Age bestows authority. Or at least, that's how a lot of children are taught to think. I can speak from personal experience when I say that telling significantly older people what to do is incredibly awkward. Imagine running a charity to get poor children Christmas presents and trying to hint to a 60 year old coarse-sounding woman that she is being lazy and needs to stop chatting and work, otherwise dozens of children won't have a gift on Christmas morning.
As Gardner points out in "Writing center ethics and 'non-traditional' students" some of the standard ethical positions adopted by writing consultants are thrown into question. "Should I handle (their) request differently because of (their) profile and because, quite honestly, I take her 'I don't have time' a lot more seriously than I ever took it from those 'traditional' students" (7). Due to the other "real-world" demands placed on continuing studies and adult students, should we adjust how we consult?
This question needs to be addressed in two ways. First, the ethics. Do I give more directive consulting to help them use their time most efficiently? Do I go over more grammatical errors than I would with a traditional student? Do I "give" them more answers than would be appropriate with a traditional student? Second, the social dynamic. How do I tell them about their errors? How do I justify my role as consultant over someone more than twice my age? How can I be helpful?
To the first point: I think we as consultants need to shift our focus, not our ethics, when consulting non-traditional students. We don't have to enter the ethical gray zone, we just need to adjust our approach. There's nothing wrong about giving more directive assistance if the tutee is under time pressures, so long as you don't write their papers for them, give away answers, or undermine the opportunity to make them better writers. Given the time period that most of these students were educated as children, directive consulting may even be more effective in improving their overall writing competency. These students often prefer more direct answers, but they also can appreciate and implement the underlying ideas in them.
To the second point: I think the best thing you can do is remember that non-traditional students are still students, and still people. I feel that trying to come across as overly professional and intelligent will be counter-productive since the student will either be turned off by your behavior or if you were to make a mistake the student would seriously doubt your credibility. Of course, be sure that you act as professionally as you would with any other student, but I would think that they would like to be treated kindly too. Throw in some harmless humor or engage in a brief conversation before the consultation, make sure your points are directive and help the writer achieve their goal, and these students will get just as much out of a consultation as any other student... and probably more.
I totally agree, Jerry, and I feel like your concerns carry over to our readings regarding ESL students as well. While our approach may chance based on the writer's needs, it should be those NEEDS--not one's age or nationality--that govern that change. We owe all of the writers who come to see us our respect and understanding. I won't deny that I have to fight my own biases in some respects, particularly when it comes to age, but I hope that we'll both be able to effectively facilitate anyone and everyone who comes to us with a paper in hand.
ReplyDeleteIt's one area you will always share with SCS students: you are both students, and professors are professors.
ReplyDeleteI have many helpful conversations with older students about profs' "pet peeves" and other standards, so the work and not the writer's demographic status dominates our meeting.