Teaching the Neglected "R"

Teaching the Neglected “R”
“Writers Reading Local Places” Kim Stafford
Possibly the one thing I appreciate the most about this article is it is practical. Stafford does not waste the reader’s time with theory and fluff. He accepts that the reader is seeking methods of engagement that will create environments that are writer friendly for our students, and he presents these methods using doable, real life, scenarios. Next to the article being practical, I appreciate that it is not political. That is to say, Stafford’s methodology allows students the freedom to engage the environment on their own terms without instructor intrusion into how that environment is to be interpreted. The foundation of my philosophy as a writing instructor is that my purpose is to assist students in saying what it is they need to say in a manner appropriate to garner respect from the respective audiences and that my personal beliefs and opinions should not intrude into the students’ work.
While the above is what I appreciated about the article, what makes this essay effective is his modeling the technique as a form of production of the actual work. We gather from the pages not just a listing of technique, or a how to teach it plan, but rather Stafford’s work itself is written from field notes created in a writing marathon thereby bringing us into the field with him. As we follow Stafford through the French Quarter, we are able to visualize our students exploring their world, be it the school campus or private neighborhoods. By Stafford presenting the essay as one created from a field book, we can visualize the form we might expect our students’ essays to take. My experience has been that, for most students, modeling the form we want an essay to take frees them from the concern about if they are doing it right, and grants them the freedom to create texts in their own voices.
Having utilized a form of this writing project in developmental writing classes, I have every intention of incorporating Stafford’s piece into my own pedagogy.

Joe