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Meaghan A. Kelly
ENGL 801
Dr. Mary Jo Reiff
5 November 2012
Anxiety & Affect:
Solidifying Empathic Pedagogy in the Academic Sphere
Until recently, the academic and professional community has been averse and resistant to
discussing emotion and its role within the academy and the classroom.While many extremely
reputable and highly esteemed critics and pedagogical theorists have rejected the topic of
empathy and its place in the discourse, it is no longer plausible to avoid the topic. In an era
where school and the educational system has been forever changed by violent acts and a
campaign against passionate emotions in light of that violence, the topics of affect, fear, and
anxiety have been re-introduced to the pedagogical discourse. Affect and emotion have an
unavoidable effect on both instructor and student in today’s composition classroom, and it was
my motivation to find a way to use these negative notions productively to improve college
students’ writing. I found my answer in Empathic Pedagogy, a teaching technique employed
most prominently by Jeffrey Berman which focuses on the therapeutic qualities of using selfdisclosure in the composition classroom and how those qualities allow for more critical inquiry
and thinking. Empathic Pedagogy allows the instructor and students to disclose highly emotional
aspects of their lives, learn from one another, and continue in that understanding to move into a
more critical line of inquiry and thinking.
While the transfer of Empathic Pedagogy is a deeper understanding of what motivates
one’s thoughts and beliefs, and therefore a higher ability to question, read, and write critically,
the emphasis on emotions and self-disclosure has received much criticism. Major players in the
field of Composition Studies, such as James Berlin and David Bartholomae, have denounced this
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practice as “marginalizing...individuals who would resist a dehumanizing society, rendering
them ineffective through their isolation” (Berlin Qtd. in Risky Writing 24). Berlin has taken
Empathic Pedagogy, or rather its surface appearance, and opposed it against Critical Pedagogy,
essentially pitting them against one another. This insufficient understanding of the theory paints
a picture of the Empathic instructor isolating his or her students in their own little worlds,
creating a self-centered and closed-off means of thinking. This view not only invalidates the
recognition of emotion and its role in the classroom, it also demonizes instructors who employ
the technique as doing a disservice to their students. Through a more thorough reading of
Berman’s tactics, the truth is revealed that creating a classroom of empathy actually builds a
community of higher understanding- because the students understand their own emotions better,
they can then empathize with the emotions of their peers and begin a well-rounded line of
inquiry based upon that understanding. Berman asserts that his pedagogy does the opposite of
what Berlin has accused it of doing, and affirms its place within the academic discourse and
pedagogical community.
Berman relies heavily on the benefit of Empathic Pedagogy for the student, but the
element of instructor fear and anxiety within the composition classroom also bolsters the
pedagogy’s validity. As instructors, it is our responsibility to create an atmosphere that is most
conducive to learning and progress. T.R. Johnson, in his article “School Sucks”, discusses the
current environment that students encounter in composition studies: “One might turn to our
discourse bout students’ ‘resistance’ to our pedagogies... ‘resistance’ is hardly the word for what
it is not, after all, a pattern of repression but an explosion of rage”(624). Since the disturbing
events at Columbine High School and the sequential acts of violence around the nation, the
educational system has inextricably linked emotion with violence. This war on emotion
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manifests itself in the categorization of any type of passion as potentially harmful. Whether a
student shows an overwhelming notion of excitement or anger regarding their studies, it is
automatically categorized as alarming, or possibly as an outburst. We tell our students to calm
down, or what I have caught myself saying, to “take it down a notch”. By forcing them to repress
these emotions it has caused them to harbor a resentment toward their studies, which can be seen
as the root of the across-the-board ambivalence many instructors have recognized in their
students. From time to time, this presents itself in frustration-driven rage, and Johnson explores
the culture of anger, disappointment, and even violence that has taken over the educational
system. Since it has been instructors who helped to create this environment, it is now the
instructors’ responsibility to begin remedying it. While the benefit to students is clear, many
instructors who consider this pedagogy are unaware of the growth that they will experience as
instructors, since teachers using Empathic Pedagogy “‘have more positive self-concepts than
low-level teachers’, ‘are more self-disclosing to their students’, ‘respond more to students’
feelings’, ‘give more praise’, ‘are more responsive to students’ ideas’, and ‘lecture less often’”
(Rogers Qtd. in Empathic Teaching 100). Empathic Teaching is a cyclic pedagogical theory, as
the actions of the instructor help to benefit student connection and writing, and the progress of
student connection and improved writing then benefits the instructor- not only as a teacher, but
also as a person.
