University of Oregon Composition Program: Program Philosophy

Program Philosophy

Writing and Education

Most people live their lives in communities where diversity of opinion requires cooperation as a vital means of reaching consensus. Instead of being just a ticket to a secure job, education ought to be viewed as a means of achieving freedom and the ability to articulate within such communities. In this sense, education means not just the freedom from inhibitions to independent thought and action, but rather the ability to reach soundly reasoned decisions and the opportunity to implement them. Bringing together these ends is a process of inquiry, communication, and debate, which ought to form the primary material of the composition classroom.

The vital issue for us is how to teach writing in such a way that it leads to the development of the students' ability to think for themselves and to face the challenging demands of adjusting their thinking to the pluralism in society. If there were a simple answer to this question, teachers would all behave in the same way. The fact that there are many answers to it illustrates its difficulty. We mirror in our methods and styles of teaching the kind of diversity that should be expected among teachers who seriously quest for an answer.

Any course that we plan, any assignment that we give, or any critical comment that we make about our students' writing can be submitted to this test: Are my expectations and teaching techniques helping my students to take responsibility for the communication of their ideas? Thinking about our task in this way has led us to some assumptions about what a writing class in college ought to be. The following are basic principles that can be used in a variety of ways in the classroom.

Writing Course Tenets

Writing courses teach students, directly or indirectly, about the process of acquiring knowledge. Students who engage in a search for the best possible reasons to support their own ideas are also learning that their conclusions are only as good as the reasons that support them (reasons of the heart as well as of the mind). Students who have formed ideas based on the quality of reasons available to support them also learn that they may change their minds if better reasons are discovered. Knowledge about the most vital concerns of human beings is contingent and probable, not certain and permanent. To agree to ideas is to assent to a process of reasoning, not to the authority of a source. To disagree requires understanding the reasons that support another view.
Students are challenged to inquire into and to voice their conclusions and reasons when confronted by the ideas of others in the form of diverse and compelling reading and writing. The writing course must have content so that students are able to explore and express their ideas in response to the issues they encounter.
The writing course cannot separate technical competence from content. It is misleading to teach writing as if the ideas contained in it do not matter. Students write at their best when they have something to say and someone to say it to.
Having something to say to someone is a function of one's presence in a "discourse community." The writing class should be such a community, in which students are challenged and confronted by the opinions of others and are able to earn agreement or to adjust their conclusions in relation to available arguments and counter-arguments. Free and open, yet responsible, debate must go on in the composition classroom among the students, who provide the best audience for each other's writing.
While a writing class for all students must respect diversity, it must also encourage competence in shared conventions and resources of language. "Equity" is defined by Cynthia Caywood and Gillian Overing in Teaching Writing: Pedagogy, Gender, and Equity as follows:

Equity... does not mean stifling some voices so that others may be heard; it does not demand the compromising of academic standards in the name of egalitarianism. Equity, as we understand it, creates new standards which accommodate and nurture differences. Equity fosters the individual voice in the classroom, investing students with confidence in their own authority. Equity unleashes the creative potential of heterogeneity (xi). If we accept this definition, then we must see the equal treatment of all students and the equal respect for all responses they explore as essential to our goals. "Nurturing differences" does not imply fostering solipsism; it implies that vital differences provide the essential condition for responsible inquiry and the sharing of ideas in discourse.
The writing teacher must create the atmosphere in which a vital discourse community can function. She or he is not there to win converts or to entertain, but to stimulate thinking and to create challenging situations for students to respond to without intimidation. However, the teacher can use his or her knowledge of writing to inform students of their options and to help them to acquire the ability to make choices and to control discourse on their own.
Teaching writing in such a context is not done at the expense of teaching any of the technical and rhetorical skills that are associated with good prose. However, these skills are best taught in the context of students' purposeful attempts to communicate ideas that matter to them. This means that the appropriate time to focus students' attention on matters of technical and rhetorical competence is during revision.
The writing process that we teach can be learned only by doing it. It cannot be learned by reading a list of rules or procedures. Learning how, as opposed to learning what, implies that taking risks and sometimes failing are just as meaningful as total success. Too much emphasis on the written product, therefore, such as judging only the surface features of the result and not guiding the process, can inhibit student writers. Teachers who only mark faults are not teaching writing.
Teachers' written comments on student essays can also enhance the spirit of meaningful discourse. The teacher must be willing to comment on the content of the essay as a critical reader, not solely as a judge of the student's conclusions. The goal is not to show one's editing prowess, which can sabotage lively discourse, but through an engaged voice to help students gain understanding and competence.
And, if students do not understand any of these assumptions about their composition class, it is the teacher's task to make them clear, since it will finally be the students' attitudes toward writing, and toward education, that will determine whether they approach the class seriously and learn from it.

These ideas have resulted from thoughtful debate among the teachers of these courses, as have different ideas of how to achieve them. This debate should continue. It helps us to be vital teachers and prevents us from relying on "what works" without questioning whether it really does. By sharing and defending our assumptions about teaching, just as we would have our students do, we belong to a "discourse community," and every teacher should somehow contribute to its health.


