"The Idea of Community in the Study of Writing"
In Joseph Harris' article (1989), he discusses the importance of acknowledging where writers and communicators stand within their various discourses. He urges for educators to realize that it is impossible for students to adapt to one common, standard discourse (which is often the expectation--students adapt to the SAE discourse/academic discourse). Harris (1989) states, "What I am arguing against, though is the notion that our students should necessarily be working towards the mastery of some particular, well-defined sort of discourse. It seems to me that they might better be encouraged towards a kind of polyphony--an awareness of an pleasure in the various competing discourses that make up their own" (p. 754). His emphasis on teachers acknowledging and accepting students' various backgrounds will help to form a "fuller picture of the lived experience of teaching, learning, and writing" (Harris, 1989, p. 757).