Judy:
Good question. I remember sitting in a discussion, at CCCC96 I think,
in which Janet Giltrow insisted that writing centres MUST be attached to
English departments. My response was simple, and remains much the same,
"not at U of T." Let me embellish that a little. Part of the
credibility I have with Engineering students is that I am NOT from the
English Department. The English department is responsible for a course
known as "(D)Effective Technical Writing." I work in discipline
specific writing, I don't obsess over their grammar and I can, often at
least, converse on the technical subject matter about which they are
writing. That is efficacious, I believe.
More importantly--image--the Engineering faculty regard me as one of
them. I regularly assist faculty in designing assignments with a
consciousness of their pedagogical goals and how writing can contribute.
(which is part of why I can be conversant when the students come to
me). I run workshops with small groups of faculty and regularly am
asked to help them train TAs in grading writing.
The downside is personal. I am not in an English department. In fact,
they are fairly hostile to the entire project of making Engineers
literate (students feel this, hence the (D)) and seem to feel that this
is my fault. Personally, I would love to be teaching a literature course
each year alongside my work. (I have a PhD in Renaissance Drama). It
would keep my brain working in a sphere that I love. This is not to say
that I dislike what I'm doing, I am a teacher at heart and I like to
work with students who are ready to improve; writing centres have that
virtue. But, I'd also like to be working with my own students, in a
Shakespeare course perhaps (he says wistfully), where I could monitor
their development through an entire term or year. So, though I have
security, satisfaction is uneasy.
So, if I were designing a perfect Writing Centre scenario, I would
start with the English department. First, I would want unanimous
commitment from that department that the facility is a valuable part of
the student learning exercise. If that miracle could be obtained, or at
least enough of a majority that the belligerent few were cowed into
silence until retirement, then I think that for the persons staffing
such a facility, a liaison with the department would be good. Steven
Youra, who directs the Engineering Writing Program at Cornell, has
Adjunct status with English which would allow him to teach a course each
year. He says he hasn't done so in the last seven or eight years
because he is too busy, but he likes the fact that he has that
possibility.
Regardless where, the person needs a faculty rank. I know there are
those on the list muscling along without this but I remain convinced
leaving a centre to some poor TA or staff appointment is a recipe for
disaster or exploitation, regardless of departmental affiliation,
because, regardless of whether this is just, respect comes from rank.
Mercifully, here at U of T, Margaret Procter has overseen employment
contracts that have allowed living wages to those in writing centres.
And real "colleague" status with those with whom we work.
Hope this helps. It is good to get it off my chest every so often.
Rob Irish
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Dr. Robert Irish
Coordinator of Language Across the Curriculum
Applied Science and Engineering
University of Toronto
http://www.ecf.toronto.edu/~writing/
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