Professionalism (and then something else)

[jwerchan@osulima2.lima.ohio-state.edu (James E. Werchan)]

hi folks,

this is good stuff.  i'm recalling a little story in a recent Chronicle of
Higher Ed. that paraphrased a guy who spoke of folks who were (a.)
pedagogues, and (b.) generalists  as being fundamentally radical.  i like
that.  it feels like a good fit.  it is what i think i bring to this WC
business.   

generalists, however, are sneered at by the specialists.  I guess that's
because there is no foundational theory of generalism, per se. But pedagogy
(including WC and WAC and comp/rhet) often has to salute the flags flown by
those specialists, who, I fear, often construct something they call "theory"
which, because it is not empirically disprovable, is not so much theory as
ideology, maybe a sort of religion.

maybe i approach things backwards: instead of finding problems and trying to
figure out the solution, i prefer finding "neat stuff" and wondering what
the problem is that this might be the solution to.  is it sacrireligious
that I try not to begin such musings from inside an ideological box? (or
maybe I'm just fooling myself?)

so... I'd like to go out on limb and guess what Sara Kimball was hinting at:
let's be careful in our work to professionalize WC that we do not become too
much like the enemy.  c.f. Pogo: "We have sighted the enemy and it is us."

.........

btw:  I'd like to see if I can, with this postscript, start a new thread.
Check out " http://www.microsoft.com/netmeeting "  and think about how that
software might be used for writing instruction/consultation over an internet
connection.   Pay attention to the "whiteboard" and "application sharing"
sections.  The case studies at Ford, John Deere, etc. make me think about
Distance Learning applications.   

Hey, Eric Crump; are y'all using this in Missouri?
..........

later,
james werchan
osu lima


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                    Dr. James Werchan
(or maybe it's just someone who kinda looks a lot like him)
              Ohio State University at Lima
                    4240 Campus Drive
                     Reed Hall #135
                     Lima, OH 45804
                      419-995-8882
				
                    werchan.1@osu.edu					jwerchan@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
(for main campus biz)
jwerchan@osulima1.lima.ohio-state.edu  (for local biz only)
								
  Come and visit: "http://www.lima.ohio-state.edu/~WACC"    
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