In light of the VA Tech shootings, I’m ethically conflicted as an English instructor. Now, this is not specifically in response to the horrible rampage, but rather an instructor’s responsibility when reading a student’s writing. Take the following from the AP:

“A student who attended Virginia Tech last fall provided obscenity- and violence-laced screenplays that he said Cho wrote as part of a playwriting class they both took. One was about a fight between a stepson and his stepfather, and involved throwing of hammers and attacks with a chainsaw. Another was about students fantasizing about stalking and killing a teacher who sexually molested them.”

So, when does the personal essay/creative writing invite intervention? As the instructor - one who is presumably not properly trained in either crisis management or psychology - when and how do we question the individual? Writing is cathartic to some, tedious to most, and in this situation, perhaps it was a forecast. While this is not a new debate amongst comp instructors, it surely forces one to rethink the proper ethical response. I am fortunate that I have never had to encounter reading an ‘outcry’ paper, and I’m still uncertain how I would react if faced with a ‘gruesome’ piece of writing. I no longer have my students write personal essays, but I do make them blog. Who’s ‘responsible’ then if it’s publically accessible? As a human, I’m deeply saddened and afraid thinking about this event. But as an English instructor, I’m not sure how to react.