Robert Fulkerson's "Four Philosophies of Comnposition"

Summary:
Robert Fulkerson's "Four Philosophies of Composition" is basically what the title implies. He uses four theories of literary criticism to build his new philosophies, which include reader- based writing (rhetorical), writer-based writing (expressive), reality-based writing (mimetic), and writing which emphasizes the actual structure of writing (formalist). When describing each of these philosophies separately, he gives examples of writers and texts which correspond to them.
In essence, these theories are nothing new, Fulkerson takes the idea of composition instruction a crucial step further: he contends that the most important element of teaching any of these theories is to actually focus on one at a time. The article also includes statements on ways which these theories can be used to shape pedagogical standing and beliefs.

Response:
On the whole, I enjoyed this article very much. I thought the writing was clear and concise and his theories well-thought out as well as recognizable.
I believe Fulkerson is correct in his assumption that one of the most important tasks for a teacher is effective communication of the goals of any given assignment and the subsequent evaluation of those goals. This is especially true for novice writers who may not be as confident in their abilities as someone a bit more seasoned. If a student is shaky in their abilities and receives a garbles set of instructions and a mediocre grade, no valuable work has been accomplished by the instructor or the student.
The only thing I thought may have been a tad overstated was Fulkerson's stringent stance that a teacher should maintain one and only one of these philosophies to shape their composition class. He states that "composition teachers either fail to have a consistent value theory or fail to let that philosophy shape pedagogy". I simply don't understand why all of these theories cannot be effectively compartmentalized by specific assignments, therefore still existing harmoniously in the same classroom.