The Writer's Idea

In "The Idea of a Writing Center," Stephen M. North talks about the "crucial differences between talking about writing in the context of a class, and talking about it in the context of the [Writing] Center"; i.e., teaching conferences are mandated, while a Writing Center conference is the writer's idea, which improves the student's incentive to participate actively in the conversation (73). Later, he says that "the biggest obstacle to overcome in teaching anything, writing included, is getting learners to decide that they want to learn" (74). Maybe this last statement is where the partnership between instructors and Writing Centers belongs, especially if it's wrong to prescribe visits and wrong to characterize students as needing remediation. But what if we can't persuade students that they want to learn? Is it fair to students, particularly those from less privileged backgrounds, to not clue them in somehow that their writing is not acceptable to the academy? It seems cruel to just leave the option up to them without at least pointing out that they could use some help or providing some incentives to seek it out. Finally, why does there seem to be so much shame about the idea of helping students who need help meeting the standards set up by the university?