I began reading ahead for next week and started with the article on non-traditional students at the writing center. This article completely drew me in, for I never thought about this as an issue or problem that writing centers face. I would not even think that students who came to the writing center for aid would be students who were older and coming back to school after years in the workforce.
Also, I agree with the article that writing centers should have a diverse group of consultants who can help all types of people. But I never really thought about having a graduate student or student who is going back to school also be a writing consultant. I think that this is a great idea, for this student who is going back to school can relate so much better to others in their same age and situation. Personally, I feel like I would not do a very good job helping a middle aged woman who graduated high school years prior and who worked in a middle class job for the last 20 years. I feel like I would be so frustrated and confused on how exactly to help her, and more so where even to start.
This article overall gave me a completely new way of looking at writing consultants. While I used to just focus on topic and information that I know most about as a major factor when helping a client, the ability to relate in regards to situational factors are so important as well.
I haven't read the article yet, but you bring up a really interesting point. I had never considered consulting a returning student either. It would be interesting to see how the process and style of someone's writing who has worked for the last 20 years differs from a typical college student's.
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