As I type this, my poodle is begging me to rub her tummy. If I don't, she'll keep rolling around and snorting annoyingly, and if I do I'll only be able to type with one hand and I'll be re-enforcing bad behavior, but at least she'll stop annoying me. Hopefully if I ignore her for long enough, she'll realize that nothing's going to make me rub her belly, especially while I'm typing.
As some of my readers may know, I started training for my job last week. I am a Writing Consultant at The Studio at my college, which basically means that a student can bring in his or her writing assignment to me during any stage of writing, be it planning, revising, or editing, and I'll help him/her improve his/her paper. It's more complex than that, but that's the general idea.
Also at my college I am a part of a brand new program that The Studio is trying out--it's part of our evil plan to take over the world, or so my bosses tell me. This program is called the Writing Fellows. As a Writing Fellow, I'd be directly involved in a classroom like Education or History. Eight to ten students would be assigned to me, and they would send their rough drafts of their essays (only two per semester) to me for me to write comments on and grade. After that they'd have a 30 minute consultation with me where I'd talk to them about how they could improve their paper (much like a writing consultation I'd do as a Consultant). I'd be in direct contact with the professor, figuring out what he/she considers to be good writing, talking about the assignment in general, etc. It's a thrilling prospect, and I'm so excited to be a part of it!
An extra job also means extra training, but only 8 extra hours. Today at Writing Fellows training, my bosses (both are English professors) gave us several of their students' essays. We went over each essay as a group, and we were to write down one strength of the paper we were going over, and three weaknesses, and how we might suggest that the student improve it. Then we'd talk it over, and then move on to another essay. It was very eye-opening; I was surprised by my ability to read what might be considered a "terrible" essay, but still be able to find a major strength that the writer could build on. I'm quickly learning that a person can know absolutely nothing about proper spelling and grammar, but still be an excellent writer!
Learning that has made me really think. I used to believe that people were either "good writers" or "bad writers," with nothing in between. Writing was a talent you either had or you didn't. I'm coming to realize that while you can have a natural skill at writing, being a good writer isn't a member's only, exclusive club. I'm also learning to accept that you don't have to be a grammar queen like I am to convey your message effectively.
Working in The Studio and learning what I'm learning, I'm reminded of a scene from The Blind Side. Michael, a poor reader, writer, and student, is believed by his teachers to be stupid. Only one teacher has faith in him: his science teacher. She finds a poem he had written and tossed aside, and then reads it aloud to the other teachers. It was beautifully written, in my opinion. His English teacher simply rolls his eyes and asks "How's the spelling?"
