During the first week of class, I cynically read Bizzell’s “Composition Studies Saves the World!” in response to Fish’s “What Should Colleges Teach?” I remember thinking, “Writing. We should teach writing. Leave the rest alone.” I was surprised that this was even a debated topic. I didn’t encounter ideological debates in the classrooms of my undergraduate career – not in philosophy, journalism or composition courses – and didn’t expect to. Now that the semester is ending, I wish these debates had occurred. Bizzell wasn’t suggesting indoctrinating students, but simply encouraging them to question the rational behind rhetoric that surrounds us, so they can eventually interpret the world on their own well-reasoned terms.
In the beginning of the semester, I saw class discussions as a way for students to understand the text and prepare for their essay. I remember covering our first reading, Restak. from a comprehensive perspective instead of rhetorical. During class, I assigned groups to dissect different pieces of the text and create an outline. While this may have been useful for developing a close reading, we didn’t move to a critical analysis. By the end of class, discussions were our main activity. In one of my classes, students readily engaged with one another and challenged them on their beliefs. Students began to see that this rational, argumentative discussion was an extension of what they should be attempting in their writing.
I also began to see that beliefs form in the act of writing. Until an idea is articulated, it only exists as a thin, vague possibility. Students agreed, saying they often didn’t realize they believed something until the pen began to move. Through these individual perspective evaluations, hopefully people begin to critically evaluate their own beliefs and the arguments surrounding them. So yes – writing changes the world, and this can start in composition classrooms.