the end of the consultation, she told me that I helped her a lot, more than other consultants have. She said that I “actually taught” her things. WOW!!! I was elated! It seems rare that we get that sort of direct feedback from our students, and I told her how much I appreciated hearing it.
I had my first hour-long consultation this week, with an ESL student from Turkey. (Actually, English is his third language- Turkish was first, and he is also learning Russian.) I was a little intimidated by the hour-long consultations, because the one that I observed seemed challenging. However, the hour was up before I knew it. We didn’t quite make it through his five-page essay for Management 301. He had only been learning English for four years, and he had a lot to work on. There were times I was slightly frustrated with myself for not being able to think of a way to explain a grammar “rule” on the spot. I want to get better at that- desperately! A few things I think I did well, though: I asked questions about his English language background, I asked how his day was going at the beginning, I was naturally patient (like so many of our readings this week recommend), and I tried to encourage him with little stars on parts of his paper that I liked. I thought this was really interesting, and I’ll probably always remember it: the first star I drew, (next to a great transition), he got really excited about it and said, “Yes! A star!” After that, I remembered all that we have been reading about the importance of encouragement in ESL consultations, and I made it a point to draw more stars on parts of his paper that were good. I drew stars next to places that he used colons correctly, (because he messed up on one earlier), next to especially well-written sentences, and places were he was consistent with his past-tense writing style. In the end, he ended up with eight stars! And he had counted the entire way through! It left an impression on me- just how much encouragement really matters. I always try to be encouraging, (because, as I have said before, the last thing I want is to discourage anyone from writing), but I was initially more cautious during that consultation, simply because I wasn’t sure what his expectations were. He seemed the type that wanted to get down to business. But as the consultation progressed, I was able to get to know him better. It’s magical!
Ahhhh… I love the Writing Center! As a writer, I do not like the idea that something can be inexpressible through words, but honestly, I’m having a hard time explaining just how much I love the work I am doing in the Center. Melissa, you mentioned in class that if this isn’t the work for us, we are under no obligation to keep going with it next semester. That’s crazy talk! I love it.
Okay, the end.
I had a consultation this week with a guy who was about to graduate with an Environmental Biology degree. He was applying for a job with a mining company in Challis, Idaho. He brought in a resume and wanted my opinion. He wanted to know what formats he should use, (he didn’t like the current one), and how he could make it more professional. I was a little worried about this consultation when I saw it on the schedule, (“resume” was all he had given me to anticipate), simply because I don’t want to give faulty advice about something so crucial. I was happy to discover that the company requirements for the resume were very lenient. I recommended that he go to Microsoft Office Online to search through their resume templates, and we discussed ways to make his resume more professional, all of which came very easily to me. I really enjoyed this consultation. It makes me wonder, though, if this is where people should be bringing their resumes. I thought that was more for the Career Center than for us. (Not that I’m complaining! I liked it.)
I had a consultation with a girl in Christi Nogle’s English 102 class. I also took English 102 with Christi, so I was familiar with the assignment. She had written a paper about the conspiracies of 9-11. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to read the entire essay- I am interested in her topic. However, this consultation ended up being one of my favorites out of the 14 I have done so far. (I’m trying to keep track as long as I can!) We went through and read her essay for clarity and talked about a few minor grammar things, like “is” versus “are”. (She had brought in some purple beads that someone was handing out on campus. I pointed to them and said, “this bead IS” and “these beads ARE”. I think she will probably refer to the bead memory when she is unsure about is/are!) I taught her a few tricks, and provided her with the punctuation handout, (my favorite). At the end of the consultation, she told me that I helped her a lot, more than other consultants have. She said that I “actually taught” her things. WOW!!! I was elated! It seems rare that we get that sort of direct feedback from our students, and I told her how much I appreciated hearing it.
