Anyone else envious of Murray?
In his article “The Listening Eye: Reflections on the Writing Conference,” Murray reflects that each year he teaches less and less, yet, his student seem to learn more and more.
His teaching strategies within (and outside) the classroom remind me of the practices we adopt at the UCEW. He notes: “I am critical and I certainly can be directive but I listen before I speak.” Like Murray, writing center consultants are taught to be attentive listeners, allowing the client to find their own voice, rather than offering up our own words. This way, they become writers that are more self-sufficient. Murray also lists the questions he asks his students when they come in to see him, labeling them as the “right” questions. They are thoughtful, probing questions that allow the student to draw forth what they really want to say (instead of what they think the teacher wants to hear). For students who come in to the UCEW quiet and reserved, consultants ask these kinds of questions to get at the heart of what the student thinks and wants to write about.
Murray puts it nicely when he notes “They follow language where it will lead them, and I follow them following language.” In an ideal world, I would follow my students’ language, taking the position of peer rather than apprentice. But as Murray notes, his style of teaching requires a certain climate, and that climate is not possible with our FYC course.
I can only parallel Murray’s teaching strategies as a consultant at the UCEW. This is probably (most likely) the reason I enjoy working there more than my time in the classroom.
I am envious of Murray.
But, then again, he does average seventy-five conferences a week.
So maybe my shade of green is not so dark.
Envious of Murray? Perhaps. But at some point I started reading his personal narrative as totally unique to his own experiences and totally alien to my own.
“And now that I have my questions, they quickly become unnecessary. My students ask these questions of themselves before they come to me… They come in and tell me what has gone well, what has gone wrong, and what they intend to do about it.”
Seriously? I have some pretty great students, but Murray’s sound like the composition dream team. Hard to envy that which I perceive to be phenomenal.
I also wrote about Murray. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I read that 75 conferences a week line. No way! Then again, I also think that the students in my class who are making the most improvement are the ones who have come to my office and talked to me individually. That way I can bring up things from class and apply it to their papers, kind of cementing it into their brains. Still – I don’t think I could ever survive 75 conferences. That would lead to a serious headache!