With such high stakes, Empathic Pedagogy is both attractive and risky to implement.
Teachers today have an intensely difficult group of obstacles that keep them from succeeding in
the academy. According to Geoffrey Sirc, the Composition Studies Community is now
characterized by “a general sadness that the field has become materially impoverished, subsumed
with a political simulation that has crowded out what I consider the poetic real: desire, beauty,
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joy, drama, sadness, and loss... My lingering sense...is of a field that reads all the same books and
shares the same notion of what counts as professional knowledge” (Qtd. in Micciche 443). The
poor economy works with the obstinate attitude of academics who fiercely defend what they
believe to be ‘worthy’ pedagogies in the professional academic community, and it becomes
difficult for instructors to take any type of risk in the classroom that may leave them with a
tenure denial or without a job at all. It is a battle between the inner passion for language and
words that has driven us toward this profession, and the canonical and highly intellectual
practices that are championed for being the epitome of academic. Therefore, it is essential to go
about implementing a classroom based on self-disclosure in as thorough and careful a way as
possible. Jeffrey Berman, a pioneer in implementing Empathic Pedagogy, understands this risk
and explicates many of the intimidating aspects of creating a self-disclosure based classroom in
his books Empathic Teaching and Risky Writing. Arguably, the most important aspect of this
practical application is taking the risks head on and using them in a pedagogically productive
way and avoiding any negative consequences from choosing such a strategy. In order to
minimize the risks of personal writing, Berman proposes an approach to the classroom involving
empathy, avoiding critique, respecting professional boundaries, grading Pass/Fail, retaining
anonymity, pre-screening essays, balancing “risky” with “non-risky” assignments, utilizing
conferences, and avoiding legal problems. Encouraging empathy, discouraging critique, using a
Pass/Fail system, and retaining anonymity ensures the classroom is a safe space for writing,
disclosure, and growth to occur. These tactics are mostly for the benefit of the student and the
student’s comfortability in such an unorthodox environment, but also shield the teacher from any
potential legal or bureaucratic ramifications. When everyone in the room feels safe and
comfortable, the entire experience will be seen positively and will have more of a beneficial
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effect on students’ writing. However, the section involving legal issues is clearly geared toward
protecting the instructor. Any person involved in the higher education system will attest to the
mountains of paperwork and Human Resources seminars that we must sign and take in order to
convince our Universities that we understand and will abide to all of our legal responsibilities. I
believe this aspect of our jobs is what contributes to this environment of fear and
disappointment--we tread cautiously in our classrooms, avoiding any type of move that could
potentially be seen as a risk. Berman begins this section with a frightening quote from Frederic
Gale who writes in an article that, “writing teachers may respond to students’ writing in ways
that are sensible, responsible, and ethical in their own minds and in the minds of their colleagues
and still subject themselves and even their schools to civil or criminal liability” (Qtd. in Risky
Writing 45). It seems as though the two areas of the law in which the writing teacher may find
murky are privacy and intervention. Keeping students’ privacy in tact is essential to the selfdisclosure classroom, and as mandated reporters, instructors must fulfill that duty when they
decide to intervene and report something that makes them believe their students’ welfare is at
stake. This particular guidance helps to ensure the comfort of the instructor within the classroom,
who can then move on to do the same for his or her students.
While Berman outlines aspects that are more globally-geared, i.e. how to create an entire
classroom based on the pedagogy of empathy, Rodney Simard offers a lesson-level strategy to
help disarm the students and introduce them to the empathic classroom. In his article “Reducing
Fear and Resistance by Attacking Myths”, Simard outlines various preconceived notions with
which students enter the compostiion classroom. According to Simard, it is essential to address
these myths and misconceptions immediately, especially if the instructor wants to establish the
safe space that is most conducive to Empathic Pedagogy and create an environment in which
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students’ writing will improve. This would occur on the first day of class. The instructor should
separate his or her students into small workshop groups, and assign the following
myths/misconceptions or set of misconceptions to each group: 1) Writing is a talent that only
some people possess, and although others may attempt to learn how to do it well, they never will
succeed; 2) Writing in the classroom has no real practical application in the outside world; 3)
The key to good writing is learning all the rules- if you do that, you can’t go wrong; 4) There are
too many styles and versions of writing that any amateur will ever be able to properly use (or
will have to use, for that matter); 5) There is no room for personal or creative aspects in
composition. As long as it sounds generic and run-of-the-mill, it will be right; 6) Books and
teachers will give you step-by-step instructions to write: if you follow them, you’ll write well; 7)
You’ll have to learn the type of writing your boss or other teacher will want you to use, so
anything you learn now is useless; 8) If your elementary or high school writing background is
weak, the writing required in college or a job environment will be too much for you to handle.
