Response to Randy

[This post is written as a response to Randy’s. I originally intended on this being a mere comment on his post, but it ended up being much longer than I expected. Everyone can read and respond to this, but it would of course make much more sense if Randy's post is read prior to doing so.]

First, I must say that I wholeheartedly believe Kincaid's statement that "The examination isn't the examined" is proverbial when it comes to the sciences. I absolutely loved science as a child and on into the beginning of my high school career, but after that point I began to feel disenchanted by the cold, rational view that was quickly enveloping all that I used to consider beautifully mysterious. I quite abruptly abandoned my academic pursuit of the sciences as I reached the conclusion that some things are better left in mystery—that a balance between humanistic emotional experience and rationality is vital to a healthy life.

However, I do not think Kincaid's statement applies equally to one's understanding of language. I do not think an advanced knowledge of the inner workings of language can "ruin the amazing thing that it set out to explain in the first place, by turning it into a cold, pedestrian paradigm." On the contrary, I believe that such an understanding enables us to form more complex thoughts about our lives and the world in which we live—language, with all its intricate structures, is still a beautifully functioning whole, for it is only through these structures that it may function at all. We, as skilled writers (and future advisors), need not break down sentences into bits of grammatical terms, consequently losing sight of the meaning and value of the thought being expressed; rather, we may use this advanced knowledge of language to help the original thought develop into all it can be. Language is, after all, a tool human kind has developed to convey organic thoughts and emotions to others. With our understanding of its fundamental aspects, we may better manipulate words to communicate a thought, idea, or emotion in its purest form, untarnished by misunderstandings that result from a less complete grasp.

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I, too, have experienced the uneducated approach to language and life in general—I am the first person in my family to attend college, and I was raised by a single mother who had "arguably no skill" in any sort of formal communication. She, like your step father, does not "lingually disassemble [her] examined world," and remains in a somewhat helpless state of mere examination. In her mindset, the world is unquestionably Biblical; she lives today according to the very same teachings she was taught as a child by her parents (a farmer and a Cherokee who did not complete high school), never questioning this apparent authority. When she encounters something she does not understand, she searches for an explanation through power figures rather than attempting to delve into original, independent thought.

I know not all of those lacking an advanced education see the world as my mother does, and of course, I must agree that there is a certain beauty to the simplicity of such lifestyles; however, throughout my childhood, I witnessed their flaws all too frequently to desire a similar approach. My mother's lack of any sort of ability to disassemble her world has left her depressed and closed-minded. Because she cannot seem to analyze the world on her own without her not-so-chosen authority's guidance, she feels trapped in a world she does not understand, yet unable to even consider alternative perspectives when they're presented to her by others.

While it isn't necessarily formalized communication that enables us to assess the world around us, I do think having a decent secular education (although it need not be traditional) and an advanced understanding of language helps us to see the full extent of the mystery and wonder of life with a peaceful, open mind. From what I have witnessed, lacking these things results in a very uncontrolled state of nearly unconscious action—my mother, for instance, has never harnessed any fraction of ability to choose how she reacts to any circumstance. The benefit of being a skilled communicator comes in to play as one seeks to examine the world in which we live on a more complex level—our thoughts are limited by the extent of our knowledge and awareness, and because of this I believe that continuing to advance one’s understanding of language can only further free one’s mind from the confines of outside authorities. Through this process, beauty, wonder, and mystery are not lost; they are seen and experienced in full color.

Miami University’s Howe Center for Writing Excellence

In general, Miami University’s writing centers (yes, plural) don’t seem drastically different from Wittenberg’s writing center on the fundamental level. The mission of Miami University’s Howe Center for Writing Excellence, the main branch of their writing center system, is “to assure that Miami fully prepares all of its graduates to excel in the writing they will do after college in their careers, roles as community and civic leaders, and personal lives.” The Center’s goals are:

• To foster a culture of writing in which students welcome the writing instruction they receive in their courses, seek additional opportunities to write outside of class, and strive continuously to improve their writing skills.
• To help faculty increase the amount and quality of writing instruction and practice that students receive throughout their studies at Miami.
• To help faculty tap writing’s tremendous potential for assisting students in mastering the content and thinking processes their courses are designed to teach.
• To assure that all students—from the most accomplished to the most needful—have ample help outside of their classes as they strive to improve their writing.

