[Teaching_Composition] Ideology
Chris Anson
teaching_composition@mailman.eppg.com
Sun, 8 Oct 2006 19:22:49 -0400
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In some ways, I think the issue of ideology in the teaching of
writing is about finding balance. Students often want to know what we
think, and I've always felt it's OK for us to reveal certain beliefs
as long as we're not insisting that students adopt them. As a
director of one of the largest composition programs in the country
(at the time), I routinely observed classes of relatively
inexperienced teachers in which students were studying subjects and
reading essays that were designed to get them to adopt particular
political and ideological positions. It was clear to me that the
course was driven by these goals, if tacitly, and that performance
was measured in terms of how readily students adopted the
preestablished positions (in one case, a teacher refused to grade the
paper of a student purely on the basis of her position on an issue,
because the teacher felt so strongly about it). Right or left,
conservative or liberal, or all things between, that sort of teaching
is highly problematic. I think Hairston was trying to caution us not
to fall into that trap, though her alternatives were too sterile for
some of us. I much prefer a class in which students wrestle with
different positions on issues and try to see those issues in more
complex, nuanced ways. That sort of analysis helps them to develop
less dualistic and simplistic attitudes toward just about everything
of importance in their social, academic, and political lives. I'd
much rather that a discussion go on in that way without me--with me
on the sidelines--than for me to be calling all the shots and trying
to lead students in one direction. We just need to be sure that we
orchestrate it all in a way that complicates what we look at.
Which brings up another matter concerning ideology: pedagogical
method (such as lecture mode vs. discussion/active learning/problem-
solving/small group modes). The most egregious cases of ideological
"brainwashing" I've seen occurred when the teacher's dominant (maybe
only) instructional method was to lecture at students, especially
about how to interpret a reading or about what positions to take on
certain topics. In a lecture, unless we're willing to present all
sides of an issue, we need to choose how to represent something, and
that involves a certain process of selection, even bias. When I
lecture about African American English in a language/linguistics
course, for example, I usually follow a "progressive" position
generally endorsed by sociolinguists--a position in which I first
talk neutrally about the features of the dialect, its range, and its
history, and then, shifting toward the social issues, argue that we
should understand AAE as one of many American dialects and treat it
as legitimate--as acceptable from a social and community-based
perspective, and no less "bad" or "wrong" than other regional and
social dialects spoken by non-African Americans. But when I ask
students to talk about the dialect in a small-group activity and
large-group follow-up, I'm not about to tell them what to think. I
may hope that they end up seeing the complexities, recognizing any
prejudices they hold, and understanding something more about
attitudes toward different dialects, but I can't require it. I may be
wrong in this hunch--but In leading a good discussion about African
American English, I'm probably less likely to present a strongly
biased perspective; or, at the least, there is discursive space for
alternative views that I might not create in my own lecture on the
topic.
Conservative backlash against what's perceived to be the "liberal"
agendas of faculty in higher education has probably come about
because the mode _thought_ to be in effect is a presentational mode
(ironically, many conservative critics of education object to active
learning methods and small-group work, which allow students to
express multiple views). They imagine, in other words, that authority
figures (and weilders of grades) are standing in front of the class
proselytizing their values and insisting students adopt them (i.e.,
parrot them back in papers and on exams). If such critics come into a
classroom where even a highly charged political issue is discussed
completely openly, in a spirit of negotiation and critical analysis,
they may back away from accusations of bias. In other words, the
solution to the entire controversy of Bill's module may be not in
having an equal number of teachers representing different positions
on a political or ideological spectrum, but in encouraging teaching
methods that leave less room for a teacher's own biases to dominate,
and give more room for students to express and examine their own
beliefs collectively, in a forum that openly examines issues relevant
to the course's subject matter.
