Writing Relationships

by Lad Tobin

In the ideal composition class of the 1990s, everything seems to run all learning is happily collaborative, all authority is successfully de-centered, and all students are part of a conflict-free community of writers. No student is ever bored or boring, angry or provocative, and no teacher ever responds in ways that are self-serving, subjective, or idiosyncratic. Since most books and articles on the teaching of writing describe the ideal as if it were the norm, many teachers feel embarrassed by what does or doesn't happen in their own classrooms- and envious of what they believe is happening down the hall. Writing Relationships goes beyond the idealized talk about what should happen in "process" teaching to examine what actually competition and cooperation, peer pressure and identification, resistance and sexual tension. This book is about how interpersonal relationships -- between teacher and student, student and student, and teacher and teacher -- shape the ways that teachers read and grade their students' writing and the ways students respond, or don't respond, to their teacher's suggestions. Through narratives and case studies, the author demonstrates that much of the tension, confusion, and anxiety associated with a process approach is inevitable and, in part, desirable. But this book is more than a series of failure the author gives teachers specific and useful ideas and strategies for :

Genres: Writing, Teaching

156 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 1993

Reviews

[Peaches · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked his concept of the personal as pedagogical and although I did not pull many quotations, I do think I found useful concepts to paraphrase despite how old this book is; however, I have trouble reading about the frustrations of a white male writing teacher at times because I recognize how much easier this demographic of writing instructors often has it when interacting with students.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good info written in an accessible manner. The title pretty much sums it up. It is a book about relationships between writing teachers and students, writing students among themselves, and teachers with other teachers.

[Michael Joosten · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be fair to Tobin, there *is* good material in his book, which is thought-provoking and it's a fairly straightforward read... but it has ultimately proven rather forgettable and I find that I disincline to agree with his pedagogy.

[Mike]

really fantastic for the beginning writing teacher