Intitutional Resources at JCCC

 I teach students how to advocate for themselves and how to find and access resources.  I don't think this is divorced from the content of composition.  Writing, and all communication, is collaborative.  Furthermore, these meta-writing skills or resources have the most immediate impact on student success. 

As such I'm cataloging information on how to access Student writing resources here so to share with one link across multiple platforms.   A PDF created by Kaitlin Krumsick, interim director of the Academic Resource center, explains it well, and below is a video that walks you through it.




Research I did when I worked at the KU Writing Center from 2002 to 2007 showed that the average GPA for students who used the writing center was 3.2.  When you consider how many student who were encouraged by teachers to visit because of struggles, what became clear was that good students recognized a useful resource and made use of it.  There should be no stigma about using these resources.  I took work to the Writing Center as a student, and even after I got my professorship.

It's like audio-books.  For years audio-books were available ONLY to people with accommodation issues (vision impairment, dyslexia, etc).   This small market made production of audio-books way too expensive.  But once the wider public got access, the wider public started listening to books while driving, or doing household chores, or working out.  When the market discovered the great demand, production increased and the quality/selection of audio books got better.  

There are several kinds of stigma I have gotten over, and it's easy to forget the impact they once had.  I'm thinking of race, health issues and political beliefs that many in the communities I've lived in didn't appreciate.  But now I'm starting to ramble.

The point is, there should be no stigma in getting academic help. The high achieving students are less self-conscious about their intelligence and don't hesitate to go to the ARC and WC.  It's students who have struggled or been marginalized by there earlier educational experiences that hesitate to get help. 


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