First, let me say that it is disappointing that your blog will be taken down.  I can see and feel the effort that goes into your writing and it should be recognized.  You have a clear writing style that is easy to read. You present yourself as enthusiastic, fair minded and very intelligent through your writing. I saw a marked difference between your reading responses and the papers. The shorter reading responses were not as polished as the longer papers and go to prove that good writing occurs in the revision process. The two papers that were on your blog not only display the amount of work that you did, but also show how good you are at developing your ideas.  Your final paper was fascinating and shows that you do not mind taking risks with your writing.  As your work progressed through the semester, the clarity of your writing improved. Although I could hear your “voice” from the start of your blog, by the end of it I felt that you had embraced that “voice.” Thank you for sharing. Good Luck.

Chelsea,

First, and obviously, you are missing some content.  I know why and it’s a bit of a shame. I would have liked to have some more of your work to read.  I can see a good bit of improvement in your writing that is present. In your early pieces your phrasing was a bit awkward. By the time you wrote the final piece, it was much better. Your writing also improved as you put more time into it. The longer papers are better than the reading response. You also have taken good advantage of the opportunity to revise.  I don’t want to be like the teacher who ignored the content of the paper because it was too inflammatory and so graded only on the mechanics. So, I will take this opportunity to commend you on the bravery it took to address the topic you brought up in your memoir. Good for you. I’m sure it was hard to do. From what I read in your blog, I think if you continue to work as hard as you have during this class, when the time comes, you will be more than ready to teach High School English.  Good luck to you and thank you for sharing.

Noel,

I am generally impressed with your blog. I tackled your reading responses first. They seemed a bit underdeveloped and felt like you could have put more effort into them. Then I read your papers. The difference between them and the reading responses was like the difference between night and day. Your papers present a very intelligent and mature writing style. At times that makes your papers sound a bit formal. If that’s you intent, that is great, because it doesn’t take away from the content of the papers. Not only do you have an intelligent style, but your use of extended metaphor and humor makes your writing entertaining. As the semester progressed, I saw that your papers also progressed. Your later papers became more fully developed. This is some great work. I think you’ve found your “natural position” in deciding to become an English teacher. Good Luck. Thanks for sharing.

Eric 

At the time I am writing this there are no reading responses posted to your blog. I found your papers very interesting and was pleased to follow your progression through the semester.  You have a smart and technical style to your writing. That style needs the polishing that you bring to it through your revisions. Your final drafts were very good.  As the semester progressed I also noticed that your papers became more fully developed and your voice became fully articulated. I saw in your final paper, not only the polished intelligent style of your first two papers, but also that it was fully developed and better organized than your first two papers. I believe your final paper is your best. Bravo.  Good luck. Thanks for sharing.

Both Nancy Miller and Harry Frankfurt approach the truth from similar points of view.  In her article “The Entangled Self,” Miller questions the motives of certain purveyors of memoirs. One is Amos Oz. He indicates that the reader shouldn’t be asking whether or not the details of the memoir are factual, but should be asking whether the lessons learned within the memoir might apply to the reader. Miller suggests that Oz’s response is so inappropriate as to call into question whether his book is fiction rather than a memoir. Here, and throughout the essay, Miller calls for close attention to fact in order to maintain the validity of memoir as a genre. In On Truth, Frankfurt attempts to explain why truth is important and valuable. He insists that only with an adherence to facts and firmly rooted standards can the society depend on truth as utilitarian and reliable, and therefore valuable. Both Miller and Frankfurt value truth based on hard facts and not on points of view or derivations of relative socio-moral positions.

Dear Peter,

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I last wrote. The way we left things between us, I know that I don’t have any right to ask ya anything. But I had to get a hold of ya considering my latest problem. Pete I’m in trouble. Big trouble. I need your help big time. It’s my English class Pete. It’s driving me up a wall. You know the one, 319 Art of Persuasion. Rhetoric, and a lot of it. I got nervous right off the bat. We covered your stuff and put it up against Dave’s work. You know the Individual Voice vs. Academic Influence debate. I sure know where you’d come down… Thankfully we didn’t stick on it long. I was so relieved when we moved off to that Bizzell chick that I wrote a paper on her. I’m learning to embrace my role as the voice of dissent for my Academic discourse community (a B is a B Pete I’ll take it and run).  Later we covered this Crowley guy, his stuff went hand and hand with Aristotle. Hey I never asked ya, does that whole Ethos, Pathos and Logos thing make you nervous. I wouldn’t think so but it sounds kinda structured for your taste.  Anyway I thought I was in the clear when we moved on to that philosopher, Frankfurt. You know me; I can smell bullshit from a mile away and he’s full of it. I had somethin to say about him. But then our esteemed Dr A pulled a fast one on me Pete. She took Frankfurt and made a big deal out of his style so now we got this assignment that’s gonna kill me. Is voice style or is it voice content and no hedgin. So now ya see why I’m writin you. Your the voice king Pete.  We never agreed a hundred percent but I need your help now buddy.  Let me tell ya what I’m thinking and when you get a chance shot me a line and tell me what ya think. I’ll start with Voice as Style.

Well I certainly see where ya can put a lot of expression into style. Word choice, grammar, syntax; ya can say the same thing two different ways and get a real big difference. Expression is a big key to revealing yourself and your intent.  I get a fellin this is exactly the kinda thing ya were thinkin about when ya wrote your “without teachers” bit. When I write, the style does seem like a place I have a lot of choices. Choices mean or at least feel like control or power. And I think that’s a great argument for Style as Voice. But I got a big problem with it. Style is so easy to change. I can do it and if I can do it who can’t.  Did Billy Shakespeare write “Henery the VI” and “Midsummer-night’s Dream” in the same style? No. But when we read em we know their both Shakespeare.  Ok Shakespeare is famous and old maybe dat’s part of his style so it’s not an excellent example. How about this one? R.L. Stien He’s mostly known for Kids Horror, “Goosebumps” and all. But he has one adult horror novel, “Superstitious” the characters curse, have sex and die gruesome deaths. It doesn’t sound anything like a haunted dummy story.  He had to adjust his style to get across the adult themes.  There’s no way Stein could get away with using the same style in “Superstitious” as he does in his kids books, it would wash with adults. So I guess my doubts on Style as Voice come down to this. If style is so easy to change, like the oil in your car, how can it be voice? If voice is who the author is they can’t change it that easy, right? So Voice must be content. Well let’s take a look. 

Voice might be content. I mean content is what the author is saying. You certainly see it in your work Pete. Though your style has changed from piece to piece ya got the same themes about personal voice through out. I noticed it in Bizzell too.  Some of her stuff is ok to read and a bunch of it is harder to digest then a concrete sandwich with leather bread. But regardless, she is still beatin that discourse community drum.  All Stein’s novels are in the Horror genre adult or not. Shakespeare’s, main characters all have a tragic flaw. So, Voice must be content right? Well, and here’s where it really gets sticky for me and why the assignment is drivin me nuts, it’s just as easy to change content as it is to change style.  Shakespeare’s poetry is far different in content then his History’s. The adult content in Stein’s one adult book is far different then in his kid’s books. The only reason, besides Dr A is makin me, that I’m leanin toward content, as voice is you Pete. Well guys like you and Bizzell, essayist. I know that you can take up the other side of the argument anytime ya want. You know it that well. But when you’re being true to yourself your content stays pretty much the same. So for now anyway Content is style, I think. 

Write me Pete let me know what ya gotta say.  Please hurry the due date for this thing is closing in fast. Gotta go I’m gonna write an imitation for this dang assignment, using my content but Frankfurt’s style.

Thanks

Matty

P.S. Don’t give me any of that “our content changes as we change” BS I don’t want to hear it and it’ll make my paper twice as long.

Thanks again,

Matty

Imitation

For these reasons no discourse community can afford to ignore or disinclude contrary points of view.  It is not enough, however, for a discourse community merely to acknowledge that point and counter point are, in the final analysis, essential and important parts of the community.  In addition, the discourse community must not fail to foster and support competent individuals who devote themselves to investigating and promoting contrary points of view into the community. Furthermore, what benefits and rewards it may sometimes be possible to further by ignoring, dismissing or illegitimating contrary points of views, discourse communities cannot afford to tolerate any one or thing that fosters careless disdain for the value of contrary points of view. Nor can they allow the poor self-serving attitude that encouraging contrary points of view is less important then refining the mainstream point of view. If there is any attitude that is inherently more detrimental to a decent discourse community, that is it.

A discourse community that is reckless and continually ignores the importance of contrary points of view is bound to become ineffective or, at least render itself inefficient. It will certainly be incapable to of producing any substantial new knowledge, or even pursuing the communities’ goals. Discourse communities have never thrived and will never thrive, without competent knowledgeable, dissenting points of view. They cannot flourish if they are overwhelmed with difficult individuals who refuse to consider the input of dissenters. To establish and sustain a healthy discourse community, we need to avoid being made stagnant either by ignorance or indifference.  We need to know-and, of course, we must understand how to make productive use of-many dissenting voices.

Reaction / Anaylsis

First let me say this, I am glad that I have taken three days to get this draft written.  It has given me some important perspective, and I think, reinforced an important lesson. Start early and the paper will be better or at least more thoughtful. I woiuld like to say that I am swearing of the ‘night before paper’ for the rest of my academic career but that is unrealistic.

So before I started I had a lot of creative ideas on what to do for this section of the paper. One of my first ideas was to write it in a third style as a letter to Frankfurt or Bartholomae. That would have been interesting. What I have decided is, that I am writing in a third style. I am addressing my classmates and, of course, Dr. Allen. My intent is to find the middle ground, between the very casual, very familiar style I used in the first section and the very technical more formal style in the imitation. I am sure I will be far less formal then I was in the first paper. I think that style comes pretty naturally to me.

When I sat down to write this paper I thought that voice was a combination of both style and content. What the exact mix was I was not sure but it was a mix. As I am writing this very sentence here is my thought, if it is still a mix then the percentage of content and style probably varies for each person. Anyway, this assignment forced me to pick a side. If you read my first section you can see I came down on the side of content and the reasons why. After I wrote that first section I looked back on it and I certainly heard my voice. I moved on to the imitation.  It was easy for me and looking back I might not have done the best I could at turning Frankfurt’s style to meet my intent.  My content was there. I really do believe that with a bit more work I could get it to the point that both my content and my usual technique were in there while still using Frankfurt’s style. When I finished the imitation I was ecstatic. I know I am probably not the best person to analyze it but I heard ‘me’ in both sections. I felt that I had done it. I had proved that content was voice. For me changing style seems like talking with an accent. I could make myself sound any way I wanted and still come across with the same idea, still sound like me.  I took a break watched some television, though about the paper on and off, and eventually went too bed; thinking the vast majority of voice is content.

By the time I sat down to write this section I had some new incites. This whole exercise got me really thinking about what my voice is. I tried to analyze myself a bit looked at the first paper we wrote and a couple of other pieces and saw some patterns. I use logical arguments. I always try to see things from both or all sides. When I try to find some conclusion I usually point out the flaws with each side and come up with a compromise that will eliminate or at least minimize the flaws of the opposing sides of the issue. That pattern I have established for myself controls my content. I use it consistently in anything longer then a page or so. I have a better example.  When I write poetry. I use concrete imagery. I try to establish meter. I do not regularly rhyme. I may use enjambment and or alliteration. This pattern for me is an important part of my poetic voice. I want to be clear and have my poetry easily accessible for everyone.  It is similar to what I do in an essay. I take up both sides of the argument, review strengths and weaknesses and come up with a compromise. This is because; I want my essays to be fair, precise and convincing. It controls the content but is not the actual content nor is it style as we have disused style in class. So if this pattern or technique is my voice, then for me at least, voice is both or neither style or content.

At this point in my academic/writing career I do not have any ‘drums to beat’ like Elbow or Bizzell.  I don’t have any established audience like Shakespeare or R.L. Stein if I did may be I could with more confidence say that voice is content or style. Those writers especially, the creative writers, with popular audiences have both a style they have established for themselves and typically content that has become popular with their audience. They cannot vary either their style or their content and stay as popular or as pertinent as much as they would like or many of us hope they could. But for me, my voice is the technique(s) that I use (At least I think it is at the moment). That technique controls both my content and my style to some extent. However every author is different and will have a combination of style and content as their voice that is their own and creates an identifiable voice.

S Allen

English 319 9:00

November 21, 2008

Dear Martin

                                                                                                             900 11th St.

                                                                                                            Greely CO 80639

                                                                                                            11/21/09

Address unknown

Dear Martin,

            I am disappointed in my own inability to find you. I would like the chance to speak to you directly. I’m not sure that will ever happen.  There are a lot of things I’d like to ask you about. How are things working out for you? Where did you end up? Do you have a family? Maybe some deeper questions about what you think of the world now.  I’d like the chance to tell you about me too. I’d like to tell you that I’m married and have been for sixteen years, that I’m back in school full time.  I’d like to tell you about my careers in Special Education, Information Technology and Real Estate and to catch you up on my family. Mostly I’d like to tell you that our friendship was and is very important in my life.

Our friendship has taught me a few lessons that I still try to apply in my life. I realize now that we can learn something from everyone and we have to do our best to internalize those lessons while we can. Sometimes we only get a chance to learn those lessons once and unlike my Special Education classrooms. We don’t get the chance to prepare ourselves or go over a task again and again until we have learned what we needed. Had I known then how important our friendship was going to be, I might have done things differently, prepared or paid more attention. In retrospect I realize that our friendship was as much of a learning experience as any classroom I’ve been in.

Alright class. Happy Monday! Ok eyes up here please. This morning we’re going to practice buttoning, tying laces and counting money. That’s buttons, laces and money. Jane you have Physical Therapy today. So lots of fun, let’s get ready.

