Alina Vamanu, blog post #4
This week, I have been really interested in the various kinds of problems students may experience at different stages of their academic careers. Besides academic concerns, Chapter Four of the Bedford Guide mentions social concerns and lifestyle concerns. Students may be facing social challenges related to romantic and peer relationships, and lifestyle challenges such as health, housing, and financial difficulties.
I think this is really important to realize while working with students in the Writing Center. As the Bedford Guide indicates, "[t]hough you cannot—and would not want to—be privy to all of their concerns, it is good to remind yourself of the various personal issues that can affect students’ writing" (56). Indeed, it is important to look at students holistically and understand that they are not simply individuals who read, think, and produce papers; they are embodied human beings who have families, friends, and partners, who have to eat, ride buses, run errands, visit healthcare centers, and pay bills. The ways in which students go about their daily lives and accomplish these tasks varies tremendously, but one thing they have in common is that their academic activity is deeply intertwined with the rest of their lives. In Education, we often talk about enabling the whole person to flourish in academic environments, but in practice we are often oblivious to anything that does not fall under "academic" pursuits.
This chapter has been really helpful in reminding me of the variety of concerns students may have. Indeed, one of the students I saw this week seemed very tired. Or perhaps she was worried about something going on in her studies or her social life. In any case, she seemed to have trouble paying attention. I tried to be very patient, friendly, and open, and ask her lots of questions about her upcoming paper and the text it was based on, and eventually she started playing with a few ideas and jotting down notes. She left with a decent outline for her paper and stated that she felt pretty confident she knew how to go about writing a draft. However, I wonder what strategies we could use to assess students' worries and concerns when we face these kinds of situations. What is the appropriate boundary between respecting their privacy and becoming aware of their concerns in order to enable them to produce good academic work?
I think this is really important to realize while working with students in the Writing Center. As the Bedford Guide indicates, "[t]hough you cannot—and would not want to—be privy to all of their concerns, it is good to remind yourself of the various personal issues that can affect students’ writing" (56). Indeed, it is important to look at students holistically and understand that they are not simply individuals who read, think, and produce papers; they are embodied human beings who have families, friends, and partners, who have to eat, ride buses, run errands, visit healthcare centers, and pay bills. The ways in which students go about their daily lives and accomplish these tasks varies tremendously, but one thing they have in common is that their academic activity is deeply intertwined with the rest of their lives. In Education, we often talk about enabling the whole person to flourish in academic environments, but in practice we are often oblivious to anything that does not fall under "academic" pursuits.
This chapter has been really helpful in reminding me of the variety of concerns students may have. Indeed, one of the students I saw this week seemed very tired. Or perhaps she was worried about something going on in her studies or her social life. In any case, she seemed to have trouble paying attention. I tried to be very patient, friendly, and open, and ask her lots of questions about her upcoming paper and the text it was based on, and eventually she started playing with a few ideas and jotting down notes. She left with a decent outline for her paper and stated that she felt pretty confident she knew how to go about writing a draft. However, I wonder what strategies we could use to assess students' worries and concerns when we face these kinds of situations. What is the appropriate boundary between respecting their privacy and becoming aware of their concerns in order to enable them to produce good academic work?
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