Re: Appointments

["Sally S. Foster" <wlsally@showme.missouri.edu>]

Sonja asks:

> 4) How do you handle the panicked, the frantic, the upset, the angry,
> the hurried and the harried?

and you all respond in harmony, voicing:

the wcenter collective-conscious practice of ". . .informal. . calm. . 
sweet.. flexible. . helpful. . patient . .[UN!!]-wigged-out "

MODELING of REVISION!!

You embody the elements of revision strategies--before the very bloodshot,
frazzled eyes of students who might benefit most from that demonstration
--even more than the tidy, farsighted wonders who made their appointments
two weeks ago and don't have a due date for another 3!! days. 

Seems like a potentially therapeutic side effect of running a writing
center that allows drop-ins to darken the door in the dire doomed moments
before deadline. Bob Yesterday comes in, is treated with kindness and
respect (ok, just a pinch of Karl's special touch--*call them "numbskulls"
and flog them severely*), feels like writing just might be *DOABLE* and
taa-daa--epiphany strikes!! Bob makes appointments in advance for the next
essay assignment. . . Seems like it's worth the headaches and discomforts
also being described in this thread. Seems like a way to turn Sonja's
*thorny* challenge into a rosy point of contact at the point of need, a
teachable moment?

Any anecdotes out there on *Perennial Procrastinator Repents of Evil Ways* 
Any research on the effects of drop-in options on individual student use
of appointments?

Sally Foster
Online Writery
University of Missouri Learning Center
wlsally@showme.missouri.edu