            I would not characterize the Northwood section of Baltimore where we grew up, as the “mean streets of the city;” at least, not in the time when we lived there. Nor was it a pristine playground for a couple of preteens.  As an adult, I now know that the early eighties were a tense political and racial time in Baltimore. It had been nearly fifteen years since the race riots of the late sixties, but some racial tension still affected the adults in our lives. The loss of factory jobs, the flight of whites to the suburbs (which my family later participated in), the oil and gas crises and the election of a president who few believed was going to cater to the needs of cities, all point to a time that was tense for our parents. One of the things I’d like to ask you about is, what was your impression of those times? What was your perspective as a black child growing up in that place and time?  For me, I never felt much of that tension.  I guess my parents protected me from it as much as they could.  I am sure the insulation from that tension was, in part, because of my age, but also because I am white. As a group, we were turning our backs on the problems of the city and moving on. Looking back, it seems that many whites were simply trying to hide from the issues and felt that by leaving the city and blacks behind, they would leave their problems behind. While that may have worked for some, it did not work for all. Many of the same problems of poor schools, drugs and crime followed those families that left the city. Within a few short years those problems began to surface in their new neighborhoods.  

Ok class, good job putting your things away and getting ready. We’re working on buttons first. Velcro is not the solution to everything. We all have to be able to use buttons. Jimmy, come on up to the button board and show us how it’s done.  That’s right, good Jimmy. Everyone, push the button through with one hand and pull it with the other.  Great job Jimmy! Who is next? Everybody is going to get a turn. Everyone needs buttons.

I was not ignorant of the problems at the time, but just never felt like I was affected by them.  I consider myself lucky. My parents raised me without as much as a single comment about race that I can remember. The first time I saw a young black boy (age four or so) I referred to him as “chocolate.” My parents, who attended interracial public high schools during the turbulent sixties, never made any distinctions of race at all. The only exception was when my mother would admonish another adult when their biases became all too evident. It was not until I started moving into those larger social rings of extended family and school, that I knew there were any cultural differences or tensions between blacks and whites.

I believe I was fortunate that I met you not long afterwards. Although I was friendly with most of the kids in our lower middle class parochial school, both black and white, I would have called only one or two of them friends, and they were not black. So it was through you that I learned what blacks, “were like” instead of from the hearsay of family or white friends.

Alright, good job everyone. Now let’s try tying laces. I’m going to show you how first. Cross the laces and tuck one under. Pull them tight. Make a bow. Wrap the other one around. Push it through and pull it tight. Now it’s your turn. Billy, come on up and give it a try. Remember, cross the laces and tuck one under. Pull them tight. Make a bow. Wrap the other one around. Push it through and pull it tight.

Parts of my extended family certainly were pushing intolerance during that time. Some of that has changed, but not all. The first time I heard the word ‘nigger’ it came from my grandfather’s mouth.  We were visiting him and my grandmother, my mother’s parents. I don’t truly remember the context. I am sure, as was usual for him, there was little or no hatred in the word. He was just talking about the new neighbors or someone who had walked down the street.  My grandparents didn’t live too far from Morgan State College, a historically black college. I am certain my mother scolded him at the time. But looking back, the casualness with which that label and all its implied bigotry was applied, is chilling.

My grandfather was certainly not the only one in the family who freely used racial slurs. I had an uncle, second cousin really, who lived with us for a few years. I was sure he was the inspiration for the character of Archie Bunker, a bigoted loud mouth from the television series “All in the Family.” Had it not been for our friendship, Martin, and the school my parents chose to send me to, I am sure I would have learned that assumed, almost natural bigotry that seemed to come so easy to some of the white adults that I knew. 

Bobby, please keep your hands to yourself.  You wouldn’t want Billy grabbing your shirt would you? No. The same goes for interrupting, Billy. It was Bobby’s turn to talk.  We need to listen while it’s his turn right? Because you want people to listen while you’re talking, right? Ok Bobby, what did you want to say.

I can recall some of the times you and I spent together. We tried to teach each other how to throw a curve ball across several neighbors’ front lawns, played Monopoly and Risk and went swimming in my cousins’ pool. I also remember some more formative moments for me.  I can recall conversations with you that I would find very awkward today. We explored cultural differences. It seems food was a frequent topic of conversation. Even so, I don’t think I tried collard greens and black eyed peas until I was an adult. We frequently talked about girls. I can clearly remember coming to the conclusion that if I were going to date a black girl or you were to date a white girl, she’d have to be hot, “supermodel” hot, and somehow her not having a dad would have helped. The more we hung out and the more I learned about you, the more I found myself thinking how alike we were. I also learned that only some of the differences between us could be pinned on race. This realization and the influence that it had on who I was and who I am could not be underestimated.

Later, what I learned helped me to avoid stereotyping people. Once, in an unfamiliar neighborhood a black teenager tried to steal my bicycle. I was riding it at the time. He knocked me off my bike and punched me in the nose. My head hit the asphalt. I was much more upset then hurt. After the incident, I didn’t blame all blacks or make the perpetrator a nameless faceless “black guy,” a generic equivalent for all individuals like himself. I saw it as the malicious act of an individual and not much more. Because it was an individual who attacked me and not the “group”, I avoided falling into the general resentment of a group that so easily leads people down the path to bigotry.  Now as an adult I think I have been able to generalize the lessons of our friendship a bit more. I do my best to see the value of each individual. While I realize there are differences between all individuals, I know that we are also, in many many ways, very similar.

Alright, who can tell me how many pennies in a dollar? That’s right Sue, one hundred. Alright, how many nickels in a dollar? Good Jimmy! Twenty, right. How many dimes? Ten, that’s right. How many quarters? Four, Great!  Ok, one hundred pennies, twenty nickels, ten dimes and four quarters. They’re all what, class?  A DOLLAR! Very good!

Toward what would be the end of our relationship, my family moved.  I remember you visiting. You rode your bike the eight to ten miles over hilly terrain, across what I would have considered seven or eight different neighborhoods. It was far further than I would have considered going as a young teenager.  My mother now tells the story of how a few days after your visit, a neighbor asked about the black boy that had been at our house.  There must have been something unkind in the question. My mother quite seriously told her that you were her son from a previous marriage. I thought that was the funniest thing I had heard in a long time. To get my mother to lie like that, it was incongruent with who she was and is. It was the first time I can remember thinking, that if I wanted to keep you as a friend I might have to make a few adjustments.  Sadly, I was not able to. The distance between us and the lure of new friends (girls too) made that one of the last times I saw you. I think we had two more brief meetings between us and a few phone calls. But you seemed to slip away. I have learned the lesson that it was me who let go. I felt and still feel responsible for our lack of contact. However the lessons that our friendship has taught me have, for the most part, stayed with me. I count myself lucky to have called you friend.

Ok Jane. It’s time for Physical Therapy.  I’ll grab your walker. Can you push yourself over to the door and wait for me? Thank you... Alright Janey, don’t forget, lean on that walker and use your arms. You want to get past Ms Ross’ door, remember? It’s going to be hard work, but you can make it!

I don’t really want to write an ending here Martin. I’m still learning things that our relationship taught me. It’s not always something new I’m learning. Sometimes I forget something our relationship taught me and I have to go back and relearn it. I also don’t want to write an ending because I hope one day, I’ll find you again.  So we can sit down and have this conversation in person. I’m sure there are more than a few new things we can teach each other.

Ok class, get your things together. It’s almost time to go.  Great day everyone! Tomorrow is Tuesday so we have music class!  We’re still practicing tying laces, buttoning and counting money, so lots of fun! Jimmy, it’s your turn for PT tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Your Friend,

Matt Larrimore

Note to the reader: I have on several occasions attempted to contact “Martin.” Over the years, there have been occasions that I really wanted to include him in on. I’ve spent more than one Saturday afternoon calling all the appropriate listings in the all four Baltimore area phone books. I have spoken with relatives who also had contact with him. I have conducted searches in other various ways.  All my efforts have come up empty. My parents still live at the same address and have the same phone number that they did after we moved out of the city. He should still have that information. My hope at this point is that he will attempt to contact me. 

