Harris, Frogger, and Life Decisions: Sara Murphy

After reading both articles written by Muriel Harris, my mind was (and still is) left with ideas, doubts, questions, fears, confusion, and frustration. In all honesty, I feel as though I just want to curl up in a ball, read a book, and continue reading books till I die.
Though I will not be able to cover everything about these articles that have been haunting my mind, I will try to express some of my issues, fears, and questions.
After reading Harris’s “Collaboration is Not Collaboration is Not Collaboration: Writing Center Tutorials Versus Peer-Response Groups” my mind instantly thought of the Nintendo 64 version of Frogger. Frogger is a single person game in which the player (the frog) tries to cross the road, skillfully jumping forward, backward, left, and right to avoid being hit by cars. The way in which Harris described a peer-review approach to assisting writers, I imagined a skilled player of Frogger handling the controller while someone who wanted to learn how to avoid getting hit by cars leisurely watched the skilled player play the game. In opposition, tutoring is the skilled player handing the controller over to the player who wants to learn, allow them to get hit by cars, and question them to think about how to better maneuver around the cars next time. But is the second way truly better than the first? That I cannot get myself to fully accept.
The past two years I interned at my local high school, often grading papers for grammar and structural errors, showing students how to properly write papers for English classes and showing them how to improve their writing for school. I, as a skilled player, handled the controller, showing and explaining to watchers how to avoid getting hit by cars. In my mentorship, like tutors explained in Harris’s two articles, we instead hand students the controller and let them figure out how to best maneuver around cars, with our guidance. I do not know whether I believe one way or the other is more appropriate or efficient, but how to a hand the controller over to someone else?
I understand that as mentors and as students who want to one day teach English we should be understanding to helping students to improve their writing in the long run. Instead of fixing their one paper, we should assist them in making their overall writing more accurate and proficient. I understand and agree with this method, but does this mean there is no value in teaching grammar and “proper” writing techniques? I may have a perverted view on this because I have been first and foremost a student since the age of 5. I know how to be a student and I have not had a real job in the English field that would call for a different kind of writing other than taking apart literature and texts. I know only how to write for school, which can be limiting to my perspectives on the matter.
Because of this limitation my following comments may be completely inaccurate, but it is worth visiting and questioning. Focusing on making students better writers and questioning students in order to improve their writing process has benefits and is vitally important. I also completely understand using this approach with ENGL 30 students who often believe they are stupid and bad at writing – it motivates them to believe they CAN write. But, if we completely ignore sentence structure, grammar, etc. I believe their will be consequences. Will a future employer be forgiving of someone who cannot properly write a sentence? From what I have been told growing up, no. I believe their needs to be a balance between the two approaches – having the expert demonstrate with complete control of the controller, but handing the controller over to the student an equal amount of time.
I also have concerns that I do not know how to transition from using the controller to handing it over to the student I am helping. How do I let go of the controller? I fear I do not have the knowledge or ability to help students overall with their writing or to question them into finding their own answers. Do I have the right approach to be able to help these ENGL 30 teachers with assisting these kids who just need reassurance? But are we also doing them and injustice but not telling them that they need to learn to properly write a sentence?
This just makes me question the use of English teachers as a whole. If English teachers teach children how to write for school then what is the point if they cannot carry this knowledge over into the writing in a job? My high school English teacher caused me to fall in love with English in the type of writing students use in school. It makes me want to cause others to fall in love the same way – hence my English Education major. But if I am only going to be teaching students how to write only for school, them what is the point? What is the point if I cannot help them in life beyond school? Seriously, what is the point?
Sincerely,
A student questioning all life decisions.