Contemplations, Creations and…well it’s a blog.

13

As A Composition Scholar...

1

"Is this your paper?"

"Um...yes?"

"Well then. I would like you to answer this question for me: Who was your composition teacher?"

Blink. Blink. "Um, Mr. Kaye, what does that have to do with anything?" was my hesitant response.

"I would like to speak to them about why the hell they taught you to write like this. This paper is so poorly structured, and so off-base about your conclusion that I am honestly shocked you passed a composition course," was the curt reply.

I thought my jaw would hit the floor, instead I felt hot, angry tears welling.

"What's wrong with it?!" I muttered angrily.

"Everything. I must be honest with you, on a writer-to-writer basis: This paper has no real point to it. It uses too little of the author's information that was provided to you and sounds nothing like what you were assigned to write. I thought you knew better than this, I will not accept a paper written by someone who has not given the author enough credit and who was not studied thoroughly," Mr. Kaye replied as he nonchalantly plopped my paper onto his desk. The 'plop' of my eight page report echoed throughout the classroom. Does he have any idea how hard I worked on that?! All those hours of typing away and re-reading every...single...word of that boring essay? I thought furiously; I could feel many eyes burning into the back of my skull as my fellow students stared at me and my succession in irritating our teacher.

"But, I did study them thoroughly! And what's wrong with my conclusion?!" I retorted as, and who are you to judge my opinion?! rang pronouncedly through my mind.

A slow, deep sigh answered me before his eyes lazily slid toward mine and made contact, "Everything."

1

This traumatizing experience was the result of one of my first essays I wrote in my A.P English class in high school. An unpleasant experience. Oh yes. I learned a valuable lesson, however: To make the teacher happy stick with the rules, and keep as little of my opinion out that they did not like or agreed with. I did not like this conclusion though, but with my grades on the line I found that it was the best way to go about passing my classes and getting decent grades on my papers.

As I take more composition courses, thoughts of how I would like things to go in a composition classroom scramble around in my mind. First off, I believe that a writer (more or less) is any person who is able to write and articulate their thoughts through writing. This opens up the Pandora's box of grading by the teacher or a peer; if a person simply writes their thoughts down on a paper and turns it in, it is still considered writing, right? To many, not necessarily. Many times, it depends on the teacher who is instructing the course and how they are going about explaining what a writer is and how writing should be done.

Different types of teaching compositions exist, two teachers that are well known for their vastly different views on composition are Bartholomae and Elbow. I think that both of these authors have brilliant views on what composition should be, however I also believe that if we take principles from each of them then we can get a constructive, yet more comfortable writing environment for authors to grow in.

Bartholomae believes that a student, cannot be their "own" author; that they and their writing are simply a result of pieces of society. For example, race, social environment, history, etc. I, personally, go more with Elbow's approach that anyone can be a good writer if given the proper environment and light direction. He believes in having an open, free environment and less structured way of thinking and writing. He has his students do free-writing exercises to clear their heads and perhaps start a good piece of writing. Elbow also publishes his students' work in a magazine; this encourages students to write and also to give them confidence in knowing that their works are important enough for publication. I believe this is essential to a writer producing good work, that is, to have the teacher show them that their work matters and is in fact worthy of reading. Bartholomae, on the other hand, believes that the students should go through more rigorous and often, demolishing training in a disciplinary method. The teacher has sole power to instruct the students, and they should be eager learners that absorb everything the teacher says and apply that, and solely that and the scholarly works to their own pieces. Sometimes, even putting the "greats" of writing on pedestals knowing that the students believe they will never achieve such greatness but they need to try to do so. Along with this goes the onerous studying of scholarly writers works and their "meanings", that is the meanings that the teacher deems correct.

I think, that a good composition course can consist of studying some great works but not necessarily idolizing them, but using them as more of a reference; something they can go back to if they feel lost, or that their writing is missing that little piece that would complete their thoughts. Also, texts that are great examples of composition should be utilized so that how they are written is more of the focused point rather than what they were thinking. With this studying, comes a teacher of course. I believe that teacher should be more of a guide rather than a dictator. Instead of saying things like: This is completely wrong, what were you thinking? This is not what they author was saying at all! Go read it again. They could be more constructive and say: You pose an interesting point. It's not what most people perceive but you just might be able to make it work. Why don't you elaborate more here and there and then add some more quotes? Then go have so-and-so read over it. This way, the student still knows that they have some more work to do on their papers rather than feel that they failed at life and cannot write at all.

Either way, teachers I find to be necessary but not necessarily all-knowing deities; the same with scholarly writers. And one thing that Bartholomae appears to overlook and that I believe is essential in reminding students to encourage them to grow into great authors is: They started where you presently find yourself. As students, there to learn, grow, and develop into your own self and style. Teachers are meant to guide, and we are meant to learn and to write. We should be taught composition and given the strength and encouragement that we can indeed write, that it is worth reading, and that perfection does not exist; it is merely an idea that is pressed into wishful thinking persons minds and finds itself often in places like scholarly works and deemed worthy literature.