S Allen

English 319 9:00

November 21, 2008

Dear Martin

Dear Martin,

            I am disappointed in my own inability to find you. I would like the chance to speak to you directly. I’m not sure that will ever happen.  There are a lot of things I’d like to ask you about. How are things working out for you? Where did you end up? Do you have a family? Maybe some deeper questions about what you think of the world now.  I’d like the chance to tell you about me too. I’d like to tell you that I’m married and have been for sixteen years, that I’m back in school full time.  I’d like to tell you about my careers in Special Education, Information Technology and Real Estate and to catch you up on my family. Mostly I’d like to tell you that our friendship was and is very important in my life.

Our friendship has taught me a few lessons that I still try to apply in my life. I realize now that we can learn something from everyone and we have to do our best to internalize those lessons while we can. Sometimes we only get a chance to learn those lessons once and unlike my Special Education classrooms. We don’t get the chance to prepare ourselves or go over a task again and again until we have learned what we needed. Had I known then how important our friendship was going to be, I might have done things differently, prepared or paid more attention. During the years we were friends I was a student in the classroom of life and our friendship was a type of teacher I learned from, even if I didn’t clearly see it at the time.

Alright class. Happy Monday! Ok eyes up here please. This morning we’re going to practice buttoning, tying laces and counting money. That’s buttons, laces and money. Jane you have Physical Therapy today. So lots of fun, let’s get ready.

            I would not characterize the Northwood section of Baltimore where we grew up, as the “mean streets of the city;” at least, not in the time when we lived there. Nor was it a pristine playground for a couple of preteens.  As an adult, I now know that the early eighties were a tense political and racial time in Baltimore. It had been nearly fifteen years since the race riots of the late sixties, but some racial tension still affected the adults in our lives. The loss of factory jobs, the flight of whites to the suburbs (which my family later participated in), the oil and gas crises and the election of a president who no one believed was going to see to the needs of cities, all point to a time that was tense for our parents. One of the things I’d like to ask you about is, what was your impression of those times? What was your perspective as a black child growing up in that place and time?  For me, I never felt much of that tension.  I guess my parents protected me from it as much as they could.  I am sure the insulation from that tension was, in part, because of my age, but also because I am white. As a group, we were turning our backs on the problems of the city and moving on. Looking back, it seems that many whites were simply trying to hide from the issues and felt that by leaving the city and blacks behind, they would leave their problems behind. While that may have worked for some, it did not work for all. Many of the same problems of poor schools, drugs and crime followed those families that left the city. Within a few short years those problems began to surface in their new neighborhoods.  

Ok class, good job putting your things away and getting ready. We’re working on buttons first. Velcro is not the solution to everything. We all have to be able to use buttons. Jimmy, come on up to the button board and show us how it’s done.  That’s right, good Jimmy. Everyone, push the button through with one hand and pull it with the other.  Great job Jimmy! Who is next? Everybody is going to get a turn. Everyone needs buttons.

I was not ignorant of the problems at the time, but just never felt like I was affected by them.  I consider myself lucky. My parents raised me without as much as a single comment about race that I can remember. The first time I saw a young black boy (age four or so) I referred to him as “chocolate.” My parents, who attended interracial public high schools during the turbulent sixties, never made any distinctions of race at all. The only exception was when my mother would admonish another adult when their biases became all too evident. It was not until I started moving into those larger social rings of extended family and school, that I knew there were any cultural differences or tensions between blacks and whites.

I believe I was fortunate that I met you not long afterwards. Although I was friendly with most of the kids in our lower middle class parochial school, both black and white, I would have called only one or two of them friends, and they were not black. So it was through you that I learned what blacks, “were like” instead of from the hearsay of family or white friends.

Alright, good job everyone. Now let’s try tying laces. I’m going to show you how first. Cross the laces and tuck one under. Pull them tight. Make a bow. Wrap the other one around. Push it through and pull it tight. Now it’s your turn. Billy, come on up and give it a try. Remember, cross the laces and tuck one under. Pull them tight. Make a bow. Wrap the other one around. Push it through and pull it tight.

Parts of my extended family certainly were pushing intolerance during that time. Some of that has changed, but not all. The first time I heard the word ‘nigger’ it came from my grandfather’s mouth.  We were visiting him and my grandmother, my mother’s parents. I don’t truly remember the context. I am sure, as was usual for him, there was little or no hatred in the word. He was just talking about the new neighbors or someone who had walked down the street.  My grandparents didn’t live too far from Morgan State College, a historically black college. I am certain my mother scolded him at the time. But looking back, the casualness with which that label and all its implied bigotry was applied, is chilling.

My grandfather was certainly not the only one in the family who freely used racial slurs. I had an uncle, second cousin really, who lived with us for a few years. I was sure he was the inspiration for the character of Archie Bunker, a bigoted loud mouth from the television series “All in the Family.” Had it not been for our friendship, Martin, and the school my parents chose to send me to, I am sure I would have learned that assumed, almost natural bigotry that seemed to come so easy to some of the white adults that I knew. 

Bobby, please keep your hands to yourself.  You wouldn’t want Billy grabbing your shirt would you? No. The same goes for interrupting, Billy. It was Bobby’s turn to talk.  We need to listen while it’s his turn right? Because you want people to listen while you’re talking, right? We all need to treat others the way we want to be treated.

I can recall some of the times you and I spent together. We tried to teach each other how to throw a curve ball across several neighbors’ front lawns, played Monopoly and Risk and went swimming in my cousins’ pool. I also remember some more formative moments for me.  I can recall conversations with you that I would find very awkward today. We explored cultural differences. It seems food was a frequent topic of conversation. Even so, I don’t think I tried collard greens and black eyed peas until I was an adult. We frequently talked about girls. I can clearly remember coming to the conclusion that if I were going to date a black girl or you were to date a white girl, she’d have to be hot, “supermodel” hot, and somehow not having a dad would have helped. The more we hung out and the more I learned about you, the more I found myself thinking how alike we were. I also learned that only some of the differences between us could be pinned on race. This realization and the influence that it had on who I was and who I am could not be underestimated.

Later, what I learned helped me to avoid stereotyping people. Once, in an unfamiliar neighborhood a black teenager tried to steal my bicycle. I was riding it at the time. He knocked me off my bike and punched me in the nose. My head hit the asphalt. I was much more upset then hurt. After the incident, I didn’t blame all blacks or make the perpetrator a nameless faceless “black guy,” a generic equivalent for all individuals like himself. I saw it as the malicious act of an individual and not much more. Because it was an individual who attacked me and not the “group”, I avoided falling into the general resentment of a group that so easily leads people down the path to bigotry.  Now as an adult I think I have been able to generalize the lessons of our friendship a bit more. I do my best to see the value of each individual. While I realize there are differences between all individuals, I know that we are also, in many many ways, very similar.

