After going through Peter Elbow’s “Being a Writer vs Being an Academic,” I find myself disliking the approach and distinction that Elbow highlights. While I can agree that not all writers wish to pursue traditional academic studies and that not all academics wish to write about everything, inserting this distinction into a freshman writing class seems a bit dangerous. Are not the students there to learn how to write in an academic setting? First year writing classes are, unless I’m mistaken, there to help students learn to the write the types of papers that their higher level classes’ professors expect them to write. Taking away the academic aspects of writing in the classroom would leave students vulnerable in their higher level classes. I do like his idea of putting his students’ papers in conversation with each other; however, I find that being in touch with others, be they scientists, academics, politicians, etc., to be a useful skill because that type of writing and research is prevalent throughout many jobs. Elbow mentions the “self-absorbed” writer being a positive thing, but advocating for a self-centered idea, while it has the possibility to urge students forward, ultimately does more harm than good when they leave that class, at least in my opinion. With all the above being said, I find myself thinking about the nature of the first year writing class and whether or not its purpose is to prepare students for academic writing or to teach them how to write, in the sense that Elbow uses.
Oct 142015