DIALOGIZING RESPONSE IN THE WRITING CLASSROOM: STUDENTS ANSWER BACK

<p>While informed teachers of writing have moved toward more dialogic approaches, "we" still have colonial tendencies when responding to student writing. While students are addressed by the teacher, they are not generally expected to answer back, except in the form of "better" writing, and certainly not to talk back. Drawing on the work of Mikhail Bakhtin, Gay suggests that if we are going to help students understand the dialogical nature of language, then perhaps they should take up our words as we take up theirs. Based on her observations of students' initial reactions to teacher commentary, Gay suggests an activity that invites students to talk back to the teacher-reader as a means of helping them move more effectively toward revision. Dialogizing response, however, requires teachers to become dialogized. Gay wonders how many will take the risk: teachers may be more resistant than resilient.</p>