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!
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Phew, April! You've certainly given me a lot to think about. Let's get started!
ReplyDelete1. The beauty about writing about ESL-related topics is that there is NO definitive answer, which means the research is NEVER done. There are so many avenues into these topics, that in many ways it is hard to be cliche. Typically, when working on a paper like the ones we'll be doing in our class, you'll want to get a good sense of what has already been said, and then see if you have something to add to the conversation (which is different than just repeating what everyone else has already said, right?). I'll be handing out some super valuable resources in a few weeks, and these will help you get a sense of what has already been done. So I guess what I'm getting at is that you shouldn't ditch this idea just yet, especially since it has been the driving force of your initial interest in the Center.
2. Yes--this connection has somewhat been explored, and we'll likely discuss it a bit towards the end of the semester. When you begin your research of this topic (if you so decide), you'll want to look at keys words like "emotional sessions." This would certainly be worth pursuing (but so would the ESL topic). :)
3. This would certainly work as a way to "get at" your consulting philosophy. In your philosophy you'll be providing support for this view point by discussing how you came to this view and who influenced you (from the scholarship you've read). North certainly comes to mind, as he often does...
4. I like this "person" analogy, April. I could see this being developed into a very engaging conference presentation for the Rocky Mountain Peer Tutoring Conference. And, I like how you're working on flushing it out (sometimes people make super broad analogies that don't seem relevant because they're so broad).
I hope this helps, April. Thank you for working through your thoughts here! I'm looking forward to seeing what you decide to pursue (which is the hardest thing I struggle with!).
Enjoy your weekend!
mk