This semester, I have been taking a class in preparation to work in the Whitworth Composition Commons. One interesting element of the class is the theory that it involves. In particular, we have looked at how writing centers must be careful in what they do; their ostensible goal is to "produce better writers," but that phrase includes an inherent value question. What makes a writer "better"? What standard do writing tutors help their clients to approach? Does a writing center, by advocating traditional academic standards like thesis-driven organization or standardized spelling, fit students into molds, thus functioning as an effective arm of the academic ISA?
This question especially arises when working with students from a diverse set of cultural backgrounds. If a student comes from a culture with different standards for writing (for example, less emphasis on making things clear for the reader, or less emphasis on citing sources), should a writing tutor train the student to switch to the standards of American academia? If they do not do so, tutors may be setting their clients up for failure in their classes, but if they do, they may be using their authority to suppress alternative voices.
What do you think? How can teachers (of any kind) balance the conflicting impulses of standardizing students' writing and making room for those student voices to be heard?
I think a way to teach different students is to treat academic writing as another culture or as another (admittedly powerful) language that has its own purposes, just as other dialects do.
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