Ignorance of the Fourth Discourse is Criminal

I am in complete agreement with Michelle’s sentiments about the ignoring of the fourth mode of discourse as being insane (my words)…I am always telling students that their experiences from lives matter and use those experiences to guide your writing and be heard.  This is also a part of my philosophy, which is that student voices are just as and is equally important in terms of making arguments they care about.  To ignore the fourth mode of discourse is to get away from my wish to have my students write about real-world issues that impact their lives.  This experiential writing is another discourse that my students will be writing in.  I know that this type of writing is not widely accepted in academia, but I feel that this is the type that gets students to buy in and show investment about what they are composing.  My philosophy will incorporate both the traditional discourse and the experiential.  I don’t feel the need to choose between one or the either as Bartholomae and Elbow would have one do.  I believe that all forms of discourses, both traditional and most alternative forms of composing should be instructed, exampled, and attempted in order to make student writing achieve the desired rhetorical effect. 

This researcher was dead wrong in his choosing to ignore the problem that not only he, but other scholars pointed out as occurring in the problem.  What I have learned from this is that if I expect my students to truly let their voices and experiences be heard, I have to be prepared to address whatever situations arise from said writing.