Re: Professionalism -Reply

[Jim Bell <jimb@unbc.edu>]

Thank you to those who have contributed to  the discussion on 
professionalism: it has 
helped me think about the concept. I kept getting flashbacks to Joseph 
Harris' article on "community" and how the concept might be doing us more 
harm than good. I also thought of what happened to the term 
"empowerment," going from its roots in peasant revolutions etc. to 
meaning anything we wanted it to mean, preferably trivial and safe.

I am not going to use the term professional as in "I'm glad the writing 
center field 
is becoming more professional." If by professional we mean some internal, 
self-generated definition, then I think it is meaningless. Loggers can 
call themselves a profession, pharmacy technicians can call lthemselves a 
profession, the world's oldest profession can call itself a profession . 
. . If by profession we mean as traditionally defined (e.g., doctors, 
lawyers), then I sense that a lot of writing center people think the 
disadvantages of moving in that direction are great. Furthermore, I don't 
think it is possible that, say, by the year 2022 people will say the 
professions of law, medicine, and directing writing centers in the same 
breath. It does not matter to me. I am more concerned that the writing 
center field improve in certain specific areas. For example, I think we 
need to pay more attention to evaluation and become more accountable to 
students, funders, and administrators. I know some WC folks see this as 
becoming less professional; others welcome it as being more professional. 
The term, however, mainly clouds the issue.


Jim Bell
Editor, Journal of College Reading and Learning		Ph. (250) 960-6365
Learning Skills Centre					Fax (250) 960-6330
University of Northern BC				email jimb@unbc.edu
3333 University Way
Prince George, BC
Canada  V2N 4Z9                    =====-=-====-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=