Appointments may be scheduled online or in person, and walk-ins are “provided whenever a consultant is available,” although “[the] appointment book is often full.” The consultants are a mix of undergraduate and graduate students who take a 3-credit course to prepare for their work.

However, Miami University’s writing center program does differ from Wittenberg’s in several ways:

1. Size and structure—there are many writing centers at Miami University. The Howe Center for Writing Excellence seems to be the main branch of the system, and the others are either satellite sites for students at Miami’s regional campuses or specialized centers for writing in certain disciplines (there is one for the business school, for example). With around 15,000 undergraduate students, Miami University definitely benefits from having multiple writing centers.
2. Session/Consultation length—the Howe Center for Writing Excellence offers 45-minute consultations. In the overview of a typical consultation, I noticed that students are “asked to complete a brief evaluation” at the end, but I am not sure if this is included in the 45-minute period.
3. Offers “Quick Questions” service—this is a fairly new operation at the Howe Center that provides 10-minute long quick consultations for students with “specific questions about writing.” The goal of the service was to “[eliminate] the need for writers to try and find an opening in the schedule” by offering “quick and efficient” consultations for writers while encouraging them “to take advantage of the open accessibility of consultants.”
4. Lists private, paid editing services—I am not sure if these services are offered by the writing centers at Miami or if it’s listed on the website as an outside resource, but I got the sense of it being the latter. Anyway, there is a note of caution at the top of the page that emphasizes the need for both graduate and undergraduate students to use these services for assignments only if it is allowed by the professor and does not violate the academic integrity guidelines of the University.

Aside from these differences, I noticed a few other interesting traits of the Howe Center. First, the Center is only three years old, yet they’ve had more than 10,000 consultations since their opening. Second, students are allowed to come in to the writing centers to work on their assignments on their own “[a]s long as there’s an open table or chair.” 

After reading through the Howe Center’s website, I felt as if Miami’s writing center program is in some ways a large public university version of ours. I didn’t find anything drastically different (although the paid editing service was surprising), but it was interesting to see how a writing center with similar values to ours is managed at a large university. If I remember correctly, there is some sort of writing center conference for advisors/consultants at Miami in the fall that we may be able to attend, which I think will be a great chance for us to learn from another strong writing center program.

Grammar

Before taking English 242, I had very little practice breaking down sentences into grammatical terms. I remember learning the terms fairly early on in elementary school and then relearning them in seventh grade, but I never had to apply that knowledge consistently enough to solidify it all in my mind. After a few weeks of grammar drills, the subject was never brought up by my teachers again.

However, during my last few years of high school and now on into college, I have begun to appreciate the basic rules of language that allow us to communicate with others so effectively. I cannot help but wonder how such an organized system was developed—through all its complexities, language is as fascinating as it is beautiful. Language allows us to take an idea, thought, or emotion and communicate it to others across a table or across centuries, so in my mind, it is hard not to appreciate its roots. Although learning grammatical terminology may at times seem unnecessary and painful, I believe that having such knowledge and being able to understand it well enough to break down language to its fundamental composition can only improve one’s ability to communicate. Just as a painter must understand the attributes of her medium in order to use it to reach her desired outcome, so must writers and speakers understand their language in order to convey thoughts as they are intended. However, knowing the colors and textures of paints is not enough for the artist—she must also understand how the individual paints react around one another, how they act together, and what new traits emerge. By doing so, the painter is able to slowly master her art, just as a writer or speaker who develops a more thorough understanding of the workings of language is able to gain more control over it.

All in all, I guess what I am trying to say is that I really appreciate language—grammar included. Although working to improve my knowledge of grammatical terminology may leave me feeling a little frustrated at times, I believe the end result has hidden benefits that will make having such an understanding far from useless.