“Centering in the Borderlands: Lessons from Hispanic Student Writers.”
-Written by Beatrice Mendez-Newman
-First Appeared in The
Borderland Hispanic Student: Students that lack facility in Spanish and English, they acquire formal language for the first time when they start going to school, problems with the English language persists because Spanish is the main language that is spoken at home. (261)
Argument:
The writing center is the medium for the Borderland Hispanic student; it serves as an agency to their understanding and link into academia discourse.
· Hispanic students at borderland institutions have been overlooked due to the lack of knowledge of this specific type of student. It is important to understand that home-life, culture, and native language spoken outside of the university affects the student’s academic experience. “Strong cultural and familial ties “interfere” with academic expectations and situate them in borderland institutions within driving distance of their homes…the family creates a special type of on-going “interference” with their assimilation into the academy.” (253)
· The writing center is “an agent of access to the institution and to the avenues of success and acceptance an institution of higher education represents.” (254) After the social expectations and regulations of the life of a borderland Hispanic student.
· The writing center is more welcoming because it does not have an authoritative feel to the environment. Hispanic students do not ask questions in class because they are afraid that they may appear to be resisting authority. And do not approach professors during their office hours because they do not want to appear intrusive. (260)
Solution:
· Inspire confidence in the borderland student so he or she becomes an independent writer
· The writing center is the one place where the student will not be criticized or penalized for putting family first. In this situation tutoring via internet has to become an option.
· Visual deconstruction may be useless to some cases
Guidelines:
· Deconstruct the student’s writing to show and help the student get to a higher level of literacy. Keep in mind that borderland students only use English for school so being literate in English is low.
· Unlike tutoring native English speaking students, it is suggested that when tutoring Borderline Hispanic students a directive approach is best because they do not respond to non-directive tutoring. Asking facilitative questions would only leave the student more frustrated and make it appear as though the tutor is “withholding information on grammar and writing” (264)
· Most problems are caused by the family therefore strategies are essential to the writing process with these students
I think every writing fellow and tutor should read this article. As I was reading it I realized that this article applied to myself as well. Although I am not Hispanic and not a Borderland student, I am from a different country and from a completely different culture. And because this I remember I found it very offensive when the tutor during my first writing tutoring experience used the facilitative method with me. I couldn’t understand why he kept asking me more questions than instead of giving me answers or being more directive. I remember leaving the session more frustrated than I was before I did not go back to the writing center afterwards I just had my friends who were writing tutors edit my papers for me, it was much easier and I made it clear to them that I preferred them to be direct in their approach to editing my paper. It is also true that I found asking a teacher to look at draft in addition to everything that they did more of a hassle than actually helpful to me. However I have adapted to this practice and have no problem doing this now after-all teachers are here to help me reach my full potential.
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