Alright, who can tell me how many pennies in a dollar? That’s right Sue, one hundred. Alright, how many nickels in a dollar? Good Jimmy! Twenty, right. How many dimes? Ten, that’s right. How many quarters? Four, Great!  Ok, one hundred pennies, twenty nickels, ten dimes and four quarters. They’re all what, class?  A DOLLAR! Very good!

Toward what would be the end of our relationship, my family moved.  I remember you visiting. You rode your bike the eight to ten miles over hilly terrain, across what I would have considered seven or eight different neighborhoods. It was far further than I would have considered going as a young teenager.  My mother now tells the story of how a few days after your visit, a neighbor asked about the black boy that had been at our house.  There must have been something unkind in the question. My mother quite seriously told her that you were her son from a previous marriage. I thought that was the funniest thing I had heard in a long time. To get my mother to lie like that, it was incongruent with who she was and is. It was the first time I can remember thinking, that if I wanted to keep you as a friend I might have to make a few adjustments.  Sadly, I was not able to. The distance between us and the lure of new friends (girls too) made that one of the last times I saw you. I think we had two more brief meetings between us and a few phone calls. But you seemed to slip away. I have learned the lesson that it was me who let go. I felt and still feel responsible for our lack of contact. However the lessons that our friendship has taught me have, for the most part, stayed with me. I count myself lucky to have called you friend.

Ok Jane. It’s time for Physical Therapy.  I’ll grab your walker. Can you push yourself over to the door and wait for me? Thank you... Alright Janey, don’t forget, lean on that walker and use your arms. You want to get past Ms Ross’ door, remember? It’s going to be hard work, but you can make it!

I don’t really want to write an ending here Martin. I’m still learning things that our relationship taught me. It’s not always something new I’m learning. Sometimes I forget something our relationship taught me and I have to go back and relearn it. I also don’t want to write an ending because I hope one day, I’ll find you again.  So we can sit down and have this conversation in person. I’m sure there are more than a few new things we can teach each other.

Ok class, get your things together. It’s almost time to go.  Great day everyone! Tomorrow is Tuesday so we have music class!  We’re still practicing tying laces, buttoning and counting money, so lots of fun! Jimmy, it’s your turn for PT tomorrow.

Note to the reader: I have on several occasions attempted to contact “Martin.” Over the years, have been occasions that I really wanted to include him on. I’ve spent more than one Saturday afternoon calling all the appropriate listings in the all four Baltimore area phone books. I have spoken with relatives who also had contact with him. I have conducted searches in other various ways.  All my efforts have come up empty. My parents still live at the same address and have the same phone number that they did after we moved out of the city. He should still have that information. My hope at this point is that he will attempt to contact me. 

Dear Martin

Dear Martin,

            I am disappointed in my own inability to find you. I would like the chance to speak to you directly. I’m not sure that will ever happen.  There are a lot of things I’d like to ask you about. How are things working out for you? Where did you end up? Do you have a family? Maybe some deeper questions about what you think of the world now.  I’d like the chance to tell you about me too. I’d like to tell you that I’m married and have been for sixteen years, that I’m back in school full time.  I’d like to tell you about my careers in Special Education, Information Technology and Real Estate and to catch you up on my family. Mostly I’d like to tell you that our friendship was and is very important in my life.

Our friendship has taught me a few lessons that I still try to apply in my life. I realize now that we can learn something from everyone and we have to do our best to internalize those lessons while we can. Sometimes we only get a chance to learn those lessons once and unlike my Special Education classrooms. We don’t get the chance to prepare ourselves or go over a task again and again until we have learned what we needed. Had I known then how important our friendship was going to be, I might have done things differently, prepared or paid more attention. During the years we were friends I was a student in the classroom of life and our friendship was a type of teacher I learned from, even if I didn’t clearly see it at the time.

Alright class. Happy Monday! Ok eyes up here please. This morning we’re going to practice buttoning, tying laces and counting money. That’s buttons, laces and money. Jane you have Physical Therapy today. So lots of fun, let’s get ready.

            I would not characterize the Northwood section of Baltimore where we grew up, as the “mean streets of the city;” at least, not in the time when we lived there. Nor was it a pristine playground for a couple of preteens.  As an adult, I now know that the early eighties were a tense political and racial time in Baltimore. It had been nearly fifteen years since the race riots of the late sixties, but some racial tension still affected the adults in our lives. The loss of factory jobs, the flight of whites to the suburbs (which my family later participated in), the oil and gas crises and the election of a president who no one believed was going to see to the needs of cities, all point to a time that was tense for our parents. One of the things I’d like to ask you about is, what was your impression of those times? What was your perspective as a black child growing up in that place and time?  For me, I never felt much of that tension.  I guess my parents protected me from it as much as they could.  I am sure the insulation from that tension was, in part, because of my age, but also because I am white. As a group, we were turning our backs on the problems of the city and moving on. Looking back, it seems that many whites were simply trying to hide from the issues and felt that by leaving the city and blacks behind, they would leave their problems behind. While that may have worked for some, it did not work for all. Many of the same problems of poor schools, drugs and crime followed those families that left the city. Within a few short years those problems began to surface in their new neighborhoods.  

Ok class, good job putting your things away and getting ready. We’re working on buttons first. Velcro is not the solution to everything. We all have to be able to use buttons. Jimmy, come on up to the button board and show us how it’s done.  That’s right, good Jimmy. Everyone, push the button through with one hand and pull it with the other.  Great job Jimmy! Who is next? Everybody is going to get a turn. Everyone needs buttons.

I was not ignorant of the problems at the time, but just never felt like I was affected by them.  I consider myself lucky. My parents raised me without as much as a single comment about race that I can remember. The first time I saw a young black boy (age four or so) I referred to him as “chocolate.” My parents, who attended interracial public high schools during the turbulent sixties, never made any distinctions of race at all. The only exception was when my mother would admonish another adult when their biases became all too evident. It was not until I started moving into those larger social rings of extended family and school, that I knew there were any cultural differences or tensions between blacks and whites.

I believe I was fortunate that I met you not long afterwards. Although I was friendly with most of the kids in our lower middle class parochial school, both black and white, I would have called only one or two of them friends, and they were not black. So it was through you that I learned what blacks, “were like” instead of from the hearsay of family or white friends.

Alright, good job everyone. Now let’s try tying laces. I’m going to show you how first. Cross the laces and tuck one under. Pull them tight. Make a bow. Wrap the other one around. Push it through and pull it tight. Now it’s your turn. Billy, come on up and give it a try. Remember, cross the laces and tuck one under. Pull them tight. Make a bow. Wrap the other one around. Push it through and pull it tight.

Parts of my extended family certainly were pushing intolerance during that time. Some of that has changed, but not all. The first time I heard the word ‘nigger’ it came from my grandfather’s mouth.  We were visiting him and my grandmother, my mother’s parents. I don’t truly remember the context. I am sure, as was usual for him, there was little or no hatred in the word. He was just talking about the new neighbors or someone who had walked down the street.  My grandparents didn’t live too far from Morgan State College, a historically black college. I am certain my mother scolded him at the time. But looking back, the casualness with which that label and all its implied bigotry was applied, is chilling.

My grandfather was certainly not the only one in the family who freely used racial slurs. I had an uncle, second cousin really, who lived with us for a few years. I was sure he was the inspiration for the character of Archie Bunker, a bigoted loud mouth from the television series “All in the Family.” Had it not been for our friendship, Martin, and the school my parents chose to send me to, I am sure I would have learned that assumed, almost natural bigotry that seemed to come so easy to some of the white adults that I knew. 

