Hmm...
Very intriguing questions.
Several weeks ago, I tutored a student who had written a very pro-environmentalist paper. Granted, I wasn't offended by his academic bashing of the essential industries that power the international economy -- especially since this student had, commendably, recognized viewpoints opposed to his argument. But I did disagree with the political stance he took.
Swallowing my polemic pride, I helped the student make the best argument possible for hugging trees and rescuing baby seals. Most of that session was spent on grammar; the rest, on translating some of his ideas into the institutionalized parlance of academia. Steven North's statement -- that as tutors, our goal is to create better writers, and not just better writing -- is gospel in the tutoring world. So if that writer wanted to spur a crusade against the fat cats of the industrial sector, I felt obligated to help him do so.
After all, my name isn't on the paper. His, however, is, implying that the paper contains his ideas.
Bigotry is another issue. Personally, I've never dealt with any overt or implied racist remarks. Yet, I did conference with one student who claimed, without the tiniest lip-service to subtlety, that a metrosexual wouldn't fight terrorists or rescue hostages from a burning building.
My jaw popped open like a cash register. For a moment, I wasn't sure how to respond. Because the student prefaced his random, unexpected, insensitive example with the words, "I wouldn't expect a metrosexual to," I chose to move on. There were other concerns at hand.
But racism is another matter. I think tutors have an ethical obligation to alert students of any hate speech (or suggestions of hate speech) in their writing. Academia insists on political correctness, and university students must learn to speak the language of academia. Being an optimist, I like to think that most racist remarks in a paper would be unintentional, the student embarrassed but eager to make any appropriate revisions.
If not, then it's not my name at the top of my paper. If I had alerted the student, and if he or she had refused to make the correction, then my hands are tied.
Several weeks ago, I tutored a student who had written a very pro-environmentalist paper. Granted, I wasn't offended by his academic bashing of the essential industries that power the international economy -- especially since this student had, commendably, recognized viewpoints opposed to his argument. But I did disagree with the political stance he took.
Swallowing my polemic pride, I helped the student make the best argument possible for hugging trees and rescuing baby seals. Most of that session was spent on grammar; the rest, on translating some of his ideas into the institutionalized parlance of academia. Steven North's statement -- that as tutors, our goal is to create better writers, and not just better writing -- is gospel in the tutoring world. So if that writer wanted to spur a crusade against the fat cats of the industrial sector, I felt obligated to help him do so.
After all, my name isn't on the paper. His, however, is, implying that the paper contains his ideas.
Bigotry is another issue. Personally, I've never dealt with any overt or implied racist remarks. Yet, I did conference with one student who claimed, without the tiniest lip-service to subtlety, that a metrosexual wouldn't fight terrorists or rescue hostages from a burning building.
My jaw popped open like a cash register. For a moment, I wasn't sure how to respond. Because the student prefaced his random, unexpected, insensitive example with the words, "I wouldn't expect a metrosexual to," I chose to move on. There were other concerns at hand.
But racism is another matter. I think tutors have an ethical obligation to alert students of any hate speech (or suggestions of hate speech) in their writing. Academia insists on political correctness, and university students must learn to speak the language of academia. Being an optimist, I like to think that most racist remarks in a paper would be unintentional, the student embarrassed but eager to make any appropriate revisions.
If not, then it's not my name at the top of my paper. If I had alerted the student, and if he or she had refused to make the correction, then my hands are tied.
posted by Michael Madson at 4:50 PM
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