I wish I could come up with a cleverer title. And figure out how to copy and paste. It seems easy, and yet...Technology, my cursed enemy, we meet again. Anywho:
Ah, another school year begins. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the football team is footbal-ling, and the administration is sucking every last cent out of the student body for various nefarious purposes. It's a beautiful thing. This fall semester is a particularly special one for me, as it marks the beginning of my internship at the Writing Center. Though my knowledge and experience of writing centers is limited, I hope to make some small contribution to the Center, and more importantly, to glean knowledge which will help me with my own writing and that which will help me aid others in the future.
I have been to the Writing Center only once before, and under duress, if I recall correctly. My biology professor, for some mischievous reason of her own, decided to make it a requirement for all of her students to visit the Writing Center at least once while penning the dreaded lab report. It should be noted that I am not a fan of criticism, especially when it comes to my writing. I have a hard time taking criticism, I have a hard time giving it out--but these are things I am working on. Oh, the divers glories that stem from low self-esteem. Having someone read through and (God forbid!) correct my writing was unthinkable, unconscionable, completely out of the question.
It was with trepidation that I scaled the stairs to the Writing Center, and with hesitation that I handed my paper over for scrutiny. I twisted and squirmed in my seat in anxiety, trying to arrange my features into something I hoped appeared menacing, but probably only looked as if I had bad gas. After the initial awkwardness of hearing my work read aloud, however, I began to relax. Hearing someone else's opinion on my writing helped rather than hindered me in the writing process. Surprise, surprise. Though I did not visit the Writing Center again, but I remembered the experience. So when it was suggested to me that I apply for an internship at the Writing Center, I jumped at the chance. To be on the other side of that table, to help someone else have that gestalt moment in the same way my consultant helped me seemed a wonderful idea. So here I am, an intern, about to take my first bumbling steps into the larger writing world.
My first week in the Center was largely uneventful. I did some dishes, participated in a class tour, and helped type up a few handouts. There were no belligerent students or bomb threats, nor any rabid dogs or random Ebola outbreaks. There was, however, some talk of a John Waters Halloween costume, which is rather scary, I must admit. I didn't get any hands-on Writing Center experience, really, but I think I did something more important: I began to make connections with the people who work there. They are far from the grammar Nazis and harsh critics I had imagined. They're laid back and fun to talk to, and just want to help people become better writers.
Plus, they let me do the dishes, so they can't be all bad.
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Sara--
ReplyDeleteYour first experience in the Center certainly offers us a traditional, yet somehow often forgotten, perspective--that of fear, or rather fear of the unknown. So many students come to us in the same way you did, not sure why they're supposed to be there, what we do, or what even to expect at all. Will they get torn to shreds? Will they be belittled by red-pen-wielding grammar nazis?
Many consultants don't start with this experience; they start in the Center when they work there, so it's quite easy to not understand this perspective that you offer here. Over time, though, most consultants flat out forget why anyone would ever be nervous walking into our doors. I think one of the most important things we can do is to not forget how terrifying it can be at times to hand over a piece of writing, a piece of writing in-progress, no less. Still makes my stomach turn! Something to think about: if our work is based on the conversations that occur in the Center, how might someone approach these conversations if he was uncertain and nervous to begin with? Or, in other words, how does the way someone feels affect the conversations? And, how might we work to ease this tension?
I promise, things will pick up in no time at the time you're there. You're right though, the time spent making connections with other consultants can be quite valuable early on, especially since everyone is going to get crazy busy in no time.
Good first week, Sara. I'm looking forward to reading your next entry!
mk