I had my first hour-long consultation this week, with an ESL student from Turkey. (Actually, English is his third language- Turkish was first, and he is also learning Russian.) I was a little intimidated by the hour-long consultations, because the one that I observed seemed challenging. However, the hour was up before I knew it. We didn’t quite make it through his five-page essay for Management 301. He had only been learning English for four years, and he had a lot to work on. There were times I was slightly frustrated with myself for not being able to think of a way to explain a grammar “rule” on the spot. I want to get better at that- desperately! A few things I think I did well, though: I asked questions about his English language background, I asked how his day was going at the beginning, I was naturally patient (like so many of our readings this week recommend), and I tried to encourage him with little stars on parts of his paper that I liked. I thought this was really interesting, and I’ll probably always remember it: the first star I drew, (next to a great transition), he got really excited about it and said, “Yes! A star!” After that, I remembered all that we have been reading about the importance of encouragement in ESL consultations, and I made it a point to draw more stars on parts of his paper that were good. I drew stars next to places that he used colons correctly, (because he messed up on one earlier), next to especially well-written sentences, and places were he was consistent with his past-tense writing style. In the end, he ended up with eight stars! And he had counted the entire way through! It left an impression on me- just how much encouragement really matters. I always try to be encouraging, (because, as I have said before, the last thing I want is to discourage anyone from writing), but I was initially more cautious during that consultation, simply because I wasn’t sure what his expectations were. He seemed the type that wanted to get down to business. But as the consultation progressed, I was able to get to know him better. It’s magical!
Ahhhh… I love the Writing Center! As a writer, I do not like the idea that something can be inexpressible through words, but honestly, I’m having a hard time explaining just how much I love the work I am doing in the Center. Melissa, you mentioned in class that if this isn’t the work for us, we are under no obligation to keep going with it next semester. That’s crazy talk! I love it.
Okay, the end.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Consultation philosophy ideas
Last Friday at our meeting, all of the veteran consultants talked briefly about the papers they wrote for English 303. Melissa wanted them to tell us 303ers so that we could start thinking about what we might want to write about. I have been thinking about this for a few weeks now. I know I still have a lot to learn and experience before I have anything close to a "consulting philosophy", but I can already tell I am forming opinions and making observations that could very well lead to some sort of larger piece of writing. I have had ten consultations now, and I have spent hours talking about and thinking about many things having to do with writing centers. So now I have four ideas that I want to write about and get some feedback about.
1. Years ago, before I had even started the interview process to become a consultant, working with ESL students really intrigued me. Maybe this is because I an enamored with travel, and dealing with people from far-away places seems relevant. Anyway, now that I have had two consultations with ESL students, I have learned that I do indeed love to work with ESL students, but also that it is very challenging! It amazes me how many differences there are between learning English as a native speaker and learning it as a foreign language. This fascinates me. I want to teach abroad after I graduate, so I am thinking that maybe it'd be a good idea to focus on ESL consultations for the larger pieces of writing I will be doing in English 303. I am a little hesitant though; there is so much information for this topic that I already feel overwhelmed by it, and might want to choose a topic that is a little less researched or "cliché".
2. Another thing I am considering doing after I graduate and after teaching abroad is to go to graduate school for a counseling degree. I have wanted to be a high school counselor ever since I can remember. As I get more and more into these writing center consultations, I am seeing many similarities to counseling. The critical need for personalization within a consultation, active listening, and the idea that every person is different and different strategies will work for different people... all of it seems very related. I have noticed that I sometimes desire more conversation about feelings, emotions, etc. during a writing conversation. I sometimes want to ask more about things that won't necessarily contribute to a good writing session. Don't get me wrong, I definitely talk to students about these things, but not as much as I would in a counseling session. This natural knack helps me lean even more towards the counseling path. So I am considering exploring this link further, and I am curious if there is information about the writing center consultation/counseling link...?
3. I know some of the veterans wrote about writing center metaphors. The quote "give a man a fish, he eats for a day; teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime" resonates with me pretty much every day I am in the Center. "Give a student a paper, he writes for a day. Teach a student to write, he writes for a lifetime."... or something like that. I am contemplating developing this idea further.
