Clinics, Labs, Centers

The name has changed but the issues of clientelle, staffing, and institutional identity are still at the forefront of discussion: how to break free of the remedial stigma, who is qualified to tutor and what kind of training is needed, and how all this affects the institution's identity. All provide a place where discussion of writing took/takes place. Summerfield equates writing cernters with workshops that recognize "the social nature of language and learning. A genuine workshop is one that builds a community of writers, readers, listeners, talkers, thinkers, who are encouraged to understand how they write as individuals, but equally important, as members of a community" (25). While I would not visit a writing center for help in conventions, I would relish having a community of writers to discuss my and their ideas. Professionally, writers' groups perform the same service as writing centers but few visualize writing centers in this way. I wonder if administrators, teachers, and students will ever be able to truly view writing centers as communities of writers.