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Swimming in the Deep End: Graduate Students and Basic WritersDonovan
Braud
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Imagine two Olympic-sized swimming pools. Let us call the first one “the discourse pool” and imagine it populated by swimmers of differing ability. This metaphorical pool’s depth corresponds to the complexity of discourse written by a swimmer. Those in the deep end, twelve feet or so, are comfortable swimming there. They write long argumentative or expository works on a regular basis and can be equated with PhD’s for our purposes. Those in the three-foot shallow end are terrified of composing a short essay and can be equated with basic writers. Located in the six-to-eight foot area, we find the graduate student who eventually becomes more confident in her writing, making sorties into the deep end. The situation is different when the graduate student jumps into the other pool, which we’ll call “the pedagogy pool.” In this environment, the graduate student’s ability to swim in deeper waters is controlled by a lifeguard of sorts – institutional sanctions in the form of degrees, certificates and the like.
This metaphor illustrates some of the similarities between graduate students and basic writers, and highlights a difference of strategic importance. Both communities are being asked to do something new. Basic writers are asked to begin composing written discourse of a more complicated nature than what they may have experienced in the past. Graduate students are asked to move from the desk to the lectern, to become teachers in the same place in which they were formerly students. The crucial difference lies in the respective levels of comfort in the discourse pool. I say this difference is of strategic importance because of how the basic writer perceives the graduate student. To them, we are more comfortable in the deeper confines of the discourse pool, while not as invested with institutional authority as the deep-enders in the pedagogy pool.
What does this mean for basic writers who interact with graduate students? Well, to appeal to my metaphor for an explanation, it is easier to get someone into deeper water from the shallow end if you’re closer to them. Connie Mick, writing about undergraduates’ perception of writing centers staffed by graduates, explains that by inhabiting the middle ground between student and teacher, graduates demonstrate the expertise of a full-fledged professor, while maintaining a more relaxed demeanor that provides an increased level of comfort in the student-tutor relationship. I would contend that this holds true in any pedagogical situation involving a graduate student in place of a PhD.
Because we are “in the middle,” the graduate’s writing expertise can be seen as closer to that of the professor, while the types of expectations placed on that writing can be seen as closer to that of the student. For example, we write longer, more complex papers than basic writers, but we turn them in to the same professors on many occasions and face some of the same problems in the composing process such as writer’s block or just plain lack of interest in a mandatory course[i] . Thus, the graduate serves as a “big sister” of sorts, empathizing with and offering “inside insight” to basic writers because we’ve been in their place before, churning out English papers at the freshman level. As liminal figures, we are closer to the student depth than the professorial depth in the basic writer’s eyes, but vice versa in the eyes of administrators and colleagues. While our progress through the bachelor’s level may have given us the ability to swim deeper in the discourse pool, the nature of professionalization and academic gate keeping bar us from entering the deep end of the pedagogy pool.
This placement can be beneficial for the basic writer, but detrimental in some cases for the graduate student. Because we are not quite deep-enders - not quite professionals - our labor is regarded as somewhat less valuable than theirs. Many graduate students feel exploited when it comes to their duties, as evidenced by the recent unionizing trend. We often have to balance a workload that includes instructing classes, serving as TA’s, and tutoring in WAC labs, while taking graduate courses. There is also the question of adequate compensation for graduate assistants, who are often paid less than a part-time instructor for the same amount of work. In addition, because of our lack of experience in swimming in the pedagogy pool, we are often denied the chance to teach a basic writing class, something left to BW “experts,” and handed a first-year composition class instead. Thus, some of us only come across a basic writer if he comes to the writing center or slips through the evaluation process into a “regular” composition class. Furthermore, many graduate programs offer training courses for first year composition, but do not address methodologies of instructing basic writers.
The role of the graduate student is a complicated, especially when dealing with pedagogical responsibilities. Now that I have set you graduates afloat, here are some questions to think about while drifting:
1. What type of interaction do you have with basic writers (i.e. sole instructor of a BW class, WAC tutor, TA)?
2. Have you been adequately trained in basic writing methodologies? If so, what type of “theory” (expressivist, social constructionist, etc.) or method do you find most helpful when dealing with basic writers? If not, how could your institution better address this lack?
3. Are you properly compensated for your work with basic writers?
4. Do you have the chance to interact with the basic writing community on an administrative level, such as WAC administrator? If so, how does this affect the standing of basic writers (and graduate students) in your institution?
5. Do outside duties such as working with basic writers interfere with progress toward your degree? If so, how could your institution better handle the balance between the “teacher” and “student” sides of your graduate experience?