Illuminating Collaboration: Bringing the Writing Program to the Community

Abstract

This chapter describes a successful first-year composition service-learning partnership, the Iluminación Writing Program, in which college writing students worked alongside high school students in collaborative writing workshops. Read-Davidson chronicles the evolution of the program, from the epistemological consequences of its naming to its empowering final reading event, demonstrating how the foundational theories of social constructionism and collaborative pedagogy practiced in writing programs and writing centers can be translated to service-learning partnerships in the community. Initial challenges in recruitment, stakeholder investment, and student engagement necessitated a revisiting of theories in writing and service-learning pedagogies, leading to a revision of praxis to create a more reciprocal series of collaborative workshop s that benefited both sets of participants.

Postscript from the Editors

Complex Collaboration—In describing effective community–university, or town-and-gown, relationships, Eddy (2010) notes three key ingredients: a college staff member who acts as “a community facilitator, support from higher-level college administrators, and community initiation of the venture” (p. 11). All three are evident in Read-Davidson’s narrative of the Iluminación project. University administration and donors provided support and shared values, and Read-Davidson functioned as the college-based community facilitator, while the students and their families were integral participants in the effort to help “low-income high school students of [the] local community become better writers, while fostering a sense of civic engagement among Chapman’s university students.” While the program had its problems, Read-Davidson was able to create a service-learning program that fostered “genuine collaboration between two communities of students,” with “each group grow[ing] as writers as a result of their interaction.” Indeed, they truly earned the approbation of “owning the night!”

Practical Implications—Read-Davidson describes the trials and tribulations of leaving the ivory tower to work with local communities of writers. The strength of this chapter lies in the honest reflection upon not only the strengths of the Iluminación Writing Program, but also, and more importantly, where the program initially met difficulties. Addressing a range of initial stumbling blocks—including cultural, linguistic, and motivational differences—Read-Davidson through honest storytelling demonstrates ways in which writing programs can design mutually beneficial mentoring collaborations among college and high school students. This 2016 example, founded upon conversational models of tutoring, blog entries, and celebratory end-of-semester events, illustrates the foundational theories of writing center work most often cited in composition scholarship. Finally, to sustain permeable fluidity between higher education and community partners, and to garner necessary resources for long-term success of this program, Read-Davidson acknowledges the importance of developing an assessment plan.