II Jasir Qiydaar II
To me, the most important elements of being a Keeper of Collaboration are understanding that we all have different experiences that inform our realities and respecting others’ life experiences as being just as valid as our own. Unfortunately, while many people are adept at recognizing the differences between us, very few have mastered the skill of respecting them.
Even in writing centers, where tutors go through training to become sensitive to different learning styles and aptitudes, there is still a system in place that privileges certain tutees’ experiences and capabilities over others’.
For example, writing centers are inextricably tied to promoting the usage of Standard English, which is a key to successful academic writing. However, this can come at the expense of devaluing an individual tutee’s experiences. As scholar Dr. Laura Greenfield writes, teaching methods influenced by adhering to a universal linguistic standard, “…implicitly privilege a racist view of history rather than an intellectually sound understanding of linguistic phenomena”.
Many people, and by extension tutors, have negative perceptions of non-standard English forms, which can adversely impact how their sessions with non-standard English users go. Specifically, if the tutor does not make clear that a tutee’s language form still has value, even if it’s not best to use it in academic writing, then that student may feel disillusioned with writing centers, or academia in general.
However, this apparent issue presents an excellent opportunity for collaboration between tutors and tutees.
Despite deviating from the norm, non-standard English forms are still governed by rules, and I believe these rules could be used to teach students the rules of Standard English, while still showing that we as tutors respect their cultural contexts.
I was able to apply this belief during a session in which I was working with a student who was writing a paper that claimed that the usage of abbreviations on the Internet was making people less smart. His argument was that since these people were not using “proper” English, they were somehow less intelligent than those who did. I found this viewpoint to be problematic, but I didn’t chastise the student. Instead, I sought to explain the implications of his argument.
In response to his claim, I told him that at times, I use non-Standard English, specifically African-American Vernacular English, to communicate with other people. In addition, I explained some of the rules that govern AAVE, and introduced him to the idea of codeswitching, the phenomenon in which people alter their language forms to suit different audiences.
My intention for bringing this concept to his attention was to relate my experiences to his understanding of language forms, in order for us to gain a more complete view of the subject at hand. After I mentioned it, he said he’d never heard of codeswitching, and that he would do some research on it.
This situation highlights what I believe to be the spirit of collaboration, as I was able to use the context the student mentioned in order to make a complex subject more accessible.
Collaboration is largely driven by compromise, and in writing centers tutors should be as open to learning from their tutees as they are to sharing their own knowledge. Even though tutees come to writing centers seeking help with their assignments, they also come with a wealth of knowledge about their own experiences.
As tutors, we have a responsibility to put forth our best efforts to adapt to our tutees’ experiences. By doing so, we can ensure that the relationship between tutor and tutee is a mutually beneficial partnership, rather than one that places us as the only source of knowledge.
Work Cited:
GREENFIELD, LAURA, and KAREN ROWAN, editors. Writing Centers and the New Racism: A Call for Sustainable Dialogue and Change. University Press of Colorado, 2011. p 38.
Author Bio:
Jasir Qiydaar is a senior at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County who is majoring in Media & Communication Studies, and minoring in writing. A Baltimore resident, Jasir spends much of his time outside of UMBC’s writing center coordinating service activities in Baltimore City for his student group, The Charm City Connection.