I found Steve Sherwood's article "Apprenticed to Failure: Learning from the Students We Can't Help" very insightful, and it definitely spoke to me as I am a bit of a perfectionist. It was refreshing that Sherwood spoke on the fact that it's unrealistic to believe that writing consultants will be able to help every student that they encounter in the writing center. However, at the same time, he reinforces the point that these failures are not always entirely negative because unsuccessful consultations can strengthen a consultant's work and encourage them to see (and do) things in a different way.
Furthermore, without experiencing failure, a consultant is unable to fully understand success. As Sherwood states, "failure is a key to our growth as tutors and writing center professionals." I am a firm believer that this notion remains true in all aspects of life; failure changes an individual's perspective and allows them to gain valuable life experiences. Therefore, a writing consultant's failure allows the writing center to continue growing and developing, in order to better meet the needs of the various types of students that it serves.
While the overarching theme of eliminating the fear of failure in relation to writing (and otherwise) resonated with me, I do feel that Sherwood has unrealistic aims when it comes to students' willingness to accept academic failure and the professors' tolerance of mediocrity within the classroom. Sherwood's theory relies on these two facets being present in a university setting, but I do not believe that this is actually feasible.
Although it may be true that students will have more success if they are given an opportunity to fail, I would argue that there is very little time for true failure in academics, especially at the university-level. It appears to me that professors rarely allow time for students to complete "sloppy" first drafts with sentence-level grammatical errors and incomplete research analysis. Rather, professors emphasize that every assignment should be the students' best work, regardless if it is a paper proposal or final thesis. In my opinion, this emphasis on perfection is what causes writer's anxiety and the fear of failure to persist in academics.
I'm not so certain that faculty are not willing to permit some "low stakes" failures as part of learning.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of a diagnostic essay early in FYS really excites the faculty with whom I have shared the idea. Students never complain about it, either, even if they lose a few points. They then get to know that mysterious and idiosyncratic audience they must try to please later.