Reading DiPardo

After reading "Whispers of Coming and Going," I was acutely aware of how much I have in common with Morgan. As a new tutor, I desperately want to feel like I’m being of some help to the students I work with. All too often, I feel like that’s not the case. Students come to the writing center seeking help, and sometimes it seems like an hour long appointment is not enough to meet their needs. Like Fannie, they have a lot going on in their background that isn’t immediately obvious, and I don’t know how to reach it. A wealth of information remains hidden in the silence. Thinking back, there have been plenty of sessions where I’ve been frustrated by a student’s litany of “I don’t know” and “What should I say?”. I’m ashamed to say that, like Morgan, I failed to dig deeper. I grew frustrated with myself and with the student because I couldn’t find the words to communicate effectively. Part of the difficulty stems from my inexperience; I still need to learn how to ask the right questions.

Throughout the essay, DiPardo commends Morgan’s enthusiasm, while criticizing her actions. Everything she wrote about Morgan felt so familiar to what I’m experiencing myself. By the end of the article, I wanted to throw my hands in the air and say “I know, I know!” I understand that I haven’t been going far enough in some of my sessions. Sometimes things go smoothly, and the student leaves happy. Then there are times when we both sit there, struggling to find the right words. I hate the feeling I get after those sessions, like I’ve failed the student. They came looking for help that I didn’t provide.

In that vein, what do we do for students like Fannie, who have received insufficient (or sometimes nonexistent) instruction in formal composition? The introductory WRA courses are supposed to help students develop the necessary analytical and compositional skills. However, it seems like the professors from these courses are often the ones who send their students to us to gets their papers “fixed.” If a student has difficulty understanding how their paper is supposed to be organized, I can explain that. But what happens if you get a student like Jenna described, who doesn’t understand the concept of analysis? Can a single session make up for years of inadequate preparation? I don’t want to be part of a long chain of people who fail to meet the needs of these students.

DiPardo criticizes Morgan for not knowing that Fannie was a non-native speaker, or that she had been poorly prepared for academic writing. But how do you go about finding this information out? How do you determine when it’s appropriate to ask these questions? It feels like a Catch-22. If you don’t ask, and they aren’t a native speaker, you’re missing out on important information. If you do ask, and they are a native speaker, then you’ll probably upset them. As consultants, what should we be asking students, and how should we be asking it?