--
Chris M. Anson [Web site]
Professor of English
Director, Campus Writing and Speaking Program
Box 8105, North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-8105
(919) 513-4080
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<HTML><BODY style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; =
-khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><DIV>In some ways, I think the =
issue of ideology in the teaching of writing is about finding balance. =
Students often want to know what we think, and I've always felt it's OK =
for us to reveal certain beliefs as long as we're not insisting that =
students adopt them. As a director of one of the largest composition =
programs in the country (at the time), I routinely observed classes of =
relatively inexperienced teachers in which students were studying =
subjects and reading essays that were designed to=A0 get them to adopt =
particular political and ideological positions.=A0 It was clear to me =
that the course was driven by these goals, if tacitly, and that =
performance was measured in terms of how readily students adopted the =
preestablished positions=A0(in one case, a teacher refused to grade the =
paper of a student purely on the basis of her position on an issue, =
because the teacher felt so strongly about it).=A0Right or left, =
conservative or liberal, or all things between, that sort of teaching is =
highly problematic. I think Hairston was trying to caution us not to =
fall into that trap, though her alternatives were=A0 too sterile for =
some of us. I much prefer a class in which students wrestle with =
different positions on issues and try to see those issues in more =
complex, nuanced ways. That sort of analysis helps them to develop less =
dualistic and simplistic attitudes toward just about everything of =
importance in their social, academic, and political lives. I'd much =
rather that a discussion go on in that way without me--with me on the =
sidelines--than for me to be calling all the shots and trying to lead =
students in one direction. We just need to be sure that we orchestrate =
it all in a way that complicates what we look at.=A0</DIV><DIV><BR =
class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Which brings up another =
matter concerning ideology: pedagogical method (such as lecture mode vs. =
discussion/active learning/problem-solving/small group modes). The most =
egregious cases of ideological "brainwashing" I've seen occurred when =
the teacher's dominant (maybe only) instructional method was to lecture =
at students, especially about how to interpret a reading or about what =
positions to take on certain topics. In a lecture, unless we're willing =
to present all sides of an issue, we need to choose how to represent =
something, and that involves a certain process of selection, even bias. =
When I lecture about African American English in a language/linguistics =
course, for example, I usually follow a "progressive" position generally =
endorsed by sociolinguists--a position in which I first talk neutrally =
about the features of the dialect, its range, and its history, and then, =
shifting toward the social issues, argue that we should understand AAE =
as one of many American dialects and treat it as legitimate--as =
acceptable from a social and community-based perspective, and no less =
"bad" or "wrong" than other regional and social dialects spoken by =
non-African Americans. But when I ask students to talk about the dialect =
in a small-group activity and large-group follow-up, I'm not about to =
tell them what to think. I may hope that they end up seeing the =
complexities, recognizing any prejudices they hold, and understanding =
something more about attitudes toward different dialects, but I can't =
require it. I may be wrong in this hunch--but In leading a good =
discussion about African American English, I'm probably less likely to =
present a strongly biased perspective; or, at the least, there is =
discursive space for alternative views that I might not create in my own =
lecture on the topic.=A0</DIV><DIV><BR =
class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Conservative backlash =
against what's perceived to be the "liberal" agendas of faculty in =
higher education has probably come about because the mode _thought_ to =
be in effect is a presentational mode (ironically, many conservative =
critics of education object to active learning methods and small-group =
work, which allow students to express multiple views). They imagine, in =
other words, that authority figures (and weilders of grades) are =
standing in front of the class proselytizing their values and insisting =
students adopt them (i.e., parrot them back in papers and on exams). If =
such critics come into a classroom where even a highly charged political =
issue is discussed completely openly, in a spirit of negotiation and =
critical analysis, they may back away from accusations of bias. In other =
words, the solution to the entire controversy of Bill's module may be =
not in having an equal number of teachers representing different =
positions on a political or ideological spectrum, but in encouraging =
teaching methods that leave less room for a teacher's own biases to =
dominate, and give more room for students to express and examine their =
own beliefs collectively, in a forum that openly examines issues =
relevant to the course's subject matter.</DIV><DIV><BR =
class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR =
class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR =
class=3D"khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV><BR =
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class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
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normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
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-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
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class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: separate; =
border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; =
font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: =
normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; =
-apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; =
white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV>--=A0<BR>Chris =
M. Anson=A0<A =
href=3D"http://www.home.earthlink.net/~theansons/Portcover.html"><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">[Web =
site]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A></DIV><DIV>Professor of English=A0<BR><A =
href=3D"www2.chass.ncsu.edu/cwsp"><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" =
style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: =
underline; "><SPAN class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, =
238); -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><SPAN =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"color: rgb(0, 0, 238); =
-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; ">Director, Campus Writing =
and Speaking Program=A0</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><BR>Box =
8105,=A0North Carolina State University=A0<BR>Raleigh, NC=A0 =
27695-8105=A0<BR>(919) 513-4080=A0<BR></DIV><BR =
class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></S=
PAN></SPAN> </DIV><BR></BODY></HTML>=
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