4. The "person analogy" is something that sort of came out of thin air during one of my consultations. I was trying to explain that you often shouldn't write an introduction until after you've written the other parts of a paper because "you can't introduce someone you don't know". Then, in a consultation the next day, I pulled more out of thin air and ran with it. I used the "person analogy" to explain the entire organization of a paper. I said that the introduction was like saying, "Here is April. She likes to be outside. She has blonde hair and blue eyes." The following paragraphs can include "research about April" or "interviews with experts (friends) about April". You can explain "why should I care about April". And then, you can "form your opinion about April". The paper is a person. What do you think? It seemed to help a lot in the two consultations I have used it in, and I am thinking about developing it further.
Alright... there are my four ideas! I hope they get you thinking like they have for me!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
In love
This magical writing center bug is still running through my veins like crazy. Every day I feel that I learn something new and discover something that I love about it. For today, I am high on the following thought: every consultation I have done thus far has been entirely different! I’ve had six so far. I’ll explain that later. This concept, I feel, ties very nicely into the readings we did this week; especially the chapter from A Bedford Guide about working with writers across the curriculum. So I want to very briefly summarize the consultations I have had so far, in order to demonstrate just how varied and awesome they have been! Here we go:
Consultation #1: A student came in for brainstorming for an English 102 paper about a language group other than her own. We came up with a plan: she was going to go have a smoothie at Flying M, (not coffee, because she doesn’t like their coffee), and observe, take notes, and write about the gay community that circulates through that particular coffeehouse. She left excited to write- a nice change from the beginning.
Consultation #2: Oh, yes, a Music 101 paper from Belfy’s class. Inevitably, I got one of those. The student had written a solid two page essay, and I temporarily panicked because I didn’t know how to help her, since it was great already. But then I fell back on the “show, don’t tell”, and ended up with a very productive consultation.
Consultation #3: Another Music 101 paper for Belfy, but this time, it was off the deep end religious beliefs tied in with the student’s passion for music. Go figure!- our beliefs were entirely opposite, which surprisingly immediately excited me. To be able to sit down, side-by-side, with someone of completely different beliefs, and still emerge from the consultation with an undeniable sense of progress… that is a beautiful thing.
Consultation #4: My first walk in! Hallelujah! It’s about time! Oh wait… she wants help on MLA formatting? For a Math paper? I could’ve passed it on to Andrea, but Andrea encouraged me to go for it, so I did. This is the thing I feared the most, simply because although I use MLA all the time, I was so afraid I would mess up some tiny specification of it. But you know what, I don’t think I did. And the student, who initially stated that she was pretty sure she didn’t need help, (she was only required, after all), actually did have errors that I easily recognized. She even graciously accepted my suggestions.
Consultation #5: Another walk in, on the same day no less! And it gets even better: my first ESL consultation. I was entirely stoked, to say the least. I have plans to teach abroad after I graduate. For some reason, it has always intrigued me. So to be able to help ESL students also intrigues me to no-end. The student had grammar questions, and questions about memo format, for a human resources management course. The consultation went well and I could tell I helped him, (he was very grateful), but I also learned a lot… or at least learned that the bottom of the pyramid exists. (“Knowledge is like an upside-down pyramid, starting at a narrow point and forever expanding…” –Tom Brown) The pyramid is all of the things that are different and necessary in an ESL consultation. I KNOW English grammar, but how do I explain it? I am excited to learn different strategies to explain English to people who don’t have that instinctive ability to comprehend it.
Consultation #6: When I walked in today, Ben said to me, (long winded as always, but we love him anyway), “April, so, we have out there a student… and the student’s name is ‘Princess’… and she has an assignment due that she gets optional extra credit for coming in to us…” and he kept rambling for a while, so I decided to cut to the chase and ask if she wanted a walk in appointment. He said yes, she does, so I of course volunteered myself! Princess had an essay for English 102, which I gave suggestion for expansion that came from casual conversation about her topic. It made me feel so amazing to hear, “yes, that is such a good idea!” from her. Wow. Okay, anyway, I indicated that I had some more time, so she cautiously asked if I could look at her novel, to which of course I said yes, although I was a tiny bit scared. Fiction isn’t my forte. But surprisingly, I HELPED! She said she wanted to come back in and see me, too. Can it get any better than this?
