Response to Stephen M. North's "Revisiting 'The Idea of a Writing Center'"

In contrast to North's original essay, "Revisiting 'The Idea of a Writing Center'" was clearly written in a more rational and realistic mindset. He and his colleagues have modified the approach of the Writing Center and related programs at Albany to better suit their needs and capabilities as a large research university, which is great—every Center must do its best within its limits. Still, as I was reading, I found myself increasingly thankful to be at a small liberal arts college—many of the issues discussed in this essay are not significant problems at Wittenberg. The close-knit, familiar environment North attempts to foster at Albany is already present here naturally, enabling the Writing Center to play a larger role throughout campus. Fortunately, our Writing Center has established the "tutor-to-student and staff-to-faculty ratio[s]" that make many of North's original ideas possible.

North's reevaluation of the relationship between tutor and writer seemed much more accurate than the original. It's undeniably important that tutors accept the fact that not all writers are going to be passionate about their work. Still, even when a student is required to bring a piece of writing to the Center, the tutor is presented with an opportunity to make the student more comfortable talking about his or her work and possibly even more enthusiastic about expressing ideas in writing.