Early Writing Centers: Toward a History

Abstract

A history of WCs, in addition, a comparison between clientele, staffing, and institutional identity. The 1910s began the laboratory method as WCs pg 105. Pg 106: the laboratory method moves out of the classroom in the 1930s when the U of Minnesota and U of Iowa make a separate facility for writing instruction. The 1930s was also a time of mass admissions and John Dewey's emphasis on pragmatic/individualized education was influential during that time too. Pg 107: By the 1940s, free-standing writing labs were a recognizable part of higher ed. The army requisitioned a program for future soldiers to learn communication skills and the writing lab was the perfect place for this bc the army also wanted soldiers to learn at their own individualized pace. This model was kept in peace time too, however there was a slight shift for those who were non-military, and this is where the Rogerian-nondirective-counseling approach in the writing lab took place, particularly at U of Denver. Pg 108: U of Denver was criticized for participating in amateur psychology. By the 1950s, writing labs were beginning to establish themselves as part of writing programs. The CCC was incepted. Pg 110: By the 1940s, most writing labs were of an open-mindset towards the abilities of students and were very welcoming, but ironically, they became places of remediation because they were no longer connected with the classroom, but were their own site. The WC became stigmatized in the 1950s as a place for inferior students to have their work corrected. Pg 112: By 1950, the distinction is made between writing labs and writing clinics, with clinics being places of remedial work and labs being places to help all students. This prefigures the 1991 distinction between labs and centers.