Harmon 1

J.R. Harmon

ENG 800

Instr. Dr. Ashby

23FEB2019

Everyone Can Write, So What?

In my freshman year of college, I took journalism and worked for the school

paper. During those first workshops went over the five "W's" and the "H," Who, What,

When, Where, Why and How. Through learning those guidelines, the principles of

writing towards my audience became developed. Later in my English and compositional

writing, the "why" question became the concentration. As I wrote a paper, peer review,

and often in red ink comments my instructors asked me why. Why does my topic matter?

Who is my audience? And how am I relating my topic to them? Why should they care?

Most of all does my writing show that I care? If I did not care how could I expect them to

care? Similar to my realizations the need to show students an appreciation of the audience

and caring about their community will increase their awareness of self and the world

around them.

Previously to graduate school, I had not seen a distinction in writing and

composition. In my mind, the two schools of thought were the same. Through unifying

the themes in community collaboration, critical pedagogies, and reimagining the

structures the goals for preparing students, I not only gained insight through secondary

education but also understanding the world. My goal in teaching writing has always been
 Harmon 2

an attitude of self-improvement so that I can understand concepts and institute those ideas

to students. Coming from a socially economic deficient background, I know the struggles

of fighting against a system of unfairness, but I also remember that there were instructors

that helped me minimize the gaps in later years. Through strengthening the themes of

community advocacy and recognizing the faults of biased education system a “common”

discourse becomes clear. Within multiple critical pedagogical theories, I will institute a

path for my students as they imagine their roles within the university and life.

Writing is a way to represent language in visual or physical form. And through

tactile writing, a system of symbols conveys parts of speech in an organized way. What

defines writing is the ability for the text to engage in a purposeful fashion. What defines

qualified communication has become a debate throughout history but one fact is certain,

language is an ever-changing process as education redefines writing its relation to

composition and the common-sense next step.

Before education can reinvent the university, there needs to be an evaluation in

the way we define writing and recognize that "the clearest voices aren’t always the ones

with Doctorate degrees and MFA’s. How often the amateur writer rises up to call out the

clique of the exclusive educated by producing work of (to lean heavily on the romantic

phrase) genius." (Gogy and Such-SRZ) David Bartholomae new writers “must learn to

try on a variety of voices and interpretive schemes- to write” (605) As Gogy and Such-

SRZ and Bartholomae points out genius can become a subjective term however new

writers “must learn to speak our language” (606).

The language that Bartholomae speaks of learning is privileged discourse. The

term-privileged discourse becomes a loaded term and similar to the definition is often
 Harmon 3

misunderstood, especially for those within that particular discourse. Quite often in my

graduate career, I will be in a class discussion, and as we throw out terms and experts in

the rhetorical/compositional field, I am often amazed at the level of discourse that has

been attained. I imagine that to some people the topics we are discussing would sound

like total gibberish. What is impressive though is that through innate abilities writers can

fill in the gaps. “In order to speak as a person of status or privilege, the writer can either

speak to us in our terms-or in default (or in defiance) of that, he can speak to us as though

we were children, offering wisdom of experience” (Bartholomae, 608) This quote

resonates with me because while I am becoming a part of the university discourse, there

is ability inherited through personal experience.

In making connections between teaching composition and the gaps of post-

secondary education enforcing the rules of grammar is not the only path in learning

writing skills. “Critique is necessary but insufficient on its own terms for building a just

society. Without clear strategy for constructing more participatory practices, critique

alone can not articulate the “somehow” of this promise” (Peck, 1102) Students become

more engaged when they feel like they are part of the learning process, rather than an

agent of authority. In my experiences in the classroom, I have found that when students

feel like they are part of the process, they are more adaptable. One time in class I was

substituting 2nd grade, and as I had always done in the past, I was reviewing the agenda

for the day. As I went over the schedule I noticed a girl giggling, I stopped talking and

asked her “What’s so funny?” I thought this was another case of not listening, and she

replied: “you talk to us like we are big.” This statement took a minute to sink in, but I

finally realized what she meant. Students are constantly used to being “talked at” not
 Harmon 4

“talked to,” in other words they are not part of the process of learning as effectively.

“Writing, too is an exercise in inclusion, a lesson in decision making and choice” (Brand,

707). At lower levels guidance becomes a necessity, but when educators can attach

writing choices to the educational process the sense of ownership becomes a collective

effort. “In concentrating upon establishing our position within the academy, we have

neglected to recount the history of composition in other contexts; we have neglected

composition’s extracurriculum” (Gere, 1084)

Educators unite the premises of inclusive writing multiple strategies, but the most

effective method continues to become the building blocks of inventing the university and

society becomes a collective endeavor. “My effort to outline a social view will be on the

basis of one central assumption: human language (including writing) can be understood

only from the perspective of a society rather than a single individual” (Faigley, 659).

