The Dreaded First Week. (More like WEAK am I right?)

Just kidding.

I didn't dread this week at all. In fact, for the past month or so I had been looking forward to coming back to school because that's the kind of dork I am. I just love it. All of it. I love getting organized and visiting my classes before they start. I love visiting Boise State's campus in the summer when it's empty. It feels like I have the entire campus to myself. Anyway. Moving on.

This first week of English 303 proved to be a successful one. I'm slowly feeling like I (maybe) have a handle on this class as far as what's expected of me and what I'll be doing this semester. Ever since I was offered the position with the writing center and with 303, I've been excited and a little nervous. After this week, the nervousness is slowly dissipating.

Me before this week:


Me after this week:


You know who was not the above cool and chill dog? Stephen North in his piece, "The Idea of a Writing Center." He was the polar opposite of cool and chill but I think that his lack of chill was coming from a good place. The thing I liked about his piece was that while I was reading about common misconceptions of writing centers, I realized that I myself have been guilty of having these misconceptions. This piece made me think of the way that I had viewed writing centers in the past versus how I view them now as a future consultant. One of my favorite quotes from this pieces is, "...the instructor is simply part of the rhetorical context in which the writer is trying to operate. We cannot change that context: all we can do is help the writer learn how to operate in it and other contexts like it." I think that quote nicely sums up the overall goals of a writing center.

In class, we sort of discussed how to, "help the writer learn how to operate in the rhetorical context." We discussed that good writing centers are not only contingent upon good instructors but also willing writers. I think that there are probably a lot ways to do this but one of the ideas that I think I'll be taking with me is prompting the student.

Clyde had said that if he's working with a resisting student, he might start by asking them simple questions and slowly ease into questions about the writing. I had mentioned that the few times I've been to the writing center it was very difficult for me to describe what my goals for the appointment were. Once I got there, however, the instructor simply started asking questions about the piece and I had realized that I needed help with citations and sentence structure and the fluidity of my writing. Once I was able to pinpoint what I wanted to work on, the appointment was incredibly successful and I was able to leave ready to work.

I guess when I think of how I want students to feel when they leave the center, I will remember that appointment.