At smaller universities, such as Centenary, there is a disconnect between the institution and representation of their student population, with a lack of diversity within the institution. What does it mean to remove the “dis—” out of disability, and what does this look like when a university implements resources and programs that embrace such abilities? My focus on this topic stems from the inaccessibility of the Writing Collaboratory to students with mobility abilities. When I pose the question of what a university will look, I’m asking for the representation of students with all kinds of abilities beyond those of mobility within my institution. At the writing center level, tutors can offer both support for students and broaden conversations with faculty and staff on how they can support their students. As Allison Hitt argued in “Access for All: The Role of Dis/Ability in Multiliteracy Centers,” as tutors, writing center directors, and educators overall, “we need to reposition representations of disability in both writing center scholarship and tutoring practices” (382).
In Rinaldi’s “Disability in the Writing Center,” she focuses on tutorials that involve deaf students and while she provides an example of a tutor asking how to ‘best work with deaf tutees’ (9), her response is simply ‘however that student prefers’ (9). This perspective of tutoring students with abilities that are underrepresented in universities the same as any other student aligns with Hitt’s argument that regardless of every session being viewed as different and every student tutored differently, students with abilities shouldn’t be tutored any differently than what it already different. While Hitt explores and values the principles of Universal Design for Learning, Rinaldi ultimately disagrees with such practices and rather than exploring a specific method (as flexible as it may be) tutors should be able to navigate through a session with a student with abilities as they would any other because of, in the words of Hitt, their “multimodal toolkit” (386). Tutors naturally acquire some sort of variety in their tutoring methodologies because of the numerous amount of students they come into contact with, however, their toolkit shouldn’t be any different for students with abilities. Further, Rinaldi states that “student, tutors should actively try not to think about how they will adjust their strategies for that student’s disability” (10).
These readings, particularly Rinaldi, answers how tutors can remove the “dis—” out of disability; not ignoring nor directly embracing (though this can be done through resources making center accessible) but it’s more about tutoring the student in the way that they want to be tutored. An ability does not need to redefine the course of the session, but rather, the tutor should focus on finding what type of session or techniques will make the student feel as comfortable as they can within, as they would with any other student.
In moving beyond both Rinaldi and Hitt’s arguments of how tutors can help students with abilities, Alice Batt explores the abilities of tutors themselves. Scholarship surrounding abilities typically looks at the tutee, but not the tutor. While Batt examines mental health, all three of these readings compiled create an argument for representation and support for all types of abilities. Batt’s article “Welcoming and Managing Neurodivergence in the Writing Center,” can be read as an argument that the center is and should be a safe space for tutors and tutees, as both groups should be represented when discussing centers’ focus on the individual. Within the picture included in this post, the writing center is like the umbrella that supports and protects “flowers” growth. Batt answers the question of what a writing center will look like if it implements resources and programs, but not how a university will. She states that the center has “reduced distraction rooms in the writing center to support consultees with ADHD and PTSD and anyone else who needed quiet to do their best work. The architects and designers made sure all passages would easily accommodate wheelchairs and that at least one table could be adjusted to wheelchair height.”
My question of what a university as a whole might look like if it creates opportunity and resources for students with abilities still stands. My final question is, how as tutors at a small university accommodate students with abilities and how can we introduce as well as open up (dis)ability discussions with faculty and staff at Centenary University?
Works Cited
Batt, Alice. “Welcoming and Managing Neurodivergence in the Writing Center.” Praxis: A Writing Center Journal, www.praxisuwc.com/325-batt.
Hitt, Allison. “Access for All: The Role of Dis/Ability in Multiliteracy Centers.” The Oxford Guide for Writing Tutors: Practice and Research, by Melissa Ianetta and Lauren Fitzgerald, Oxford University Press, 2016, pp. 382–390.
Rinaldi, Kerri. “Disability in the Writing Center: A New Approach (That’s Not so New).” Praxis: A Writing Center Journal, vol. 13, no. 1, 2015, pp. 9–14.
Hi Victoria-
I really enjoyed this blog post and your focus on students with differing abilities. I’m sure many tutors feel some level of anxiety when working with students who are differently abled than them. I love the approach Rinaldi offers in her article to tutoring deaf students-simply tutor them the way that works best for them. Of course it might be difficult to ignore the fact that they are deaf, but it should not be the focus of the whole session. People with differing abilities deserve the same treatment as would any other student, which is why it is important to treat them as such.
I love that this takes a critical approach to writing centers and discusses how they need to be more accommodating and inclusive to every type of student. It’d be great to see the Writing Collab make even more of an effort to see how we can help differently abled students.
Hey Victoria,
I do agree with you that Centenary University does not take care of students with disabilities very well for example the Writing Collaboratory is in the basement with no elevator which makes it not accessible for people in wheelchairs or crutches. Especially since Centenary University has a high population rate of students who have autism, I feel a lot of professors don’t know how to teach students with autism and a lot aren’t ready for it. I do agree that it’s hard to tutor someone who has a disability and it can cause anxiousness for the tutor, but I feel tutors should be able to look beyond that and treat the tutee like any other student coming into the Writing Collaboratory for extra help. I like your idea/question about if we can open a discussion with faculty and staff at Centenary University about taking the dis out of disability and I feel it’s something that really needs to happen with multiple topics especially with race. A lot of the older generation professors on campus are very close minded to different teaching approaches since when they were young things were very different for students that had disabilities. I feel it shouldn’t be a big deal and it should be mandatory for faculty to become updated with social cues and many things to do with our generation just like when you must learn about a new technological system. I really like the quote you chose about a deaf student basically saying to the tutor the best way to help them understand what they’re trying to say. I feel even if you don’t have a disability or some type of thing holding you back every student has a different way of learning and should disclose that to the tutor so they can have a better session. To answer your question about what our University might look like if we offered opportunity and resources for students with abilities, I feel our campus would be a lot better and have a more accepting vibe to all students and faculty. It’s something we should Implement in our everyday campus lives because at the end of the day no student should ever feel left out or judged by faculty/peers.