An afterthought:
More often than not, writing in the workplace is part of a larger activity,
an interdependent activity. If I draw on Activity Theory, I can say that
school and workplace goals differ and define different actions. While
deadlines operate in both settings, in school work, deadlines can be met by
reducing goals, trimming the task to fit in with changing exigences. At
work, an economic activity, goals are set, and modified if needed only
within narrow parameters, and resources (coworkers, for instance) can be
marshalled accordingly. Learning to write happens willy-nilly in the
workplace; in school, one can juggle the several demands on one's time and
effort in order to get by, presenting us with the challenge of creating the
contexts that draw learners into writing from a felt need and
discourage seeing writing-course demands as secondary to the seemingly
more relevant and challenging demands of discipline-based courses.
Patrick Dias
518 Montford Drive
Dollard des Ormeaux, QC
Canada H9G 1M8
Phone: 514-626-3605 (Home)
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