About the Program Program Philosophy Policies and Requirements Classes Offered Faculty and Staff Resources Resources for Students Resources for Teachers Computers and Writing Composition Program Home	Program Philosophy Writing and Education Most people live their lives in communities where diversity of opinion requires cooperation as a vital means of reaching consensus. Instead of being just a ticket to a secure job, education ought to be viewed as a means of achieving freedom and the ability to articulate within such communities. In this sense, education means not just the freedom from inhibitions to independent thought and action, but rather the ability to reach soundly reasoned decisions and the opportunity to implement them. Bringing together these ends is a process of inquiry, communication, and debate, which ought to form the primary material of the composition classroom. The vital issue for us is how to teach writing in such a way that it leads to the development of the students' ability to think for themselves and to face the challenging demands of adjusting their thinking to the pluralism in society. If there were a simple answer to this question, teachers would all behave in the same way. The fact that there are many answers to it illustrates its difficulty. We mirror in our methods and styles of teaching the kind of diversity that should be expected among teachers who seriously quest for an answer. Any course that we plan, any assignment that we give, or any critical comment that we make about our students' writing can be submitted to this test: Are my expectations and teaching techniques helping my students to take responsibility for the communication of their ideas? Thinking about our task in this way has led us to some assumptions about what a writing class in college ought to be. The following are basic principles that can be used in a variety of ways in the classroom. Writing Course Tenets Writing courses teach students, directly or indirectly, about the process of acquiring knowledge. Students who engage in a search for the best possible reasons to support their own ideas are also learning that their conclusions are only as good as the reasons that support them (reasons of the heart as well as of the mind). Students who have formed ideas based on the quality of reasons available to support them also learn that they may change their minds if better reasons are discovered. Knowledge about the most vital concerns of human beings is contingent and probable, not certain and permanent. To agree to ideas is to assent to a process of reasoning, not to the authority of a source. To disagree requires understanding the reasons that support another view. Students are challenged to inquire into and to voice their conclusions and reasons when confronted by the ideas of others in the form of diverse and compelling reading and writing. The writing course must have content so that students are able to explore and express their ideas in response to the issues they encounter. The writing course cannot separate technical competence from content. It is misleading to teach writing as if the ideas contained in it do not matter. Students write at their best when they have something to say and someone to say it to. Having something to say to someone is a function of one's presence in a "discourse community." The writing class should be such a community, in which students are challenged and confronted by the opinions of others and are able to earn agreement or to adjust their conclusions in relation to available arguments and counter-arguments. Free and open, yet responsible, debate must go on in the composition classroom among the students, who provide the best audience for each other's writing. While a writing class for all students must respect diversity, it must also encourage competence in shared conventions and resources of language. "Equity" is defined by Cynthia Caywood and Gillian Overing in Teaching Writing: Pedagogy, Gender, and Equity as follows: Equity... does not mean stifling some voices so that others may be heard; it does not demand the compromising of academic standards in the name of egalitarianism. Equity, as we understand it, creates new standards which accommodate and nurture differences. Equity fosters the individual voice in the classroom, investing students with confidence in their own authority. Equity unleashes the creative potential of heterogeneity (xi). If we accept this definition, then we must see the equal treatment of all students and the equal respect for all responses they explore as essential to our goals. "Nurturing differences" does not imply fostering solipsism; it implies that vital differences provide the essential condition for responsible inquiry and the sharing of ideas in discourse. The writing teacher must create the atmosphere in which a vital discourse community can function. She or he is not there to win converts or to entertain, but to stimulate thinking and to create challenging situations for students to respond to without intimidation. However, the teacher can use his or her knowledge of writing to inform students of their options and to help them to acquire the ability to make choices and to control discourse on their own. Teaching writing in such a context is not done at the expense of teaching any of the technical and rhetorical skills that are associated with good prose. However, these skills are best taught in the context of students' purposeful attempts to communicate ideas that matter to them. This means that the appropriate time to focus students' attention on matters of technical and rhetorical competence is during revision. The writing process that we teach can be learned only by doing it. It cannot be learned by reading a list of rules or procedures. Learning how, as opposed to learning what, implies that taking risks and sometimes failing are just as meaningful as total success. Too much emphasis on the written product, therefore, such as judging only the surface features of the result and not guiding the process, can inhibit student writers. Teachers who only mark faults are not teaching writing. Teachers' written comments on student essays can also enhance the spirit of meaningful discourse. The teacher must be willing to comment on the content of the essay as a critical reader, not solely as a judge of the student's conclusions. The goal is not to show one's editing prowess, which can sabotage lively discourse, but through an engaged voice to help students gain understanding and competence. And, if students do not understand any of these assumptions about their composition class, it is the teacher's task to make them clear, since it will finally be the students' attitudes toward writing, and toward education, that will determine whether they approach the class seriously and learn from it. These ideas have resulted from thoughtful debate among the teachers of these courses, as have different ideas of how to achieve them. This debate should continue. It helps us to be vital teachers and prevents us from relying on "what works" without questioning whether it really does. By sharing and defending our assumptions about teaching, just as we would have our students do, we belong to a "discourse community," and every teacher should somehow contribute to its health.

English Department	University of Oregon	Center for Teaching Writing
Composition Program \| Department of English \| 118 Prince Lucien Campbell Hall 1286 University of Oregon \| Eugene, OR 97403-1286 \| T (541) 346-3911 \| F (541) 346-1509 ©2004 University of Oregon. All rights reserved.