Re: Helpful Articles

["David J. Coogan" <coogan@charlie.cns.iit.edu>]

Beth --

You're quite welcome! I always welcome the chance to talk about
that literature.

I did think about advising you to choose North's article, but I wasn't
sure what your audience might think of the tone. I know it seems silly,
but that piece, in many ways, stands out from other interventionist
pieces, because it takes such a righteous stance. If you think this WONT
alienate your audience, I'd say go for it.  But Steve has other pieces
that articulate a similar stance without the same tone: for example,
"Training Tutors to Talk about Writing (CCC, 33.4, 1982, pages 434-441. 

Dave Coogan
Illinois Institute of Technology

On Mon, 26 May 1997, Beth Boquet wrote:

> Dave--
> 
> Very interesting choices.  Thanks for spending some time thinking 
> about this.  I also like the Grimm and Welch pieces for their ability 
> to demonstrate how we theorize out from practice.  That would seem to 
> be important in raising the issue of how to think globally about what 
> must look like very specific situations in the writing center, 
> particularly to people who have never worked in one.
> 
> Trimbur's "Peer Tutoring" seems important too, particularly since I 
> often get questions (as I think I've mentioned before) like, "Can 
> peer tutors really do this, think that hard, raise those questions, 
> etc.?"
> 
> Now I have to admit that I feel I must use North's "Idea of a Writing 
> Center"--probably as a base line.  It's just so damn good.  I know 
> there are problems with it; I know we've moved (at least in much of 
> our scholarship) in other directions since then; but I'm thinking 
> that North's articulation will probably still ring true for most of 
> the faculty in other disciplines (even though it was written for 
> colleagues in English) and it will likely move them a little farther 
> than they already are.
> 
> Thoughts on this?
> 
> Or do other people have other suggestions?
> 
> --Beth
> Elizabeth Boquet
> Director, The Writing Center
> DM 130
> Fairfield University
> Fairfield, CT  06430
> Tel: 203/254-4000, ext. 2529
> E-Mail:  eboquet@fair1.fairfield.edu
>