December 1, 2007
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BRIEF HISTORY OF RHETORIC…
“A written rhetoric arose in this century in a form that is commonly called the product method of teaching composition. When I was a freshman taking composition classes in the 1980′s, this is what occurred: we read literature, discussed the stories and poems, and wrote essays about what we read. The teacher then included some grammar lessons. We turned in the essay and continued the discussions and grammar lessons.
Then one day, we received the essays back with a multitude of comments. The idea was that we were supposed to learn from those comments and write better the next time. This was repeated.
Now: Process Approach…
Some ten years later (1990′s), I began to study rhetoric in graduate school, and I learned of a new way of teaching composition. Relatively no grammar lessons were given, and no readings were given. Instead, students read each others’ essays and learned to peer edit (grammar) each others’ papers. Essays were usually not turned in until the end of the semester.
The papers went through a massive amount of revision. The writing process was more important than the product.”
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CRITICISM OF MODES…
“There are other types or modes of essays that professors ask for (compare and contrast, process, classification); however, such modes are too artificial and actually not good practice because real samples of published discourse are never solely written in one mode. Instead, an essay is composed of many modes.
Within one essay, a writer will switch in and out of modes for effect. An essay about the summer might include a description then narration and then some compare and contrast and many other modes.
Only a few years ago, English handbooks taught the modes as separate writing exercises; however, now that has changed. Overall, Bain was not looked at favorably because of his use of modes; however, Andrea A. Lunsford (“Alexander Bain’s Contributions to Discourse Theory,” College English, 1982) contends that it was his followers and not Bain who are to blame.”
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ELEMENTS OF THE TWO APPROACHES:
“Current-Traditional (Product) = Teacher as Authority, Pre-Vietnam War, Writing occurs outside of class as in solitude, Grammar Lessons, Grammar Tests, Literature, Form, Writing Prompts Provided, Boring
Process Approach = Student-Centered, During Vietnam War, Peer Editing, Group Collaboration, Students Papers act as the Literature, Meta-Awareness of Writing Process, Content First, Open Topics, Portfolio/Holistic Grading, Engaging”
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I am reminded of where I have come from…
I am reminded of the fact that I had no pedagogical background when I taught high school, but then had a light bulb turn on in graduate school; I am an expressivist. (The following is from various NDSU webpages.)
“An expressivist would say that the teaching of grammar is a lower priority than the writing itself.”
“An expressivist would see the purpose of the first-year composition class as a forum for the development of voice/style in writing. Rather than focusing on texts, ideologies, or philosophies, an expressivist would have students concentrate on their writing instead.”
“For an expressivist, writing is much more of a process rather than the actual product itself. What exactly this process is can be somewhat ambiguous because it resides in heart of each individual. Donald Murray, a noted expressivist theorist, comments, “What is the process we should teach? It is the process of discovery through language. It is the process of what we know and what we feel we know about language. It is the process of using language to learn about our world, to evaluate what we learn about our world, to communicate what we learn about our world” (4).”
“For expressivists, the writer is the lens through which the creative force flows.[...] The writer is a translator and mediator between the emotional chaos inside and the constraints and expectations of the outside world.”
“An expressivist would say that language is the medium of the message. As the medium, it does not take precedence over what is being expressed. Language may be twisted in whatever way the writer wishes in order to convey his or her idea.”
“From an Expressivist point of view, the teacher must not use his or her position of authority in the class to stifle personal voice. An Expressivist teacher should read student papers looking for moments of authenticity in which the true feelings of a writer are coming through.”I need to return to my roots and implement the portfolio again… or a version of it.
