Students’ right and the first year composition classroom: a critical reflection of one first-time teacher’s experience

Graduation Date

2013

Document Type

Project

Program

Other

Program

Project (M.A.)--Humboldt State University, English: Teaching of Writing, 2013

Committee Chair Name

Nikola Hobbel

Committee Chair Affiliation

HSU Faculty or Staff

Keywords

Language rights, SRTOL, CCCCs, Authoritative & internally persuasive discourses, Humboldt State University -- Projects -- English, Ideological becoming, Critical pedagogy, Bakhtin, Composition pedagogy, First-year composition

Abstract

Between 1972-1974, the professional organization Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) drafted and ratified what has become known as "Students' Right to Their Own Language." This policy marks a significant turn in composition discourses between those who advocate for the acceptance and inclusion of multiple student voices into writing and those that advocate for a stricter adherence to Standard English. This project will take the shape of a literature review, historical/documentary analysis, reflective piece, and significance. Specifically, this project will explore in more depth the motivations and discussions that went into creating the Students' Right policy and to also explore its aftermath. What impact has this policy has on the teaching of First Year Composition (FYC)? As a new teacher, can there be reconciliation between the demands of university goals/objectives/expectations and the needs and interests of student writers? In exploring conflicting definitions of academic discourse, language, and writing, I will draw on the theories of language proposed by M.M. Bahktin. In particular, I will use Bahktin's notions of authoritative discourse and internally persuasive discourse as they relate to Standard English, Students' Right, and the teaching of writing at the college level.

https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/concern/theses/tx31qm00g

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