Expressive Pedagogy

First of all, I agree with Kim that the article "Expressive Pedagogy: Practice/Theory, Theory/Practice" by Christopher Burnham was quiet hard to get through and I feel that I am a seasoned reader of academic writing.
That little expression of support aside, I will now delve into the depths of the article and what I gleaned from it. First of all, I see similarities between Process Pedagogy (PP) and Expressive Pedagogy (EP). There is an element in each that is devoted to the individual--in process the individual's creative process in regards to creating writing, while in expressive a focus on the individual's voice and making meaning & self-development through language. And I should add that I don't believe that these two pedagogies are ignoring their social obligation (if that is what I should call it) in any regard (as critics have tried to point out). Only if the pedagogy is followed as pure, truly pure, might the social disregard become an issue. Moving on...
Briton's standing on/contribution to EP is interesting because he combines linguistics, literary criticism, philosophy, and psychology in his work (Burnham 26). Examining theory and building theory from multiple backgrounds/theories allows for a more diverse foundation. Elements of EP might be highly criticized and questionable, but isn't that par for any theory, especially those in the humanities? There are qualities that can't be denied, like EP's longevity.
Now time for teacher reflection: In my teaching experience I have used ideas from Elbow, such as center of gravity and his ideas on reader response. I believe it is necessary for students to find a voice in order to be productive and aware citizens. Following the crowd doesn't allow for awareness/growth. Voice gives a person an individualistic quality and gives writing interest, something an audience wants to read. Furthermore, balancing personal writing/expression with academic discourse conventions is a challenge every teacher in college writing faces. Which do we teach them first? Do we try to teach them both? Should a student find their voice (or at least comfort with writing) before teaching them conventions? Is teaching them conventions up to English composition teachers? (I could go on.) And it is a balancing act regardless of which pedagogy you adhere to. Teachers are learning (or know) that students need to feel comfortable with writing and expressing themselves before they are really ready to learn and understand the academic discourse conventions. Well, at least I think that. Conventions can be slipped in while teaching students to express themselves but probably shouldn't be the focus of a composition class. Well, I shall sign off for now.