Since this is a workshop setting, as long as students are talking about their assigned myths in any
capacity, they are fulfilling the assignment. It’s possible to guide them with discussion questions,
such as: Is this something you believe? What experiences do you have that either affirm or reject
this notion? How has this notion affected your learning experiences? When reading this
statement, how do you feel? Make sure that each group member puts in their opinion, even if it’s
neutral. It’s essential to establish from the beginning that every student will be expected to
contribute, and encourage an opinionated, experience-based contribution. Addressing these fears,
anxieties, and disappointments in the system outright will create an atmosphere where it is not
only acceptable to feel these emotions, but encouraged to address and explore them in an
individual and unique fashion.
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Because of the intensive introspective work that is required of the students and the
person-centered pedagogical approach, the self-disclosure classroom is not for the light of heart.
However, if one is to take on Empathic Pedagogy and apply it to one’s own classroom, the
resources and research done on the topic create a solid foundation upon which an instructor can
stand, particularly those of Jeffrey Berman, an instructor and author with 30 years of experience
conducting a self-disclosure classroom. With Berman’s theoretical and experiential knowledge,
the empathic teacher can put Simard’s in-class activity to work in laying the groundwork for a
safe and open space in which real learning and growth can occur.
Works Cited
Berman, Jeffrey. Empathic Teaching: Education for Life. Amherst: University of Massachusetts,
2004. Print
.--. "Empathy, Trauma, and Forgiveness: Classroom Implications." Empathic Teaching:
Education for Life. Amherst: University of Massachusetts, 2004. 95-137. Print.
--. "Introduction: Making a Difference in Students’ Lives." Empathic Teaching: Education for
Life. Amherst: University of Massachusetts, 2004. 1-35. Print.
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Berman, Jeffrey. "Risky Writing: Theoretical and Practical Implications." Risky Writing: SelfDisclosure and Self-Transformation in the Classroom. Amherst: University of
Massachusetts, 2001. 21-71. Print.
Johnson, T. R. "School Sucks." College Composition and Communication June 52.4 (2001):
620-50. JSTOR. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.
Micciche, Laura R. "More Than a Feeling: Disappointment and WPA Work." College English
March 64.4 (2002): 432-58. JSTOR. Web. 29 Oct. 2012.
Simard, Rodney. "Reducing Fear and Resistance by Attacking the Myths." College Teaching
Summer 33.3 (1985): 101-07. JSTOR. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.
Meaghan A. Kelly
ENGL 801
Dr. Mary Jo Reiff
5 November 2012
Annotated Bibliography
Allen, Michael. "Writing Away from Fear: Mina Shaughnessy and the Uses of Authority."
College English April 41.8 (1980): 857-67. JSTOR. Web. 20 Oct. 2012.
Annotation: This article begins by shedding light on a recent review of Mina
Shaughnessy’s Errors & Expectations, and the harshness of that review. Shaughnessy’s
book, which is sitting on my bookshelf as we speak, was a keystone piece of research
when it came to the composition classroom. Allen decides to to take on the negative
review, and give his opinion regarding the theory and execution of that theory that the
book puts out in to the discourse. Allen believes that Shaughnessy’s instinct to put
emotion first in the writing process above all else is one that merits defense, as the
emotional realities of students are what must be addressed first in the writing classroom.
Allen positions the two authors, Shaughnessy and her critic, against one another, and
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describes how Shaughnessy’s student-centered approach and experiential evidence work
as the more plausible and effective classroom implementation technique. While this
source is valuable in that it emphasizes the validity of the canonical piece of work, it
tends to be repetitive. I think this source would be useful to consult at the beginning of
the process of considering Empathic Teaching as an option, but essentially all of the
elements are referenced in more up to date and relevant works to the point where they are
easily understood.
Berman, Jeffrey. Empathic Teaching: Education for Life. Amherst: University of Massachusetts,
2004. Print.
--. "Empathy, Trauma, and Forgiveness: Classroom Implications." Empathic Teaching:
Education for Life. Amherst: University of Massachusetts, 2004. 95-137. Print.
