Response to “What Knowledge is Most Worth Knowing?”

Abstract

Jim Bell and Pam Flagel's fascinating case study, “What Knowledge Is Most Worth Knowing? Grammar, Critical Thinking, and Revision in Writing Conferences,” casts a raking light over some of our most cherished beliefs about peer tutoring. I say “casts light” rather than “sheds light” because the case puts me in a scrutinizing frame of mind rather than reassuring me that I have achieved enlightenment. Sometimes Bell and Flagel's study shows that our beliefs pull us in opposite directions, recommending contradictory exclusive paths of action. At other times the study suggests our beliefs need some qualification, or at least tweaking, if they are to serve as effective tutoring guidelines. In my response, I would like to examine several ways in which the study has challenged me to think more deeply about these beliefs.