http://chronicle.com/daily/2009/03/13678n.htmI liked Josh Keller's article and was amused to see that this discussion still is going on among writing teachers. More than 35 years ago I was teaching at an urban college that had a high population of students needing remedial help just to get to a freshman writing level. There was a standard writing exam given at the end of each semester to measure whether or not students could move on to freshman English or stay in the remedial program.
The first thing I found I needed to do was convince them that they could succeed. Many of the students had a very poor self-image of themselves as college students. These students needed a lot more preparation before I could even begin teaching them "how to write." So I had them spend several classes just talking about themselves, their goals, their fears, strengths and weaknesses, and perhaps most importantly - their perceptions of society's expectations for them.
The senior writing staff had prepared precise lesson plans that were to be rigidly complied with. Having already tutored individuals with poor reading and writing skills I knew immediately that the lesson plans would not work, so I struck off on my own from ground zero - words. Through class dialogue we began to build phrases, sentences, and paragraphs. Then we dealt with logic and basic rhetorical skills. There was, of course, lots and lots of writing in class and outside. By the end of the semester students felt confident and forgot their fears.
The first semester of teaching remedial writing I anxiously awaited the results from the review team. When the results came out I saw that most classes had a mere 20% success rate. My class had an 80% success rate. We had a party to celebrate those who passed and encourage those who needed more help.
Sorry, it looks like I spent most of my time reminiscing. So be it, no one need reply. But I realized over the years, that those remedial classes were the most rewarding of all in terms of really seeing students blossom.
Mac Killoren