Besides giving students the opportunity to engage in a community discourse they should

be shown that they are part of a bigger picture. Through learning that writing voices

become derived through multiple sources they can “walk a mile in another’s shoes,” and

become more tolerant.

Another benefit of writing/composing in a group at the community level becomes

the connection between navigating multiple social structures. In “Community Literacy”

the youth participate in a Community Learning Center (CLC) and through advocacy and

guidance learn skills to address issues in their community. School policies like wearing

hats and tardiness often lead to suspensions which further enhance the learning curve that

inner-city kids must overcome. Programs like “the “Whassup up with Suspension”

project, introduced above, in which teenagers had to both adopt and adapt discourse of
 Harmon 5

school policy and procedure if they wanted to make a difference” (Peck, 1106). In

creating a “safe zone,” students can engage with stakeholders through methods that are

familiar. In a medium like rap, students can use tropes that are important to them and

through CLC advocates learn to fine-tune their message for the appropriate audience. "

By allowing students to find ways to express themselves allows them to understand their

feelings and their identity in ways that they wouldn’t be able to otherwise. Like it shows

in the article, the student is allowed to get his feelings out in a rap that is both informative

and challenging to the discourse of his community and his school. (Ryan Sergent-Payne)

Through community engagements and “the suspension systems are discussed, hybrid

texts begin to emerge” (Peck, 1107).

Writing is never created in a vortex; multiple factors facilitate engaging writing.

“Community-engaged pedagogy is a kind of experimental learning grounded in the

understanding of writing as situated, social act. Although in practice a writing course

defined by community engagement may take many forms, fundamentally what we have

in common is that students work in relationship with community-based organization or

initiative” (Julier). In learning to work with different groups, this action translates to

writing/reading across genres and brings people of multiple backgrounds. Ultimately

there may not be a solution to all parties involved, but dialogue becomes opened, and a

sense of accomplishment fosters confidence. “We had to write about something involving

life on campus, and I chose to write about asking for residence halls to have gender-

neutral dorms. It had its problems, but I wanted the option for people under the

transbrella to have the option of having a dorm room that fits their gender (mainly for

non-binary and gender-fluid people whose gender expression doesn’t fit the binary
 Harmon 6

whatsoever). That, for me, was really wanting to engage in the LGBTQ community and

genuinely help.” (Pop Culture Lizzie) On a larger scale, there is value in multiple voices

and similar to the human experience, writing and composition are continually evolving.

Through recognizing writing in historical and sociological perspective the critical

pedagogies of race, gender, and social economic status show us that we are all outsiders

in some form. Through many voices, we can have one voice, a voice of progress, and a

voice of change.
 Harmon 7

Works Cited

Bartholomae, David. “Inventing the University.” The Norton Book of Composition

Studies, by Susan Miller, W.W. Norton & Co., 2009, pp. 605–630.

Brand, Alice Glarden, “The Why of Cognition: Emotion and the Writing Process.” A

Guide to Composition Pedagogies, by Gary Tate et al., Oxford University Press,

2014, pp. 706-713.

Gere, Anne Ruggles. “Kitchen Tables and Rented Rooms: The Extracurriculum of

Composition.” The Norton Book of Composition Studies, by Susan Miller, W.W.

Norton & Co., 2009, pp. 1081–1096.

Julier, Laura, et al. “Community-Engaged Pedagogies.” A Guide to Composition

Pedagogies, by Gary Tate et al., Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 55–76.

Kay, H. Elizabeth, “GCP Collaborative and Community-Engaged – Pop Culture Lizzie.”

https://popculturelizzie.wordpress.com/2019/02/11/gcp-collaborative-and-

community-engaged/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2019.

Lester Faigley. “Competing Theories of Process: A Critique and a Proposal.” The Norton

Book of Composition Studies, by Susan Miller, W.W. Norton & Co., 2009, pp.

652-666.

Meador, Derrick. "Problems for Teachers That Limit Their Overall Effectiveness."

ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2018, thoughtco.com/problems-for-teachers-that-limit-their-

overall-effectiveness-3194679.
 Harmon 8

Peck, Wayne Campbell, et al. “Community Literacy.” The Norton Book of Composition

Studies, by Susan Miller, W.W. Norton & Co., 2009, pp. 1097–1116.

Sergeant-Payne, Ryan, “Reading Response 9.1 – Ryan Sergent – Payne.”

https://ryansergentpayne.home.blog/2019/02/12/reading-response-9-1/. Accessed

4 Mar. 2019.

Zdrojowy, Stewart, ramoth13. “‘Lifting as We Climb.’” Gogy and Such - SRZ, 13 Feb.

2019, https://stewzmess.wordpress.com/2019/02/13/lifting-as-we-climb/.

Accessed 4 Mar. 2019.