Bobby, please keep your hands to yourself.  You wouldn’t want Billy grabbing your shirt would you? No. The same goes for interrupting, Billy. It was Bobby’s turn to talk.  We need to listen while it’s his turn right? Because you want people to listen while you’re talking, right? We all need to treat others the way we want to be treated.

I can recall some of the times you and I spent together. We tried to teach each other how to throw a curve ball across several neighbors’ front lawns, played Monopoly and Risk and went swimming in my cousins’ pool. I also remember some more formative moments for me.  I can recall conversations with you that I would find very awkward today. We explored cultural differences. It seems food was a frequent topic of conversation. Even so, I don’t think I tried collard greens and black eyed peas until I was an adult. We frequently talked about girls. I can clearly remember coming to the conclusion that if I were going to date a black girl or you were to date a white girl, she’d have to be hot, “supermodel” hot, and somehow not having a dad would have helped. The more we hung out and the more I learned about you, the more I found myself thinking how alike we were. I also learned that only some of the differences between us could be pinned on race. This realization and the influence that it had on who I was and who I am could not be underestimated.

Later, what I learned helped me to avoid stereotyping people. Once, in an unfamiliar neighborhood a black teenager tried to steal my bicycle. I was riding it at the time. He knocked me off my bike and punched me in the nose. My head hit the asphalt. I was much more upset then hurt. After the incident, I didn’t blame all blacks or make the perpetrator a nameless faceless “black guy,” a generic equivalent for all individuals like himself. I saw it as the malicious act of an individual and not much more. Because it was an individual who attacked me and not the “group”, I avoided falling into the general resentment of a group that so easily leads people down the path to bigotry.  Now as an adult I think I have been able to generalize the lessons of our friendship a bit more. I do my best to see the value of each individual. While I realize there are differences between all individuals, I know that we are also, in many many ways, very similar.

Alright, who can tell me how many pennies in a dollar? That’s right Sue, one hundred. Alright, how many nickels in a dollar? Good Jimmy! Twenty, right. How many dimes? Ten, that’s right. How many quarters? Four, Great!  Ok, one hundred pennies, twenty nickels, ten dimes and four quarters. They’re all what, class?  A DOLLAR! Very good!

Toward what would be the end of our relationship, my family moved.  I remember you visiting. You rode your bike the eight to ten miles over hilly terrain, across what I would have considered seven or eight different neighborhoods. It was far further than I would have considered going as a young teenager.  My mother now tells the story of how a few days after your visit, a neighbor asked about the black boy that had been at our house.  There must have been something unkind in the question. My mother quite seriously told her that you were her son from a previous marriage. I thought that was the funniest thing I had heard in a long time. To get my mother to lie like that, it was incongruent with who she was and is. It was the first time I can remember thinking, that if I wanted to keep you as a friend I might have to make a few adjustments.  Sadly, I was not able to. The distance between us and the lure of new friends (girls too) made that one of the last times I saw you. I think we had two more brief meetings between us and a few phone calls. But you seemed to slip away. I have learned the lesson that it was me who let go. I felt and still feel responsible for our lack of contact. However the lessons that our friendship has taught me have, for the most part, stayed with me. I count myself lucky to have called you friend.

Ok Jane. It’s time for Physical Therapy.  I’ll grab your walker. Can you push yourself over to the door and wait for me? Thank you... Alright Janey, don’t forget, lean on that walker and use your arms. You want to get past Ms Ross’ door, remember? It’s going to be hard work, but you can make it!

I don’t really want to write an ending here Martin. I’m still learning things that our relationship taught me. It’s not always something new I’m learning. Sometimes I forget something our relationship taught me and I have to go back and relearn it. I also don’t want to write an ending because I hope one day, I’ll find you again.  So we can sit down and have this conversation in person. I’m sure there are more than a few new things we can teach each other.

Ok class, get your things together. It’s almost time to go.  Great day everyone! Tomorrow is Tuesday so we have music class!  We’re still practicing tying laces, buttoning and counting money, so lots of fun! Jimmy, it’s your turn for PT tomorrow.

Note to the reader: I have on several occasions attempted to contact “Martin.” Over the years, have been occasions that I really wanted to include him on. I’ve spent more than one Saturday afternoon calling all the appropriate listings in the all four Baltimore area phone books. I have spoken with relatives who also had contact with him. I have conducted searches in other various ways.  All my efforts have come up empty. My parents still live at the same address and have the same phone number that they did after we moved out of the city. He should still have that information. My hope at this point is that he will attempt to contact me. 

Dr Sarah Allen

English 319 10:00am

October 23, 2008

Voice – Content, Style or Something Else

A Letter to Peter Elbow

Hey Pete,

I’m sorry it’s been so long since I last wrote. The way we left things between us, I know ‘dat I don’t have any right to ask ya’ anything. But I had to get a hold of ya’. Pete I’m in trouble, big trouble. I need yer’ help, big time. It’s about my English class, Pete. It’s driving me up a wall. You know the one, 319 Art of Persuasion. Rhetoric and a lot of it. When da’ class started, I got nervous right off da’ bat. We covered yer’ stuff and put it up against Dave’s work. You know, the Individual Voice vs. Academic Influence debate. I sure know where you’d come down! Thankfully, we didn’t stay on it long. I was so relieved when we moved off to ‘dat Bizzell chick, ‘dat I wrote a paper on her. I’m learning to embrace my role as the voice of dissent for my academic discourse community (a B is a B Pete; I’ll take it and run). Later, we covered ‘dis Crowley guy; his stuff went hand and hand with Aristotle. I thought I was in the clear when we moved on to ‘dat philosopher, Frankfurt. You know me; I can smell bullshit from a mile away and he’s full of it. I had somethin' to say ‘bout him. But ‘den our esteemed Dr. A pulled a fast one on me, Pete. She took Frankfurt and made a big deal out of his style so now we got ‘dis assignment ‘dat’s gonna’ kill me. The question is; Is voice style or is voice content and no hedgin’? So now ya’ see why I’m writin’ ya’. You’re the king of voice, Pete. We never agreed a hundred percent but I need yer’ help now, buddy. Let me tell ya’ what I’m thinking and when ya’ get a chance, shoot me a line and tell me what ya’ think. I’ll start with voice as style.

I can see why style might be voice. Word choice, grammar, syntax; ya’ can say the same thing two different ways and get a real different result. You can put a lot of expression into style. Expression is a big key to revealing yer’self and yer’ intent. I get a feelin’ ‘dis is exactly the kinda’ thing ya’ were thinkin’ about when ya’ wrote yer’ “without teachers” bit. When I write, the style does seem like a place where I gotta’ a lot of choices. Choices mean, or at least feel like, control or power. Those choices are where we exercise our freewill and express our individuality. I think ‘dat’s a great argument for style as voice.

