Min-Zahn Lu's Professing Multiculturalism starts off with two stories that demonstrate the power and division of "beginning/uneducated" writers versus the "experts." Both stories lead to an unfortunate reality facing mainly beginner or "non-expert" writers today: If you cannot produce an error-free composition then your ideas pretty much mean nothing. I think this is an assumption of students who may be self-conscious of their writing style that is seen in classes today. Primary education stresses grammer and structure more than anything else that I remember writing to be more of a stiff process rather than creative. I remember loving being in the advanced english classes because we did not have to "waste" our time on spelling tests and grammer quizzes, and instead we were able to put our brains to use writing creatively and academically.

Lu reflects on experiences in teaching her literature courses. She notices her students are able to speak so eloquently about "politics of stylistic decisions made by 'real' writers" (490). However, once her students start to write about such topics they become caught up in what sounds "right," meaning what can I do to write in a way that reproduces the voice of the scholars I read. I especially liked Lu's point about student writers when she says "why is it that in spite of our developing ability to acknowledge the political need and right of 'real' writers to experiment with 'style," we continue to cling to the belief that such a need and right does not belong to 'student writers'?" (491). I agree with Lu that just because a student may not be able to produce an error-free product, does not mean he or she has not earned the right to innovative style.

Since students are taught that grammar is such a basic staple of writing, if they have needed extra help mastering grammar they will feel reduced by their schoolwork because it is not recognized that "they are quite able to grasp subjects other than grammar and demonstrate their understanding of such subjects satisfactorily to themselves..." (492).
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Lu uses first-year student examples in her first-year classes for teaching the multicultural approach. As Bartholomae said that there is no need "to import multiple cultures into the classroom via anthologies. They are there, in the classroom, ince the institution becomes willing to pay that kind of attention to student writing" (494). First Lu looks for writing errors that most of the class could point out and fix. Then she looks for styles that falls into her attempt to help the writer compromise a new position in correleation to the colliding voices (494).

I'm not finished posting, just taking a break for now ! :)