[CBW_Exec] CBW Misson Statement: Almost There!

Tue May 10 20:28:58 CDT 2011

Hi all,

A few more tweaks, in part addressing Sarah's concerns or maybe, alas, exacerbating the problem. I agree the shorter the better so the added material could be cut. But if we do want to say something about collaborations it seems to me we should also include post-secondary ESL and academic support services (I'm thinking of the conversation at Cs in April about the importance of strengthening these connections). I think it also might help to make the three points subordinate to the clause about providing appropriate support.

Steve and other authors of the statement--as everyone said, it's great. I think it will be a very useful tool for us going forward.

All the best,
Deborah

Deborah Mutnick, Director of Writing
English Department
Long Island University
1 University Plaza
Brooklyn, NY 11201
718.488.1110
deborah.mutnick at liu.edu
http://thelongestisland.blogspot.com

________________________________________
From: cbw_exec-bounces at tamu-commerce.edu [cbw_exec-bounces at tamu-commerce.edu] on behalf of Sarah Kirk [afsjk at uaa.alaska.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 9:08 PM
To: Conference of Basic Writing Executive Board; Conference of Basic Writing Executive Board
Subject: Re: [CBW_Exec] CBW Misson Statement: Almost There!

I'm chiming in very late on this, I realize, but I do want to make a comment about the "collaboration" sections that were added:

1. I'm concerned that we will find more and more collaborators that we need to add in. So, is it enough that we already note that we support A, B, C, D, E students without later specifying "K-12" transition and "adult learners"?

2. If we are going to follow through with the collaborators, then we might want to consider the ESL learners/programs/instructors. At my university, our ESL students may test into ESL, or, if high enough skills, into BW prior to first-year comp. We have a great need for our BW instructors to have a background in linguistics and cultural life outside the USA!

3. Another comment about K-12 collaboration: In Alaska, we are getting pressured to test HS students for "college readiness," which means entrance into the first comp class that is used for a General Education Requirement. The talk from top down is that the entire focus of statewide is on high school to college readiness based on skills for English and math alone. We all know that a great many of our BW students are not 18 and that there are numerous reasons beyond literacy skills as to why they end up in BW classes. I think that we need to focus on collaborating with administration, politicians, and our statewide constituents so that they better understand the existence of and need for (great) BW programs.

Otherwise, I like straight forward/direct mission statements. This one is pretty darn good!

-Sarah

-----Original Message-----
From: cbw_exec-bounces at tamu-commerce.edu on behalf of Susan Bernstein
Sent: Tue 5/10/11 16:48
To: Conference of Basic Writing Executive Board
Subject: Re: [CBW_Exec] CBW Misson Statement: Almost There!

Dear Liz (& all),

I really like your changes. Good call. For your K-12 question: because of
the prevalence of dual enrollment, and the potential benefits of
school/college connections, I think it's a good idea to collaborate as
practicable and possible with K-12 schools. I'm speaking from my own
experiences here, and for me the strongest collaborations have had elements
of sustainability built into them. And having said that, I also have a few
questions.

What kinds of collaborations do EB folks have in mind? What kinds of
collaborations are already in progress? Are these equitable collaborations
between faculty at K-12 and post-secondary institutions? Collaborations
between students in basic writing and younger students? Top-down
collaborations between post-secondary institutions and K-12 administrators?
Something else?

Thanks again -- especially if you've already shared this information!

Peace and best,

Susan

On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 8:13 PM, J. Elizabeth Clark
<lclark at lagcc.cuny.edu>wrote:

> Steve and crew (the creators & collaborators!),
>
>
> I think this looks amazing! I made two changes & highlighted them in pink.
> One was to add the liststerv to the list of things we "do." I think the
> listserv has proven, over the last month, to be a great site for networking.
> I also added students to our constituencies. See what you think.
>
>
> I'm not sure about K-12. I have mixed feelings about it. I like Deborah's
> rationale. But, I'm still uncertain.
>
>
> What do others think?
>
>
> And, I think this is pretty close to being ready (how's that for smooth
> prose?) to go to the list.
>
>
> Liz
>
> J. Elizabeth Clark, Ph.D.
> Professor of English
> LaGuardia Community College--CUNY
> e-mail: lclark at lagcc.cuny.edu
> Phone: 718.482.5665
> www.jelizabethclark.com
> >>> Steven Joseph Lamos 05/10/11 11:46 AM >>>
> Hi all:
>
> Now that CCCCs is done, let's see if we can't get the CBW Mission Statement
> done as well.
>
> The current statement is, thanks to Tom, up at the following address:
>
>
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UnoaQ_GGxJimI00hL_S762tXvExfNsJNCQP3_10lmi0/edit?hl=en&authkey=CKS2veYC
>
> I've made a couple of minor tweaks (e.g. "benefiting"; "basic writing"
> rather than BW). I've also added a version of Tom's suggestion about K-12
> interface: it's highlighted so that people can see what they think.
>
> Can everyone take a last look at this, discuss this last addition, and / or
> make other last minor changes as they see fit to the Google Doc itself?
>
> Almost there,
>
> Steve
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Steve Lamos, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor, Program for Writing and Rhetoric / English Department
> Faculty Director, Writing Center
>
> 317 UCB (303) 735-5693 (phone)
> Boulder, CO 80309 (303) 492-7877 (fax)
> lamos at colorado.edu
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
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