The Tutoring Book - California State University, Sacramento
The Tutoring Book - California State University, Sacramento
The Tutoring Book - California State University, Sacramento
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Know When to Hold ‘Em, Know When to Direct ‘Em<br />
44<br />
Brett Perkins<br />
Spring 2011<br />
When you tutor in the writing center, you will encounter a variety of tutoring situations and a<br />
diverse array of students. You might tutor a student with a learning disability, or a second language<br />
learner, or a drop-in, or a frustrated student, or, instead, a student that frustrates you. Through each<br />
tutoring session, your most effective tool is something intangible. That is, it cannot be touched or grasped,<br />
like a hammer, but a tool it is, nevertheless. Each time you tutor, but especially when you begin, if you<br />
have this intangible tool at your disposal, you will be prepared and equipped to tutor any tutee.<br />
<strong>The</strong> readings you analyze in class coincide with your tutoring. <strong>The</strong>y better prepare you, and<br />
theorize the act of tutoring. You will read about tutoring in a non-directive manner, that it’s the only<br />
acceptable way to collaborate with a student, or instead that you need to be more directive with students if<br />
the situation calls for it, or to only address higher order concerns, and so on and so forth, until, at some<br />
point, it may seem as if these arguments can't quite keep up with what you learn from first hand<br />
experience. When you reach this point, the advice you read is not obsolete, but rather the knowledge<br />
you've gained through tutee/tutor interaction relegates the readings as more supplemental than primary, in<br />
your development. What I mean is, the optimum way to learn as a tutor is to be attentive to the student<br />
and adapt your approach to suit their needs. <strong>The</strong> tool/intangible I've found to be most effective, not only<br />
through personal experience, but also from listening to other tutors, is attentiveness. This particular tool<br />
will serve you in the beginning, through the middle, and to the end of your tutoring experience. It are<br />
always helpful and necessary in understanding each student you tutor, and will aid you in the acquisition<br />
and development of other tools.<br />
What if you sit down with a student and they say, "I just need you to look over my paper for<br />
grammar." You should know, that's not what the writing center is for, lower order concerns. But what if<br />
addressing the lower order concerns can help the student to work on higher order concerns, as well?<br />
Being attentive, or reading your student, will allow you to decide whether you need to adhere to the letter<br />
of the law or if you should use the student's request for grammatical assistance as gateway to facilitate<br />
their growth as a writer.<br />
Reading a student is like playing poker. In poker, your opponent doesn't know what cards you<br />
have and you don't know what cards they have. In order to win, it is not always necessary to hold the best<br />
hand. Often times, being able to read body language, being aware of a player's tendencies, and trusting<br />
what’s learned from previous experience can give one a significant advantage. You won't always utilize<br />
what you observe, or notice as much each time, but being able to not only play your own cards (work with<br />
an essay), but also read the player (understand your tutee) gives you more to work with, and thus<br />
increases the chances of success.<br />
If a student is having a bad day, frustrated with their teacher, or just shy, your ability to read each<br />
student will help you help them and improve your effectiveness as a tutor. A fellow tutor told me a story<br />
about a student she tutored regularly, throughout the semester. As the semester neared the end, the<br />
student had to prepare a presentation for a class. <strong>The</strong>y worked together to assess what the student had<br />
already put together. Her information was organized and thorough, the tutee merely lacked the confidence<br />
to present it articulately. <strong>The</strong> tutor told me how she simply pointed out observations to the student and<br />
reminded the tutee (Melissa) that Melissa was the authority on the information she compiled. Melissa<br />
wondered if her information seemed accurate and the tutor pointed out specific parts of Melissa's<br />
presentation and why she thought Melissa knew exactly what she was doing. All the student really need