Granted, I know sometimes things will get boring. I know I will have the not-so-great consultations. But right now, I am happy, and I want to express that!
So I have had Music, English, Human Resources Management, fiction writing, memos, Math papers, MLA questions, even religion- all within my first six consultations. Talk about working across the curriculum! I absolutely love the unexpectedness of it all. In a weird way, I’m almost excited for my first “crash and burn”. Or maybe I have already had a crash and burn, but haven’t recognized it as that because I am too blinded by love… love for the Writing Center!
Consultation #1: A student came in for brainstorming for an English 102 paper about a language group other than her own. We came up with a plan: she was going to go have a smoothie at Flying M, (not coffee, because she doesn’t like their coffee), and observe, take notes, and write about the gay community that circulates through that particular coffeehouse. She left excited to write- a nice change from the beginning.
Consultation #2: Oh, yes, a Music 101 paper from Belfy’s class. Inevitably, I got one of those. The student had written a solid two page essay, and I temporarily panicked because I didn’t know how to help her, since it was great already. But then I fell back on the “show, don’t tell”, and ended up with a very productive consultation.
Consultation #3: Another Music 101 paper for Belfy, but this time, it was off the deep end religious beliefs tied in with the student’s passion for music. Go figure!- our beliefs were entirely opposite, which surprisingly immediately excited me. To be able to sit down, side-by-side, with someone of completely different beliefs, and still emerge from the consultation with an undeniable sense of progress… that is a beautiful thing.
Consultation #4: My first walk in! Hallelujah! It’s about time! Oh wait… she wants help on MLA formatting? For a Math paper? I could’ve passed it on to Andrea, but Andrea encouraged me to go for it, so I did. This is the thing I feared the most, simply because although I use MLA all the time, I was so afraid I would mess up some tiny specification of it. But you know what, I don’t think I did. And the student, who initially stated that she was pretty sure she didn’t need help, (she was only required, after all), actually did have errors that I easily recognized. She even graciously accepted my suggestions.
Consultation #5: Another walk in, on the same day no less! And it gets even better: my first ESL consultation. I was entirely stoked, to say the least. I have plans to teach abroad after I graduate. For some reason, it has always intrigued me. So to be able to help ESL students also intrigues me to no-end. The student had grammar questions, and questions about memo format, for a human resources management course. The consultation went well and I could tell I helped him, (he was very grateful), but I also learned a lot… or at least learned that the bottom of the pyramid exists. (“Knowledge is like an upside-down pyramid, starting at a narrow point and forever expanding…” –Tom Brown) The pyramid is all of the things that are different and necessary in an ESL consultation. I KNOW English grammar, but how do I explain it? I am excited to learn different strategies to explain English to people who don’t have that instinctive ability to comprehend it.
Consultation #6: When I walked in today, Ben said to me, (long winded as always, but we love him anyway), “April, so, we have out there a student… and the student’s name is ‘Princess’… and she has an assignment due that she gets optional extra credit for coming in to us…” and he kept rambling for a while, so I decided to cut to the chase and ask if she wanted a walk in appointment. He said yes, she does, so I of course volunteered myself! Princess had an essay for English 102, which I gave suggestion for expansion that came from casual conversation about her topic. It made me feel so amazing to hear, “yes, that is such a good idea!” from her. Wow. Okay, anyway, I indicated that I had some more time, so she cautiously asked if I could look at her novel, to which of course I said yes, although I was a tiny bit scared. Fiction isn’t my forte. But surprisingly, I HELPED! She said she wanted to come back in and see me, too. Can it get any better than this?
Granted, I know sometimes things will get boring. I know I will have the not-so-great consultations. But right now, I am happy, and I want to express that!
So I have had Music, English, Human Resources Management, fiction writing, memos, Math papers, MLA questions, even religion- all within my first six consultations. Talk about working across the curriculum! I absolutely love the unexpectedness of it all. In a weird way, I’m almost excited for my first “crash and burn”. Or maybe I have already had a crash and burn, but haven’t recognized it as that because I am too blinded by love… love for the Writing Center!
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