Comparing Vygotsky And Elbow's Theories On Academics

            There are many theories circulating the globe regarding teaching strategies and their consequences on students. Peter Elbow believes that academic discourse should be accompanied by nonacademic discourse; Vygotsky uses the "zone of proximal development" to show why nonacademic discourse is necessary; Martin discusses why writing should be taught with both Elbow and Vygotsky's theories together. There are arguments that educators teach writing as a transactional process and this limits their development while other arguments suggest that educators try to develop their students writing through their zone of proximal development. Another theory discusses how teachers should educate their students in writing for different types of audiences, not just transactional writing, in order for students to receive a complete education. Teachers can answer all three theories with the use of scaffolding.
             Peter Elbow defines academic discourse as "the discourse that academics use when they publish for other academics" (135). This means that teachers are teaching students to write in correct, formal writing as if they are always writing to their teachers or other professionals. Students "need [academic discourse] for the papers and reports and exams they"ll have to write in their various courses throughout their college career" (135) and this is why academic discourse is important and needs to be taught in classrooms at young ages. Elbow says that if you don't teach students academic discourse is "simply to leave a power vacuum and thereby reward privileged students who have already learned academic discourse at home or in school" (135). It is important for students to be able to write a formal essay or letter, but formal essay's and letter's are not always important or used after a student graduates from school.
             Elbow gives three arguments for why he supports a nonacademic discourse. The first is the idea that "life is long and college is short" (136) and few students will have to write academic discourse after college and that the writing students will have to do for their lives will be for their jobs and that type of writing is usually different from academic discourse.