Annotation: In this chapter of Berman’s book on Empathic Pedagogy, the author takes
the
reader step by step through the obstacles and successes that come along with employing
this teaching technique. He first positions the practical application within the
psychoanalytic discourse, and draws upon previous psychoanalytic pedagogy to create a
foundation for the application. Berman takes the time to address resistance to the
empathy that is central to his classroom strategy, and concludes the section by solidifying
its validity within the academic sphere. Since the self-disclosure classroom revolves
around the identification and acceptance of personal trauma, the author offers keystone
information to understanding and utilizing this trauma, and gives plenty of resources so
the reader is able to develop a fully rounded understanding of the technique. From
repression to PTSD, Berman is careful to give a wide scope of possibilities in the
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classroom. The chapter is then ended with a section on forgiveness, which is the binding
principal and goal regarding the trauma that will be addressed through the various writing
exercises. I believe this source is very useful to my research and my colleagues’
understanding of the issue, particularly because it offers essential details to build the
bigger picture of Empathic Pedagogy, and does not assume that the reader has any prior
experience in the field.
--. "Introduction: Making a Difference in Students’ Lives." Empathic Teaching: Education for
Life. Amherst: University of Massachusetts, 2004. 1-35. Print.
Annotation: Berman’s introduction to his book Empathic Teaching introduces central
concepts to the reader that must be kept in mind throughout the process of Empathic
Pedagogy. He starts with anecdotes about students who wrote to him or approached him
after taking his self-disclosure based courses and who saw him as an influential person in
their lives. This allows him to move toward what one must expect after adopting this
pedagogy. The most obvious is that the teacher becomes a type of attachment figure, and
the aforementioned students’ words came out of a place that recognized that aspect of the
teaching. Becoming a teacher that exudes a type of warmth is what Empathic Pedagogy
promotes, and Berman covers many aspects of what comes with being a warm teacher.
This introductory chapter is particularly useful in that it explicates foundational concepts
for the pedagogy and later, the application. It portrays the teaching technique in a truthful
light, covering the obstacles and successes that help the reader create a fully rounded
view. This will be helpful for myself and my colleagues because it offers many of the
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introductory concepts that need to be established before one dives into the dense
theoretical and then intensely pragmatic discussion of Empathic Pedagogy.
Berman, Jeffrey. "Risky Writing: Theoretical and Practical Implications." Risky Writing: SelfDisclosure and Self-Transformation in the Classroom. Amherst: University of
Massachusetts, 2001. 21-71. Print.
Annotation: Jeffrey Berman, in his chapter involving “Theoretical and Practical
Implications” covers the criticisms of his stance regarding empathic pedagogy and his
involvement of “risky writing” (therapeutic writing based in self-disclosure), particularly
Bartholomae’s vehement rejection of the practice. Berman posits his theory snugly in the
academic discourse and even concedes that some of Bartholomae’s dangers are present,
but they can be avoided by making specific pedagogical choices in the classroom.
Berman asserts that his theory is academic and does not substitute feeling for thinking-the two are not mutually exclusive, and they occur together in the classroom with risky
writing. Berman covers the theoretical and moves toward the practical by covering every
aspect that surrounds the fear in incorporating self-disclosure in the classroom. From
making responsible and sound legal choices to grading policy, Berman thoroughly tackles
the gritty decision-making that has to be done with such a deviant pedagogy. This chapter
will further our understanding of empathic teaching in that it makes the theory a reality,
and also defends the theoretical position the pedagogy takes within the larger discourse
community. By offering multiple criticisms of the technique and countering them with
experiential knowledge, Berman not only tells us how this would work in the academic
sphere, but shows us as well.
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Chandler, Sally. "Fear, Teaching Composition, and Students' Discursive Choices: Re-Thinking
Connections Between Emotions and College Student Writing."Composition Studies Fall
35.2 (2007): 53-70. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Oct. 2012.
Annotation: Similarly to Simard, Chandler opens by addressing a pattern in the
composition classroom: cliches. Chandler believes that students resort to what they
believe to be reliable stand-by conventions due to the anxiety and fear that comes with
writing studies and composition courses. Ideally, instructors wouldn’t have their students
touch a cliche with a ten-foot-pole, but they continue to encounter them in their student
work. In order to parse out the environment of anxiety, Chandler starts with reflective
essays written by writing center tutors regarding their very first tutoring appointments.
