The Battalion
Page IB/The Battalion/Friday, August 14, 1987
riting instructor enjoys helping students learn
By Lisa Williams
Reporter
1 improve fie enters his office in 152
Its." Slojcker Building carrying a stack of
•ity is cni ( .nanila folders, a maroon briefcase
erofpet ind a favorite, old, longneck beer
“it is of et x>x. He calls this beer box his Rod-
that the tey Dangerfield briefcase. These
as found tenis are filled with research and in
subject to jsction materials,
ition," the;iW e wears a yoked, snap-down
■rbov shirt, Wrangler slacks, cow-
fficials er »yi boots and belt,
on and i^Comfortable stuff,” he says, ref-
nfectedw :rr > n g to h> s wardrobe. With shoul-
quiredin S ra Y h a i r > beard and
-I most ar?B tac be, he is almost a carbon copy
.irus, tfWillie Nelson.
lists believe* 5 l be chain-smoker glances over
cent of th '' s a g en< J a and tries to get situated
iS virus v ° r his interview, someone pops in
ease wit) in< ^ as ^ s > “How are you today, Mr.
Bfhman?” In his regular, rustic,
AIDS o nformal manner, he replies, “Fair-
I States haH artl >''”
5 0 f |,|.Bhe lean and rugged Raymond
been continues to puff on his
9 p er(;er . igarette and heads for the coffee
^ Vin a back room of his office.
when somebody else calls his
Hie, Leighman answers, “Yo, what
Hi do for you?” Casually grasping
i mil H student’s shoulder, he listens,
JIT H replies, “Just follow me and I’ll
[Ctya fixed up!”
HVriting is an integral part of un-
Htanding anything,” Leighman
ww H ^ ou see > WI 'itiog is a perma-
^ V lent record.”
For years this countryman has
Dived literature. He sees his position
Hirector of the English Writing
m0re jl at Texas A&M as his way of
mchoragt hafing his love for literature,
loneinKL i n 1971 Leighman helped design
onditiono:||| administer the Stride Program,
details. Mpneer education program spon-
southeasto'Hd by several Texas state agen-
oadingpt fes The objective of this program
H to “take unemployed unem-
Hables and give them the basic
fiited Aiat jeading and writing skills they lack-
in the a: d,1 Leighman says.
)uth oftlit| “Unfortunately,” he qualifies, “we
d ships laitHn’t always able to give them
to asserabiioernianent skills.’ ”
waiti tantoH
t a mine 1
But, he encouragingly remarks,
“We could give ’em Band-Aid
skills.’ ”
“I met all kinds of people,” he says
of the program, reflectively leaning
back in his chair, hands behind his
head and grinning.
“There was this most interesting
ol’ gal,” he begins and goes on to tell
a tale of what a prostitute was able to
accomplish. He adds that he enjoys
keeping track of some of his stu
dents and that several keep in con
tact with him.
In 1974 Leighman instituted the
English Writing Lab at Texas A&M.
He has continued to serve as center
director. He said he started this pro
gram working only with graduate
students and professors to show
them how to set up and develop
their own writing labs. He mentions
proudly that more than 70 of his for
mer staff members have now set up
their own centers at major universi
ties across the nation.
“Our center has a much, much
broader scope,” he says. Stroking his
mustache, he explains how the lab at
Texas A&M is different from those
he initiated at other places. Most labs
he previously set up were remedial
writing centers, he comments.
Waving his arms and pointing to
the crown of his head, he states,
“Most of these kids are a different
breed of cat. They’re not deficient in
writing skills; they just need a higher
level of preparedness. Here I can
work with kids who want that little
bit of extra-edge. I usually don’t
have to teach them the basics, but I
do have those whose gears can be a
little rusty.
“Heck, anyone can be involved in
the program here. But there was a
time when we had a class . . . that be
came so darn tootin’ loaded down
with students required by their de
partments to attend, that some kids
that really wanted in, couldn’t.”
Leighman stresses individual stu
dent-teacher contact is the most im
portant for learning. He strongly
emphasizes that after more than 20
years of “messing with this stuff’ he
knows what is important: “The kids
learning to write.”
“We don’t have a punch card,”
Leighman announces very simply,
“but I’ll do just about everything in
my power to be available to the
kids.” Students who choose to per
fect their skills can receive about six
non-credit hours per week.
Leighman says the writing lab
services about 150 students per se
mester, excluding referrals. During
the first summer session he in
structed 150 provisional freshman.
“I call them Aggies the minute
they get here,” he says. “Just like
anyone else, I never know what a
kid’s got in his shirt — I give ’em all
the opportunity. They just have to
want to get in there and get after it.”
Scanning the vast array of awards
on the walls of his office, Leighman’s
involvement with people is appar
ent. Such symbols of recognition in
clude a couple of Aggie Band ad--
viser achievements, several honors
from the Athletic Department, Ki-
wanis Club, Honor Society of Agri
culture, Outstanding Educators of
America and Boy Scouts. And there
are more.
Leighman has taught a broad
spectrum of classes, including phi
losophy, history and literature. He
has worked for several junior col
leges in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma
and New Mexico. He has partici
pated in several professional organi
zations, including the College Con
ference Teachers of English, where
he served on the board of directors,
the National Council of Teachers of
English and the Texas Junior Col
lege Teachers Association. He pulls
a slip off a stick ’em note pad from
his desk and is reminded of consult
ing he will do for Harper & Row
Publishing Co.
“I love my work,” he says. “And
best of all, I can stand on my results
with these kids. It’s like sitting on my
diesel tractor with the two-ton disks
hooked to it — I don’t have any trou
ble telling where I’ve been. I’m darn
proud of my results as an instructor.
I don’t mind going where people
haven’t been. I hope I’ll be able to
plow a little deeper.”
Raymond Leighman, English Writing Lab director
Photo by John Adkins
:orted by
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Dress: Casual
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