Posts Tagged ‘College’

Another use of an English degree (HT JoVE)

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

JoVe likes to send me articles every now and then. They are always wonderful! Today she slipped the following one into my in-box related to another use of an English degree. This one shows how one academic found a career teaching writing in a big law firm. I got a special kick out of it because my dad is a lawyer and I’ve long argued (ha!) that my bent toward academic writing was fostered and nurtured through his rigorous approach to any debatable topic at the dinner table. I grew up, essentially, learning how to create an argument from my earliest memories. Not only that, lawyers do a tremendous amount of writing. The care with which trial lawyers must prepare opening and closing statements is every bit as conscientious as any academic preparing a thesis or scholarly journal article (if not moreso since justice and money are always on the line!). Think how many lawyers-turned-best-selling novelists there are, too. :) I remember my dad writing a novel into his dictaphone when I was in high school. (He never did get it published though.)

With all that personal background out of the way, check out this article: From Global Lit(erature) to Global Lit(igation).

A big litigation firm like ours is filled with nothing but writers. One lawyer here, in fact, tells people that he is a writer when they ask his occupation (insert joke about lawyers’ public perception here). My main duties are twofold. I travel to our offices around the world twice a year and conduct seminars on all aspects of the writing process, from punctuation to Aristotelian argumentation. I also work with associates and partners individually on their writing (what the corporate world calls “coaching” and academe calls “tutoring”), either in person or over the phone. They contact me at any point during the writing process. I sometimes answer questions on the spot, but it’s much more common for lawyers to send me a draft, which we meet to discuss.

My job is endlessly rewarding. I work in a five-member office of professional development. Three of us have Ph.D.’s, all in different fields. I teach an enthusiastic population: Professionals, especially those who write for a living, are eager participants in the learning process. Some of the intellectual-property and antitrust cases are fascinating; unfortunately, I am not permitted to tell you about them.

Colleges that support LD kids

Wednesday, June 18th, 2008

Brave Writer Instructor Rita Cevasco (who teaches kids with learning disabilities – LD) sent me the following information related to finding colleges that make accommodations for kids who struggle with traditional learning. My son, Noah, benefited a lot from an LD program at the University of Cincinnati. They tested him, assigned him a note-taker (paid the note-takers $100 per quarter to take notes for Noah – these would be then typed up and delivered to him weekly), and gave him the opportunity to take all his tests without time limits by taking them in the learning center.

I can’t stress enough how helpful it is to have accommodations for your student if your child is a non-traditional learner who has ADD, ADHD or any language processing disorders. Some schools are deliberately seeking students who need that extra support. The University of Cincinnati turned out to be one of them.

To find schools in your area with similar goals, you can use the following link.

Check out this website: http://www.college-scholarships.com/learning_disabilities.htm. I just found this one by Google Search. It provides links to lots of schools. Some schools have “supportive” programs and others have “comprehensive” programs. The “comprehensive” programs typically offer more assistance than supportive programs. They characteristically have specially trained full-time staff members assigned to serve the LD student and may offer unique services to this population.