The Tutoring Book - California State University, Sacramento

was to trust her own knowledge and present her information confidently, to be successful. The tutor
explained to me that she did not sugarcoat comments to the student, but instead encouraged the student by
simply stating what she observed and reminded Melissa of how much good work she had done to prepare
the presentation. Melissa's doubt did not stem from any part of her actual project, but more from not
being sure if her classmates and teacher would understand what she wanted to communicate through her
presentation. The following week, Melissa returned for her regular session with her tutor and shared the
results of her presentation. Melissa was excited to tell about how the students in her class engaged in her
presentation, listened, and asked her intelligent questions, and how her professor commended her, and
stated that the presentation was the standard for the other students in the class to strive for. Thus, the
tutor's ability to sense and read her student, beyond the surface of academic instruction, facilitated a
collaborative connection of tutor/tutee, where the tutor helped the student, not by teaching them, but
simply by realizing what that student needed in that particular session.
The more confident you become in reading each student, the more you will be able to help them.
Sure, certain strategies will assist you in tutoring a tutee; for example, it is a sound rule to make higher
order concerns a priority in each session, but as you probably know, there are exceptions to every rule.
Mark my words: the "rules" will be tested repeatedly as you gain experience. You'll question what you've
been told and read, and then compare it all with what you've experienced. As a tutor, you have a
responsibility to your unique position. Tutoring differs from teaching because teachers, often times, are
limited to one style of instruction because of the nature of working with multiple students,
simultaneously. Typically, in a tutoring session, you will have the opportunity to cater to just one student
and adjust your style based on what YOU think or feel will be most effective in helping them become
better writers, better students. Then, with your next tutee, you can employ a different style, if that is what
the situation calls for. It doesn't mean you'll be able to satisfy every student and all of their needs, every
time, but with your students, especially those you meet with routinely, each tutoring session will allow
you to collaborate with them, reflect, and attempt to reach each student in an individual way, a luxury a
teacher often times does not have.
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