I think the author of this section gives some really helpful pointers to consider when working with a client whose essay includes sexist or racist terms. It's important for the student to be aware of how their teacher and fellow classmates will respond to their offesive paper. In Steve Sherwoods's example, the young man felt that all women should be "barefoot and pregnant" and had no legitimate social role outside of their home. This is completely insane! I couldn't believe a student would want to write about such a topic and not take into consideration the women in his class, or his teacher. Just because he feels this way doesn't mean that he should write about it. I think that a lot of students write about controversial arguments and issues just to get attention sometimes. It's sad that he doesn't feel that women should have equal rights. Anyway, if this situation happened to me I would definitely tell the young man what consequences might arise from writing such a paper. I truly feel that teachers and tutors should not censor or limit student writing, so I would make the student aware of other points of view and try not to be too judgmental while expressing my opinion. I know that each individual has their own way of thinking and beliefs, but I do not feel that they should write a paper announcing them if they may be offensive to a particular race or sex. I can relate to this section because I usually "play it safe" and write my paper based on what I think the teacher is looking for and not always how I want to write it. Even though this guy was writing about something terrible, doesn't mean a tutor should not help him. He deserves to learn just like the other students. He needed to learn how to explore different perspectives, so he could support his opinion. I think students learn a lot from tutors even if the just express their own thoughts and feelings towards a particular subject. I'm all about voicing my own opinion and no matter what, I'm always going to let the student know my perspective... it's just how I am. I could never sit there and just stay quiet if I totally disagreed with what they were saying. There is a difference in voicing one's opinion and censoring a student's writing. Just because I don't agree with them doesn't mean I won't help them with the process or be open minded about their topic.
Toby Fulwiler had some really good points to make in his section. Revising a paper over and over agains helps people understand what they're writing about and allows them to pay closer attention to detail, rather than just making generalizations. Also, limiting the time frame in a story makes a huge difference. I find myself rereading my papers and adding tons of new information in them that I didn't have before. Whether it's remembering a quote someone said or just going into further detail, I find this process to improve my writing and make it more interesting for the reader.
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That's one thing that surprised me about Sherwood. Even as a man who had the experiences he did, with his wife and coworkers and the like, he didn't say anything, which I wouldn't have been able to do. I wonder if the student would have changed his attitude when presented with contrary evidence.
ReplyDeleteAt the very least, Sherwood could have challenged the lack of evidence, empirical or otherwise, in the student's paper... because I doubt there was much in there. For an argumentative paper that's pretty bad, and even if a tutor were only a paper grader and nothing else, that should have come up. I wonder what went on in that session if he didn't address those issues.
It is important not to be judgmental, in the sense that we don't want a student to simply storm out without thinking through the reasons why we disagree with them. But I still think we need to judge ideas. Some things are right and some things are wrong; reasonable people can disagree about controversial issues, but some things - like racism and sexism - have no place in society, and I think part of the role of the academy is to create a world where those ideas are not honored as equally valid to all other ideas, because they aren't. They are harmful.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if we come across as thinking our clients are idiots, they're unlikely to learn much from us - about their writing or about their ideas. So I see your point!