The Inaugural "Topics Tuesday"

Well, hello there!

A few brief snippets you should know before we get into this blog post:

1. I'm Angela, a sophomore Coe Writing Center consultant. Some hobbies include drinking lots of tea, reading the old-school poet John Donne, and analyzing the psychological profiles of every Star Wars character repeatedly.

2. Tuesdays are my favorite day of the week. Why, you ask? 2 tried and true reasons: Tuesdays aren't Mondays, and the cafeteria has my favorite menu, tacos. A new fantastic reason: I get to write a blog post about Topics in Composition (our staff development course) every Tuesday until the end of the term.

WOOHOO!

This post will attempt to inform you about what Topics in Composition (hereby referred to as "Topics") is and how I feel it benefits our consultants. In later posts, you will hear about my group's research this semester (yep, like what you do with a microscope -- only without the microscope) and our inevitable, unintentionally fun moments.

Topics is a course designed solely for writing center consultants. We are required to take it four times throughout our four years -- twice in the first year, once in the second or third year, and once in the fourth year. The course allows us to think about the most effective ways to conference in addition to fostering our growth as writers. (AKA we write lots of things, though not necessarily papers).

Since the CWC likes to shake things up, the fall term and spring term versions of Topics differ significantly. The fall term focuses on orienting our super-cool new first years into this whole new world (cue Aladdin) while encouraging seasoned consultants to re-evaluate how they conference. The spring term is usually centered on a research project using our databases, where we record how we feel about each individual conference we have completed. This semester, Topics also includes recording self-portrait videos for a consultant collage and updating our e-portfolios.

Topics also provides us the great service of making us BE the student writers. We are required to receive -- not give, but receive -- a number of conferences every semester. Though many of us do this anyway, the experience forces us to remember what it's like to be a student writer. It still feels a little nerve-wracking to show someone else my writing, but the consultant always calms me to a level of cool, comfortable, and controlled vulnerability. Receiving a conference and then reflecting on it rekindles my goal of making student writers feel comfortable enough to share their (often quite insightful) papers with me.

Next week, we'll move on from this syllabus of sorts into some real material. If you have any questions about Topics or about the writing center, make sure to tweet @CoeWC.

Terrifically Tuesdayedly Yours,
Angela