Changing Hearts and Minds

A composition colleague, one with whom I regularly talk about teaching and writing, sends a student to the writing center with these words written across the top of the page: ”Your ideas are acceptable but your writing is marginal.” (Welch 51) Recently, a writing center friend told about coming up behind a group of fellow faculty members gathered around a bulletin board. From a distance she could see her name on the recently posted list of nominations for the outstanding teacher award. Next to her name, someone had drawn several large question marks. As she drew nearer to the group, she heard her colleagues question her eligibility. Even though she had recently earned tenure and regularly taught courses for graduate and undergraduate students, the fact that she also worked with students in the writing center placed her outside the circle of those regarded as teachers eligible for awards. (Grimm 524)University Writing Cente