Response to Monaghan and Saul

Response to Monaghan, J. E., & Saul, E. W. (1987). The reader, the scribe, the thinker: A critical look at the history of American reading and writing instruction. In T. W. Popkewitz (Ed.), The formatting of school subjects: The struggle for creating an American institution (pp. 85-122). New York: Falmer Press.

As I develop professionally, I can't seem to find my home. I know the study and teaching of writing and its applications across the disciplines is in my heart, but I haven't found a place in the university where I can pursue that interest whole-heartedly. As an undergraduate, I became a generalist through a liberal education core and courses in education, communciation, literature, reading, theater, and writing. Wanting to focus on writing, I tried a master's degree in Composition and Rhetoric but left because there wasn't enough application to teaching. Now in my PhD program, I just learned that the emphasis I've been claiming (literacy) isn't really my emphasis. Literacy students in Curriculum and Instruction at Kent State University take a core of reading, not writing, classes.

Luckily, Monaghan and Saul's chapter shed light on the history of reading and writing. Due to factors like the profitability of basal readers over pens and pencils and "theories of learning and language" (p. 109), reading has been privileged over writing for many years. Reading got an additional boost through government Title I funding which placed reading specialists in schools (there were no comparable writing specialists) (pp. 109-110).

Compositionists have made progress, though. A few decades ago, freshman composition was viewed as a service course to be passed off to graduate students and adjuncts as described in Ray Kytle's 1971 CCC article, "Serfs, Slaves, or Colleagues--Who Shall Teach Freshman Composition?" Today, the proliferation of graduate programs in Composition and Rhetoric is writing scholars' attempt to gain the upper hand. When I entered the college job market in 2003, a MEd got me a full-time position teaching English at a community college, but last year a local community college told me I wasn't qualified for a comparable job because my degrees are in education. My colleague was told her MA in English (literature) and MFA (fiction) did not qualify her either. University English departments are taking similar stances in requiring a Composition and Rhetoric degree for those exclusively teaching freshman composition.

While English departments are stepping up to finally privilege writing over reading, schools of education still have some catching up to do with their reading endorsements (I'm not aware of any writing endorsements) and reading-focused "literacy" programs.

Response to Menand

Like many of my classmates, I began the semester by reading "Show or Tell: Should Creative Writing by Taught" by Louis Menand (2009). The article's first appeal was it's title, a play on the writing advice I've given numerous students to "show, don't tell." But honestly, I have to admit the second appeal was the article's economical seven-page length. I already feel hopelessly behind this semester due to an out-of-town funeral for my grandfather in early January followed by a trip to San Diego last weekend for my sister-in-law's wedding at Park Manor Suites . This article gave me the opportunity to actually check something off my very long and growing To Do list.

Do I agree with Kay Boyle "all creative writing programs ought to be abolished by law" (p. 106)? No. I don't think so. I side with Menand that putting students "in the ivory tower puts them in touch with real life" (p. 109). When I reflect on my own experience of leaving a small town to attend college, I am amazed by the growth I experienced in four years. If nothing else, being a college student gave me something to write about!

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to teach a creative writing course at a community college. Unfortunately, I could only teach the course as an online hybrid which prevented students from developing the kind of relationships I wanted for productive peer review. I don't believe my class "made" anyone a great author, but it did offer students new perspectives on their writing and show them criticism can be productive once you get over the blow to your ego.

If I had to characterize my role as the teacher of that class, I wouldn't say I taught anyone to be a creative writer, but I certainly provided support by giving students the space to write and an audience to provide feedback.