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Articles Conference Reviews |
Rethinking the Fourth COpening General Session: Rethinking the Fourth C Valentino began the opening session with the intriguing question, “How did we inherit the last C: Communication?” After tracing a brief history of the intersections among communication studies, public speaking, rhetoric, and composition, Valentino noted David Bartholomae’s assertion that the incorporation of communication into composition studies made the latter subject more respectable as it focused on more than just writing. Today, in the twenty-first century, interpersonal processes of communication are critical; teaching in the twenty-first century makes us need to be better communicators. Thus, what we should ask ourselves now is (1) how we can build relationships to help all students become invested in writing, (2) how can we communicate better with administrators to create the best environments for writing and (3) how can we create partnerships to influence policymakers and others with an investment in writing. Valentino urged the audience then to join in by committing to following through with just two of the above issues. Next, the address focused more specifically on sub-topics connected to each of the three topics above. How can we build relationships to help all students become invested in writing? First, we must consider students’ responses to the comments we make on their writing, particularly keeping in mind the racial and ethnic makeup of our students and how that might affect the kinds of comments we make. (For example, Valentino showed a video that described students’ responses to teacher commentary which noted that Latino/a students received 8.85% more grammar-related comments than white students; approximately 24% of the comments overall on Latino/a students’ papers related to grammar in some way.) Next, we must consider how we can best communicate with particular student populations. This includes communicating more effectively with students who are academically unprepared or overwhelmed, students with documented disabilities—including non-apparent disabilities; student veterans, students who have experienced trauma, immigrant students, students who are dually enrolled in high school and college, and homeschooled students. At this point, Valentino turned to actions, urging attendees to keep coming to conventions like CCCC, keep reading our journals, keep participating in webinars, and so on. To share the information gathered, attendees were asked to host workshops addressing new students’ needs, analyze their own communications practices, and share best practices with others. A video by Dana Driscoll, the new CCCC Member Web Editor, was shown, followed by a hilarious video featuring Bump Halbritter. The discussion then shifted to part two: how can we best communicate with administrators, particularly so that we don’t lose the essence of the one-to-one instruction and mentorship so important to our work in an age of efficiencies? (Here a clip from Rawhide was shown to illustrate this atmosphere of efficiency: Move ‘em on, get ‘em out, Rawhide!) Valentino argued that we can’t be silent or complacent in the face of challenges like master syllabi, dual credit in the high schools, outsourced grading, and for-profit online institutions (citing an example of a student who was able to take eighty credit hours in four months). To address these issues, Valentino suggested reading NCTE publications such as the NCTE-WPA white paper, completing surveys sent out by CCCC, creating guidelines for dual credit, designing research projects that can assess the impact of these issues and volunteering to serve on a CCCC committee. After these useful suggestions, part three was addressed: How can we create new partnerships, particularly in the face of a statistic like the one that follows? 89% of employers surveyed said that written and oral skills were crucial. Valentino suggested that we could do this by beginning or continuing to participate in the National Day on Writing, continuing to submit to the National Gallery of Writing, contacting legislators and staff and collaborating across academic levels as well as disciplines. Attendees left with a slew of ideas to hopefully invigorate them as they returned to their local, individual campuses, perhaps with Valentino’s parting words still reverberating in their ears: “Choose just two actions! Live the fourth C!” |