OK ok ok I know that everyone is sick of me being torn and talking about ESL by now, but just in case you arent...

So I know that we are going to have an entire week dedicated to ESL students, but I seriously can't wait until then to talk about it. I have another shadowing consultation today with an ESL student and I'm already dreading it because I know that we wont really be able to help her! I know that the Writing Center is not supposed to help students with every single error in grammar, but what about ESL students who really do need grammar help? The Writing Center is really the only place that they can come to get one on one judge free help, but we can't even really help them with what they ask for ( sorry for ending this sentence in a preposition, i couldn't think of a way to rearrange.) I think that the writing center is a GREAT place, but I think it could maybe benefit to catering to its clients a bit more. I mean, why can't there be a few fellows that are specifically trained to help with grammar? What's the logical conclusion behind not helping students with their grammar. Maybe for an ESL student, or any student for that matter, grammar is just like any other writing problem- its not necessarily a matter of laziness but of not understanding. I mean there isn't a place where we can go for grammar help, and there isn't a required grammar class, and I know we all struggle with those tricky commas, so what are we supposed to do about it? If the writing center can't help, then who can? ( even there, I'm not sure whether I should've used then or than... i think i picked the wrong one too lol sorry!) It's not even just about grammar- my fellow was just talking about how he is one of the only business majors who is a writing fellow and he get inundated with papers for bstats classes- he doesn't have time to help everyone who needs it and there aren't any other consultants that are in the b-school and know the teachers. I don't thing that the Writing Center is flawed, but I think that maybe it could make a few changes to cater to its clients because after all, it is their resource for writing help!

WOWZA! IM IMPRESSED!

ok, so shockingly enough my title once again gives away how I'm feeling... but I just wanted to say how great I thought all the digital stories were! I really enjoyed watching them in class and I think that everyone did a really great job taking the assignment seriously and coming up with some great work! Not only was I impressed with how great all the videos turned out in terms of the technological aspects, I was even more impressed with how different they all were! I think it really shows how we all managed to come up with our very own versions of a story from the interviews. Everyones video was a reflection of how they interpreted the interview and what they thought was important and how they chose to express that. I think it is sometimes really hard to come up with an interesting story from an interview experience- it can be kind of dry, but everyones videos were so fun to watch! Thanks so much for sharing with us!!

Shockingly Enough, I'm Flustered Again!

So I'm getting kind of nervous for class today because we might go over my article response. For some reason, I fear the judgement! I'm usually not shy about sharing my writing, and I really do appreciate constructive criticism on my writing because it will help me to improve, yet despite that, I'm still nervous. I wonder if this is how students feel when they bring their papers to the writing center. Are they nervous that we will judge them based on their writing? Do they get antsy as you sit there going over your corrections? Despite being nervous about the judgment of my paper, I know that I would never judge a person by their writing, so I hope that students don't feel anxiety about coming to the writing center.

Everyone seems to be very attached to their writing. You can't help but take it a little personally. However, I guess we just have to keep in mind that offering someone advice is ultimately going to help them in the end. They might not like it while you're doing it, but it will ultimately make them a better writer. It's like, I'd want my friend to tell me if my shirt made me look fat... I'd be upset when she told me, but in the long run I would be appreciative that she let me know! ( So Allie, when we go out and my shirt makes me look fat, just tell me!!!)

Q: What do you want to do with that major? A: find a husband

So, today I went to ask professor Dolson a quick question about our blog papers, and ended up having one of those spur of the moment conversations that leave you walking out of the room thinking, Wow. It was myself, professor Dolson, and another member of our class and we ended up talking for the full class period. One of the things that we discussed is what we are going to do... SO STRESSFUL. The other girl knew exactly what she wanted to do and she had been planning on teaching since high school, where as, I have no idea what I want to do and oftentimes try to avoid all sorts of conversations that may end up with me seeming like a total air headed English/ Spanish major who really is just looking for a husband. However, I took this opportunity to try something new... instead of making it seem pathetic that i didn't really know what I wanted to do, I just said, I know exactly what I like and exactly what I don't like; hopefully, that will take me somewhere!

