Re: Magic

[bobbie silk <bsilk@keller.clarke.edu>]

Susan Cruea says, "As to how to measure magic, you're right; it is
difficult to measure.  I find myself agreeing with Kevin.  Just keep track
of the rabbits produced."  

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Hmmmm.  I like that "rabbits produce(d)" metaphor, Susan.  And I like the
notion of the writing center as a wizards' workshop (surely NOT a coven,
though) where this magic we supposedly work lights the room like Fourth of
July fireworks.  And, even better, I like the idea of producing rabbits
out of silk hats--or, to mix my metaphors, more likely a rabbit/silk purse
out of a sow's ear--rabbits who go forth and make merry under the
shrubbery, producing more rabbits (good writing)--a concatenation of
competent creativity into the future further than we can see. 

But, indeed, how in the heck do we measure and report fireworks or
generations of bodacious bunnies?  I suppose we have to try, but some
beans can't be counted because they're really bean-plants and thus do not
look like beans.  If mathematicians, linguistic scholars, and physicists
have learned to live with and respect fuzzy logic and fuzzy concepts, then
maybe it's the administrators who need to adjust.  Perhaps the question
for wc directors facing assessment is not "how do we represent magic in
terms of beans," but rather "how do we get bean-brains (funny how that
worked out) to see magic?"  (BTW, as we well know, not all bean counters
have lost the ability to see and appreciate magic.)  Perhaps every report
should include the following:  "Like happiness, great beauty, and the Mind
of God, some things must be experienced or at least observed in action in
order to be understood. Please schedule a visit to the Writing Center to
complete the observational part of this report." 

  --Bobbie Silk
    bsilk@keller.clarke.edu