While each tutor became anxious and full of self-doubt before the appointment, they
began to accept their emotions and understand them better once they interacted with their
first tutees, and realized that they were both feeling the same anxiousness in the situation.
Through empathy for another, the tutors were able to better understand and overcome the
negative emotions they were experiencing. Writing about this experience through
self-disclosure aided in avoiding the sweeping generalizations (and safety) that cliches
provide for a novice writer. However, most writers in the beginning composition
classroom have yet to self-actualize and self-identify as novice writers- they perpetually
see themselves as amateurs. This step, according to Chandler, is essential to success in
the college setting. The fear and self-doubt that pervades the classroom is crippling to
some students’ progress, and Chandler moves on to practical applications to start using it
in a productive way. The author is very careful to differentiate herself from those who
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apply Empathic Teaching in a self-disclosure classroom to that of the trauma in their
students’ lives. She recognizes the similarity, but is sure to highlight that her application
of Empathic Teaching is operating at a level of emotion, but not a level of trauma.
Downs, Douglas, and Elizabeth Wardle. "Teaching about Writing, Righting Misconceptions:
(Re)envisioning "First-Year Composition" as "Introduction to Writing Studies"" College
Composition and Communication June 58.4 (2007): 552-84. JSTOR. Web. 20 Oct. 2012.
Downs & Wardle’s article goes well with Rodney Simard’s, in that they both
reference misconceptions regarding the composition classroom. However, Downs &
Wardle take a different approach to these misconceptions, and instead of using them as
content for the classroom, uses them as the catalyst to reform First Year Composition
programs. The authors systematically address the misconceptions of FYC within the
academic scope. The sections are separated by headers describing the misconception they
address: “Academic Discourse as a Category Mistake”, “The Open Question of
Transfer”, and “Resisting Misconceptions”. The first section asks the question, can FYC
programs fulfill the goals and expectations that have been set for them? The authors then
describe how writing, although it has shared elements among the disciplines, needs to be
learned within the scope of a chosen field in order for mastery to occur. The second
section posits that in order to make the discipline of writing have any authority of the
courses, the FYC system needs to be reformed through resistance of conventional
methods. Lastly, the misconceptions in “Resisting Misconceptions” are actually referring
to the conventional practices of the FYC classroom, and addresses this issue by stating
that the FYC system must take a realistic approach to the types of writing that will be
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used in the classroom. Once these misconceptions are addressed, the article moves on to
the practical applications of changing an FYC program to Introduction to Writing
Studies. The content moves on to possible assignments within the classroom. The article
then moves in to case studies, in which the application of this theory was implemented
and the reader is given results and experiential evidence. This is particularly helpful, as
many sources focus solely on the theoretical and do not give as much practical
information.
Harris, Judith. "Re-Writing the Subject: Psychoanalytic Approaches to Creative Writing and
Composition Pedagogy." College English November 64.2 (2001): 175-204. JSTOR. Web.
19 Oct. 2012.
Annotation: Harris begins her article by addressing the divide between creative writing
and composition studies. She moves in to discussing how creative writing and
expressivist pedagogy work together, and are innately similar in teaching composition.
English departments have conventionally kept creative writing and composition separate,
but this piece argues that they should be intertwined, as they are mutually beneficial.
Harris begins interweaving aspects of psychoanalysis into the discussion, particularly
when it comes to the benefits of personal disclosure in both (and one day, the same)
classrooms. When a student is engaged in self-exploration and self-expression, they are
receiving scaffolding in order to reach out to their larger community and understand
those around them. It’s clear that Berman has used Harris as his jump-off point, in that she
creates the foundation upon which he builds his theory of Empathic Pedagogy. This
keystone piece allows me to further understand this area, as Harris delves deeper in to
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psychoanalysis and gives crucial historical and theoretical information which Berman
assumes the reader already knows. Harris moves on to classroom implications, and it is
clear that her experiential observations have influenced her theoretical and practical
approach, as well as Berman’s.
Johnson, T. R. "School Sucks." College Composition and Communication June 52.4 (2001):
620-50. JSTOR. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.