But I got a big problem wid’ it. Style is so easy to change. I can do it and if I can do it, who can’t. Look at it ‘dis way. Did Billy Shakespeare write “Henry the VI” and “Midsummer-night’s Dream” in the same style? No. But when we read ‘em we know they’re both Shakespeare. Ok, Shakespeare is famous and old. Maybe dat’s part of his style, so it’s not an excellent example. How ‘bout ‘dis one? R.L. Stein, he’s mostly known for kids horror, “Goosebumps” and all. But he has one adult horror novel, “Superstitious.” The characters curse, have sex and die gruesome deaths. It don’t sound anything like a haunted dummy story. He had to adjust his style to get across the adult themes. There’s no way Stein could get away wit’ using the same style in “Superstitious” as he does in his kids books, it wouldn’t wash with adults. It’s a real problem Pete.

So I guess my doubts on style as voice come down to dis’. An author’s voice, whatever it may be, is who he is. We identify an author’s writin’ by his voice. It comes through no matter what. So, if the style of the author is his voice, as soon as the author changes his style on paper, we won’t know who the author is through just the writin’. But dat’ don’t happen. When ya’ read Shakespeare, regardless of what work, ya’ can’t mistake him for anybody else. If yer’ a Stein fan, same goes for him. I’m sure yer’ sayin’ to yer’self, maybe they choose to sound the same. Nope, even when they choose to sound different, like poetry vs. history or adult vs. kid, we still know it’s ‘dem. Whatever it is that makes us know ‘dat it’s Billy or its Stein, is what their voice is. So, if it ain’t style, voice must be content right? Well, let’s take a look.

Voice might be content. I mean content is what the author is saying. You certainly see it in yer’ work Pete. Though yer’ style has changed from piece to piece, ya’ got the same themes about personal voice throughout. I noticed it in Bizzell too. Some of her stuff is ok to read, but a bunch of it’s harder to digest then a concrete sandwich with leather bread. But regardless, she is still beatin’ ‘dat discourse community drum. All Stein’s novels are in the horror genre, adult or not. Shakespeare’s plays, even his comedies, always focus on main characters ‘dat have flaws.

So, voice must be content right? Well, and here’s where it really gets sticky for me and why the assignment is drivin' me nuts; it’s just as easy to change content as it’s to change style. Shakespeare’s all over the map with his stuff; poetry, comedy, tragedy an’ history. The adult content in Stein’s one adult book is far different then in his kid’s books. The only reason, besides Dr. A is makin’ me, ‘dat I’m leanin’ toward content as voice, is you. Pete. Well, guys like you and Bizzell, the essayist! I know ‘dat ya’ can take up the other side of the argument anytime ya’ want. You know it ‘dat well. But, when yer’ being true to yer’self, yer’ content stays pretty much the same. So for now anyway, content is style, I think.

Write me Pete. Let me know what ya’ gotta’ say. Please hurry; the due date for ‘dis thing is closin' in fast. I’m gonna’ include the imitation for ‘dis dang assignment using my content but in Frankfurt’s style.

Thanks,

P.S. Don’t give me any a dat’ “our content changes as we change” BS, I don’t wanna’ hear it and it’ll make my paper twice as long.

Thanks again,

Matty

Imitation

For these reasons, no discourse community can afford to ignore or refuse to include, contrary points of view. It is not enough, however, for a discourse community merely to acknowledge that point and counter point are, in the final analysis, essential and important parts of the community. In addition, the discourse community must not fail to foster and support competent individuals who devote themselves to investigating and promoting contrary points of view in the community. Whatever benefits and rewards it may sometimes be possible to reap by ignoring, dismissing or illegitimating contrary points of views, discourse communities cannot afford to pursue them, because to do so would be self defeating. Nor can they allow the lazy, self-serving attitude that encouraging contrary points of view are less important then refining the mainstream point of view. If there is any attitude that is inherently detrimental to a decent discourse community, that is it.

A discourse community that is reckless and continually ignores the importance of contrary points of view is bound to become ineffective, or at least render itself inefficient. It will certainly be incapable of producing any substantial new knowledge, or even pursuing the communities’ goals. Discourse communities have never thrived and will never thrive, without competent, knowledgeable and dissenting points of view. They cannot flourish if they are overwhelmed with difficult individuals who refuse to consider the input of dissenters. To establish and sustain a healthy discourse community, we need to avoid being made stagnant, either by ignorance or indifference. We need to know, and of course we must understand how to make productive use of many dissenting voices.

Reaction / Analysis

So, before I started, I had a lot of creative ideas on what to do for this final section of the paper. One of my first ideas was to write it in a third style as a letter to Frankfurt or Bartholomae. That would have been interesting. What I have decided is that I am writing in a third style. I am addressing my classmates and, of course, Dr. Allen. My intent in this analysis is to find the middle ground, between the very casual, very familiar style I used in the first section and the very technical, more formal style in the imitation. I am choosing and adjusting my style when I consider the audience who will be reading my work. I try to make this consideration and adjustment in all of my writing. I am sure I will be far less formal then I was in the first assignment for this class. The nature of the assignment, which I would argue is a type of audience in itself, has changed. The style I am currently using, comes pretty naturally to me.

When I sat down to write this paper, I thought that voice was a combination of both style and content. This assignment forced me to pick a side. If you read my first section, you can see that I came down on the side of content and the reasons why. After I wrote that first section, I looked back on it and I certainly heard my voice. I moved on to the imitation. It was easy for me and looking back, I might not have done the best I could at turning Frankfurt’s style to meet my intent. My content was there. I really do believe that with a bit more work, I could get it to the point that both my content and my usual technique were in the imitation, while still using Frankfurt’s style. When I finished the imitation, I was ecstatic. I know I am probably not the best person to analyze it, but I heard ‘me’ in both sections. I felt that I had done it. I had proved that content was voice. For me, changing style is or feels like talking with an accent. I could make myself sound any way I wanted and still come across with the same idea; still have my voice “sound” like me. I took a break, watched some television, thought about the paper on and off, and eventually went to bed; thinking the vast majority of voice is content.

By the time I started writing this section I had some new insights. This whole exercise really got me thinking about what my voice is. I tried to analyze myself a bit. I looked at the first paper we wrote along with a couple of other pieces, and saw some patterns. I use logical arguments. I always try to see things from both or all sides. When I try to find some conclusion, I usually point out the flaws of each side and come up with a compromise that will eliminate, or at least minimize, most of the flaws of any and all sides of the issue. That pattern I have established for myself controls my content. For now I will call it structure. I am using that structure even now in this analysis. I use it consistently in anything longer then a page or so.

I have another example. When I write poetry, I use concrete imagery. I try to establish meter. I do not typically rhyme. I may use enjambment and/or alliteration. The overall pattern or structure, for me, is an important part of my poetic voice. I want to be clear and make the meaning of my poetry easily accessible for everyone. It is similar to what I do in an essay. I take up both sides of the argument, review strengths and weaknesses and come up with a compromise. This is because I want my essays to be fair, precise and convincing. My structure controls the content but is not the actual content. Nor is it style, as most of us think of style. It’s not word choice or grammar or syntax. Hopefully, the first section of this paper helps to prove that. So, if this pattern or structure is my voice, then for me at least, voice is neither style nor content.

