Response to Jonikka Charlton's Essay

If an instructor wants to change basic writing curriculum and change the perception that basic writers have of themselves, the instructor should create a learning environment where the learner can (re)see and/or (re)define him or herself through challenging course material. In Jonikka Charlton's essay "Seeing is Believing: Writing Studies with "Basic Writing" Students" she retells her experience as an observer of a basic writing class.  Students actively engage with one another as they tweak research questions.  They use the discourse of rhetoric and composition to force one another to go beyond surface explorations.  They become gatekeepers of their own learning.

Chalton begins her discussion with quotes from various students engaged in research.  One basic writing student has difficulty articulating his research question and the other two after discussing their topic with classmates have a clearer understanding of how to conduct their research.  Apparently this scene is atypical for basic writers from this community.  Many, according to Charlton, graduate "in the bottom 75% of their high school" (3).  As such getting students to read and then talk about scholarly material appeared difficult.  But it wasn't.  The scholarship used in class gave 1) "a philosophical overview of why their teachers ask[ed] them to do the work and 2) students tools to get through the work" (Charlton 6). Therefore the selected reading material explained to students why they had to write and it gave them tools to mimic in their own writing.

Since the class meets twice a week, a FYC and a basic writing course, students get the opportunity to delve more deeply into any coursework that they may have confused them.  They also build communities of practice whereby all of the students engage and challenge each others shared views.  Meeting twice a week with the same instructor and getting one-on-one help in the Writing Center helped many of these writers to see themselves as "writers" and not just basic writers.  The work that they did in the classroom both challenged and stimulated them to (re)see themselves and their writing. Basic writing students can read and write about challenging material, they just need someone to create curricular change so that they can rise and meet the expectation.