If writing centers are, in a sense, a service to students and are supposed to create better writers, should there be an exclusive relationship between student and consultant or should professors be involved as well? I feel as though this may be specific only to English courses or those with strong concentrations in writing or some form of text (creative writing, journalism, etc). When you write a paper for science or history I feel as though professors care about the persuasiveness and conciseness of the paper but courses such as those are more factually inclined. Does your physics professor really care about your progress as a writer or if you were able to accurately relate Newton's Law to another aspect of physics? Are they genuinely concerned or do professors want grade A work? I guess what I mean is I feel the relationship between the student and the consultant should be free from outside influence. Students should be able to actively engage with their consultant so that ideas can flow freely without after thoughts of what their teachers may think. Today in class I heard stories of how students had been afraid to say certain things because they did not know how their professor would react. Any trepidation on the student's behalf only diminishes the experience because they cannot fully commit themselves.
On the flip side if a teacher refers a student or would like to receive follow up reports to make sure students are really progressing, then that is acceptable. However, this leads me to my lingering question:
How then do consultants accurately perform their job while (for lack of a better word) catering to both parties?
In some sense the teachers need to be involved (make sure students are not just goofing off and are truly progressing).
But students should also be able to fully engage their consultants freely without fear that they may be reprimanded by their professors for speaking truthfully.
(I hope none of this was contradictory:P)
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