The most valuable advice I have ever gotten is to take the time to know yourself- know what time of the day you do the best work, how much background noise you can have when you work, what is a good way for you to relive stress.... just small things that will help you discover who you are, because that will take you exactly where you need to go.

I think that this can be applied to our futures as writing consultants. I feel that you should learn and reflect on your own strengths and weaknesses as both a writer and a teacher. Are you more comfortable editing on the computer or by hand? Do you review papers better in the afternoon, or in the night? Do you like to talk to your student before hand? I feel, or at least i hope, that getting to know ourselves a little bit better will make us better writing consultants.

Granted, despite my commentary about knowing who i am, I still had to add that I'm looking for a husband, so if you guys have any good husband potentials, just let me know!

It's Just One of Those Weeks...

This just seems to be one of those weeks for everyone... it's the week where all your papers are due, you have 2 midterms, you start wellness classes, its raining, your mom feels particularly needy and calls daily, your nose starts getting all stuffed up, and you don't have any time to get to the gym, and.... ect

Despite the super busyness though, try to keep in mind that soon it'll be fall break! We can catch up on all the sleep we lost, detox and drink non caffeinated beverages, put our planners down, and just relax!

This week will be terrible and rough on everyone, but I'm wishing you all the best of luck with all your assignments. I've really enjoyed commenting on, and reading all the comments on the blogs this past week as people try to rack up their citizenship points- everyone has such interesting things to say and such fantastic outlooks on our futures as writing consultants!

So again, goodluck with all your work! Cya guys on Wednesday! If anyone needs hugs, I love to hug and will probably be in desperate need of one myself!

Numbers? Wait I do words

So, I wrote my article response on Summer Smith's article, but i just wanted to add a few thoughts that I didn't get a chance to explore thoroughly in my review. There are a few discombobulated things that I just wanted to point out because I thought they were interesting. There's really no rhyme or reason to my thoughts... just some randomness!

Mainly, I wanted to say that I thought that Smith's use of numbers was interesting. There is usually this established separation between math and english, but I thought her charts and percentages were an effective way to get her point across.

Im usually not a supporter of numbers at all- i avoid them like the plague- if i never saw another number again in my life i would be completely satisfied, but I thought that the percentages really helped to get the readers attention in Smith's article.

On a more random side note, while I don't think that the way teacher's write comments is going to change anytime soon, I really did like her article. It was a great example of being able to respect something with which I don't really agree. I think that she supports her points well and offers quite a bit of information to further highlight her claims, and I thought it was a well written article. ( Besides all the typos.... I don't know if it was just my computer, but did anyone else notice the crazy amount of typos? I was so confused!!)

That's my random thought process for that article! Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Can you help me with Grammar? Ummm not really

I went to my second speech shadowing appointment this week, and I could tell from the beginning that it was going to be kind of awkward. The girl was clearly not from America and was having some trouble with both her paper, and the consultants suggestions. She was having a lot of trouble adjusting to American writing style- she explained that writing in Spain was significantly different. While professors here seem to value clear and concise writing, she said that Spanish teachers seem to value circumvention of topics and superfluousness... and its hard enough to make small changes to your writing style, so i can only assume that its very difficult to make larger ones. It was also the first time i had experienced the issue with grammar and the writing center. When she left, the consultant said that was it was hard to help her because she was asking for grammar help an specific sentences, and while thats the opposite of the speech center's mission, its what she actually needed to make her paper better. So what do you do when you can't really help someone in the way that they need to be helped? Is it ok to sacrifice the writing center's mission to help a person with who just doesn't understand how to write a paper for a Richmond professor? These are all questions that I'm sure will come up while working for the writing center and I'm eager to see how I will respond!