Minimalism vs. Authoritarianism

This week we were introduced to a number of new concepts and theories. It was interesting to go to work the following Thursday and observe sessions with these things in mind. I have a few issues with one of these. That is, the idea of a spectrum with minimalist consulting on one end and authoritarian consulting on the other. There is a lot of discussion about the idea of a "happy medium" between the two. After observing a few sessions I've come to believe that this is not the best way to think about it.

I think the selection of minimalist or authoritarian is determined by the writer themselves. I witnessed a young freshman that brought in a well written paper as far as grammar is concerned, but lacked a clear thesis that was supported in his paper. This student, as a freshman, was not accustomed to writing papers. Here it was better to guide him towards figuring out his thesis by himself because that was what he truly needed help with. How to structure a paper and write a thesis are two things that this student needed to learn.

I've also noticed that the writing center seems to receive a lot of ESL students. One such student brought in a paper that was structured logically and made sense. The problem with him was that English was his second language and he needed help with minor grammar points. The only real way to learn anything about foreign languages, I think, is to be told the rule and shown how its done. It would have been difficult, if not impossible, to guide this student into learning this himself. It was much more effective to simply show him.

I'm not convinced that a spectrum is the best way to look at it. It seems to me that you can either select one or the other based on what is needed.