Annotation: Higher education, in its highly structured and traditional reputation, has so
incredibly opposed the emotionally-propelled, reactionary style of learning that it has
actually demonized it. T.R. Johnson recalls the violent school yard rhymes of his
childhood, those that point to the visceral and oppositional environments that many
students either create or exist in from a very early stage of education. These visceral
reactions are immediately seen as negative, and have become demonized within our
culture and often viewed as the catalyst for school tragedies such as the Columbine
shootings. Johnson asserts that from the beginning of educational history, even pointing
to the preliterate, an outburst of emotion was seen as the starting point of true
understanding and therefore true creation. It is our educational system that has used a
negative lens against it, and consequentially puts a stop to any type of emotional
reactions (good or bad) in the classroom. Johnson believes that it is the composition
studies’ re-immersion in to the conversation of higher education that offers the
opportunity to change this atmosphere of fear and anxiety toward involving emotion in
the classroom. He thinks every classroom should be one of discussion and laughter,
finding the cracks in the structural boundaries and actually celebrating them in the
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process of composition. That is the only way to re-create the environment and dispel
every instance of opposing spontaneous emotion and rather embrace it. This article will
be very useful in my both my paper and presentation, as it offers both an exploration of
the issue and practical applications to begin remedying it.
Micciche, Laura R. "More Than a Feeling: Disappointment and WPA Work." College English
March 64.4 (2002): 432-58. JSTOR. Web. 29 Oct. 2012.
Annotation: Laura R. Micciche addresses multiple aspects of emotion and the effect it has
on the classroom, specifically regarding WPA work. Although most of the article is
geared toward WPA work, it does make some points that are applicable to the
composition classroom in general. Specifically, Micciche explores the violence-filled
culture that is the education system in America. After exploring this issue, Micciche goes
futher in explicating how this culture produces anxiety in both the student and teacher.
This anxiety builds in that expectations are assigned to the class and the course, and when
those expectations are not met, both student and instructor become disappointed in the
system. This continues to create negative emotions toward the course and those involved.
Essentially it is this vicious cycle that is the every day concern of the Writing Program
Administrator, and this article explores innovative ways to break the cycle and work to
dispel the environment of fear, so that both instructor and student are more comfortable
in
their roles within the composition classroom. I find this article to be particularly useful in
that it offers a position that composition instructors are not privy to: the Writing Program
Administrator, and how the admins would go about helping to lay the foundation for a
more comfortable, safe atmosphere in the classroom. I think this piece would work
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particularly well with the Johnson article, as it references the same violent environment
that Johnson explores during the first half of his work.
Simard, Rodney. "Reducing Fear and Resistance by Attacking the Myths." College Teaching
Summer 33.3 (1985): 101-07. JSTOR. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.
Annotation: Rodney Simard believes that before any teacher can begin to approach the
problems regarding student writing, let alone begin to remedy them, the students’
attitudes and pre-conceived notions about the writing classroom must be addressed. This
article bypasses theoretical application and goes straight to the experiential, as Simard
has found success with this approach in his own classroom over and over again. This
success has been found through addressing eight specific myths about education and
writing, and allowing the class to participate in a workshop atmosphere in order to parse
these issues out. The myths that Simard feels are most important to cover are the
following: 1) Writing is a talent that only some people possess, and although others may
attempt to learn how to do it well, they never will succeed; 2) Writing in the classroom
has no real practical application in the outside world; 3) The key to good writing is
learning all the rules- if you do that, you can’t go wrong; 4) There are too many styles
and versions of writing that any amateur will ever be able to properly use (or will have to
use, for that matter); 5) There is no room for personal or creative aspects in composition.
As long as it sounds generic and run-of-the-mill, it will be right; 6) Books and teachers
will give you step-by-step instructions to write: if you follow them, you’ll write well; 7)
You’ll have to learn the type of writing your boss or other teacher will want you to use,
so
anything you learn now is useless; 8) If your elementary or high school writing
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background is weak, the writing required in college or a job environment will be too
much for you to handle. As one can see, Simard covers everything from beginning
notions about writing all the way to the fears and anxieties students may have about
higher education or the ‘real world’ environment. Simard offers all types of student
responses, as well as suggestions to field these responses and spark a productive and
explorative discussion among students. Doing this from the beginning of class will pave
the way for a more open and safer environment for composition and learning. For those
of us that have an aversion to opening up personal dialogue within our classrooms and as
topics for composition assignments, this source helps us to break through that fear by
safely positing ways to go about broaching these subjects. Specifically because this
article offers a way to begin a course in creating a positive, non-judgmental and even
question-conducive atmosphere which would be the ideal way to begin a class if one
were trying to base the course off of personal narrative and breaking the boundaries of
traditional composition class form.