VOLUME XI, NUMBER 5 #8 INNOVATION ABSTRACTS ATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AU A THE W. K KELLOGG FOUNDATION AND THE SID W..RICHAROSON FOUNDATION On Teaching English Composition to Older Students After only three class sessions into the semester, a student came into my office and issued the following warning: “The two people | hate most in this world are dentists and English teachers!” No, I’m not her dentist. This student, perhaps 40 or 45 years old, spoke for many students who, after several years away from an academic environment, return to school to face—among, other things—all those remotely familiar rules and exceptions and diagrams and formidable terms which make up their memorics of past English classes. Unfor- tunately, they hated English then, and they hate English now. Like our counterparts, though, the dentists who casually approach their patients with Novocain sy- ringes hidden behind their backs, there are some meas- ures we can take to make it all less painful. Identify the Students This first task is the easiest. The older student who fears English will usually Ict the instructor know of that fear, sometimes in the forthright manner of the above- mentioned student, and sometimes in the form of “It’s been years since I’ve had any English!” This common “confession” is most often followed with a plea for patience. In contrast to this direct approach, some older students will simply remain silent—both in class discussions and on the page itself. This particular form of “writer's block” may become apparent with the first in-class writing assignment, but most older students will face their fears and let the instructor know of them rather than sit there and face the blank page for very long. A spontaneous conference can ease the pressure and show the student that the instructor understands. Identify the Students’ Fears The fears older students face when returning to school are usually not singular, and in English class those fears usually coalesce. The older students fear what they think is extremely sharp competition from younger students; they fear failure, especially if some past failures trigger additional guilt and regret for not remembering all those English rules and exceptions which they know they should have learned ages ago and which, they believe, their younger classmates have so recently and skillfully mastered. Combine enough fear with enough guilt and regret and one has the classic older student's resistance to writing in English Composition. One particular fear, though, has surprising potential for immediate devastation: the fear of grammatical terms. To fire barrage after barrage of “correlative and cumulative” adjectives, or “reflexive and demonstra- tive” pronouns at the older student—whose memory may remember the words but not the meanings—is to trigger all the other attendant fears of English. For some, the words “coordinating conjunction” or “subor- dinate clause” are as menacing and spine-straightening as the sound of any dentist's drill. To some, who may know their way around in the practical uses of the language without too much difficulty, those terms spell immediate confusion and lack of confidence. Overcome the Resistance Much of the resistance can be overcome by “playing down” the terms. This is not to say that the terms should be neglected, nor that rules should take second seat to “free expression” (as happened during the 70's); itis to recommend an astute awareness of the anxicties grammatical language can create in older students. In short, the terms can be more overwhelming and intimi- dating than an instructor might imagine. Therefore, until the student feels more comfortable with writing, the term should be of secondary importance. Then as the student’s writing mistakes become apparent, the necessary terms can be used to make the corrections. Secondly, both the instructor and the student can move forward faster if the student is not allowed to emphasize past failures. For some reason, a few older students think that the instructor will be more patient if he is reminded frequently of the student's past failures. Such emphasis on past performance, though, can become a block to success in the present. An instructor might acknowledge those past shortcomings, but only in passing as a sign of understanding. An instructor might also point out that past failures have nothing to do with performance now, nor with the current possi- bility of success. One might ask “Are you doing poorly EDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712 THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STAFF AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (NISOD) Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin