We don't need no education, we don't need no thought control....

What has resonated most with me about Myers's article, is his criticism of a "consensus" being the driving force behind pedagogical practices in teaching English (I'm sure this applies across a number of other disciplines). "Leonard's exercises... can be seen as part of a larger effort to create consensus by eliminating or at least concealing diversity and conflict" (160). Although Leonard presented alternative theories on how literacy can be taught, I notice a contradiction in his favoring a consensus to decide what type of grammar and writing style are best. He went on to influence prominent guys like Elbow and Brufee, yet in many ways seems to have influenced Bartholomae and his posse of social constructionists. I'm not quite sure what to make of the contradictions Leonard made, but I tend to think there is always going to be a need for contradiction when trying to prepare students for the complex society we live in. I think if a teacher were to only implement Elbow's methods in a classroom, a great disservice would be committed toward students. The some goes for a completely social constructionist classroom method. A balance, which I look at as a contradiction, seems necessary to provide students with a platform capable of allowing self expression and communication considered "proper" in mainstream society. The latter is subjective, but I think we can all agree that it's important to know how to write memos, reports, emails, etc., with correct punctuation and word usage for work environments.