At this point in my academic/writing career, I do not have any ‘drums to beat’ like Elbow or Bizzell. I don’t have any established audience like Shakespeare or R.L. Stein. If I did, maybe I could say with more confidence that voice is content or style. Those writers,  or any writer with a vested interest in their audiences, have both a style and content they have established for themselves. In the case of commercial authors, that voice has become popular with their audience. They cannot vary their style or their content and be certain of staying as popular or as pertinent. My voice is the structure that I use (at least I think it is at the moment). That technique controls both my content and my style, to some extent. However, every author is different and will use a combination of style, content and maybe structure, as their personal voice creates an identifiable public voice.

Both Bell Hooks and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explore their voices in their memoirs. In her memoir Talking Back, Bell Hooks explores the reasons and motivations for her writing. She refers to her writing as “talking back.” For her, this equates to asserting her voice, even when or especially when, her voice is uninvited or unwanted. For Hooks, this assertion of voice is essential to who she is. It is absolutely necessary. It is the defining characteristic of being an outspoken intellectual minority woman. For Hooks, the recognition of her voice as valid is as important as any other message that her writing might convey. For Henry Louis Gates, Jr. his memoir Colored People is also an assertion of his voice. Gates seems to have dual intents. The first intent seems to be to explain to other blacks why he and others have and want a strong sense of community between members of his group. Secondly, and much more subtly, Gates seems to be showing the complexities of being black. He illustrates how confusing and frustrating it must be in general but especially when dealing with younger blacks like his children. Hooks and Gates both use their memoirs as effective vehicles to explore their voices and messages.

     Often represented as the Academy and its orthodox supporters, the Foundationalists’ main concern is that students be taught to reproduce standard academic discourse. Bizzell confirms this by putting it plainly, “We know this in composition studies because we are continually being urged, by administrators, colleagues, parents and students to teach academic discourse” (Bizzell 203). While teaching academic discourse addresses the needs of the academy, it does not necessarily address the needs of the students or of discourse communities. One of the largest problems with simply teaching discourse is that it does not adapt to students’ differing abilities to deal with the material. The effect of the straightforward teaching of discourse has been to make the

     Freshman English class a culling tool of the Academy, directing ‘acceptable’ students into the Academy while keeping ‘unacceptable’ students out. While historically that has seemed to be preferred policy of the Academy, an overwhelming influx of students unable to reproduce standard written English has made this approach problematic. In part, this change in students has lead to a re-examining of Composition Studies. Bizzell states that the academy was obliged to recognize that teachers, in order to more effectively teach Composition Studies for the new type of students, would have to better understand students’ writing processes, “ and the relationship between the academic discourse community and the student’s discourse communities” (Bizzell 108). The deficiencies in Foundationalism are readily apparent in Bizzell’s arguments. However, I would go further in rejecting Foundationalism.

     First, the primary reason for training students to be able to produce academic discourse is so that they may effectively participate in that discourse. I would assert that one of the essential skills in effective academic discourse is the ability to persuade the audience of said discourse. However the Foundationalists’ practice of training students often neglects the development of the student’s voice. I would further assert that personal voice is a key ingredient in effective persuasion. Therefore, when Foundationalists neglect to nurture a student’s voice, they handicap the student’s ability to persuade and therefore produce effective academic discourse. Secondly, limiting voice is a form of limiting expression and by extension, creativity. All healthy discourse communities need contrary points of view in order to remain healthy and effective communities. By denying students the opportunity to develop their voices, the Foundationalists may be stopping students from developing the creativity necessary to discover contrary points of view.   These two effects of Foundationalism and the lack of flexibility in the teaching method to adapt to the current nature of students in the modern university, make the Foundationalist approach to teaching discourse problematic. Neither the Academy nor Foundationalism is best served by the strict adherence to Foundationalist principals. This is not to say that Anti-Foundationalists have the correct answer.

     Anti-Foundationalists want to empower students to bring their own voices into academic discourse. Anti-Foundationalists generally believe that, as Bizzell states, “an absolute standard for the judgment of truth can never be found,” so they seek to protect the student from indoctrination into the Academy by questioning the educational authority of Foundationalism (Bizzell 202 -204). They do so by encouraging students to develop their voices and teaching the skills that allow students to analyze their discourse communities. Anti-Foundationalists believe that those skills will allow students to achieve a critical distance from those discourse communities and thus allow them to resist the wholesale acceptance of that community’s belief system.

      There are at least two difficulties with the Anti-Foundationalist approach. First, the Academy controls academic discourse. Any academic discourse that does not conform to the Academy’s standards is usually dismissed by the Academy. Any student’s discourse not conforming to the expectations of the Academy could simply be ignored for being too personal or not adhering to policy. That discourse would never be heard by the Academy. Even when students not initiated into the academic discourse community produce exceptional work, defects in their writing may keep them from communicating effectively. It is very likely that such a student would not be rewarded for their work and would eventually become discouraged and stop producing altogether. Conversely, students who come to the academy with the ability to produce standard written English will more easily conform to the Academy’s expectations. These students may gain favor more readily and thus alienate students who cannot easily produce standard written English. Secondly when the Anti-Foundationalists establish their agenda of teaching students voice and analyzation skills, there are still problems. Bizzell paraphrases Stanley Fish,

“Anti-Foundationalism slides back into Foundationalism. The tendency, in other words, is to hope that becoming aware of the personal, social, and historical circumstances that constitute our beliefs; we can achieve a critical distance on them and change our beliefs if we choose. In encouraging this hope, Anti-Foundationalism is setting up its method in place of the absolute standards of judgment it debunks.” (Bizzell 205) 

This is a point of contention but very significant.  Simply replacing the current set of standards with a new technique is not what the Anti-Foundationalists are struggling for.  If there is to be a new method of teaching discourse it must not cause problems similar to the ones that it was supposed to eliminate. The problems with Anti-Foundationalism make its unrestricted acceptance problematic.

      If neither Foundationalism nor Anti-Foundationalism is the answer, then what is? I believe that Bizzell nearly has the correct solution in her essay, “Foundationalism and Anti-Foundationalism.” Her solution is to teach standard discourse and then teach students to rhetorically analyze that discourse (Bizzell 218).  However, I would like to submit that these skills must be taught concurrently so as not to give one primacy over the other. If this is to be achieved, more time must be allotted for the teaching of discourse, analyzation skills and the development of voice. A simple suggestion comes to mind, although its implementation would be difficult.  The liberal arts core requirement for a Baccalaureate is six credit hours in composition. Perhaps the requirement could be increased to seven or eight hours, allowing those courses to function as if they had a laboratory feature. This would surely mean an overhaul of the standard requirements and would cause more then a minor stir in the academic community.  Additionally, Bizzell emphasizes the necessity of political activity for the faculty in order to maximize opportunities for students who are faced with the prospect of rejecting their own home discourse community or failing in the academic community (Bizzell 218).  I cannot disagree with her point, but I believe part of that faculty activism should be to ensure that as an institution, the Academy constantly reviews and adapts its standards. Those standards are the basis of academic discourse. To do less would be dangerous because non-current standards could serve as a restriction of students’ expression and therefore, their ability to participate in academic discourse.  These two changes should make a significant impact on the nature of Composition Studies and therefore academic discourse.  It is the blending of the Foundational need for the teaching of academic discourse with the Anti-Foundational requirement that all students learn the skills necessary to be independent members of any discourse community.

Works Cited

Bizzell, Patricia. Academic Discourse and Critical Consciousness. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1992.