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Re: Magic

I must admit, I'm a little bothered by our discussion of the "magic" of the
writing center.  I can't disagree that things happen here that seem magical at
times, but I'm afraid to put it in those terms, particularly to people who
still don't have an understanding of the systematic, careful ways that we work
with writers.  It reminds me of the "mystery of teaching" formulation that
people occasionally appeal to.  What does that mean?  Of course there are
things about which we can't generalize--the ways that a class gels, for
example--but that doesn't mean that there isn't much that we *can* say about
what happens in our classrooms or our writing centers.

And I'm not talking here about quanitifiability--that point has been raised. 
I'm talking about figuring out ways to talk about what it is we do in a manner
that reflects the complexity and the dedication of the people who work in our
centers.

Sorry if this post sounds confrontational--it's not intended in that spirit at
all.  I'm rather trying to articulate for the first time what it is about
concepts like these that have bothered me for a long time, and I'm glad to have
the opportunity to work it out on WCenter.

--Beth Boquet
eboquet@fair1.fairfield.edu