The Tutoring Book - California State University, Sacramento

Story 3: I brought up the subject of working with the Know-it-All writer with two other wonderful tutors,
Kathleen and Alex, in the tutor’s lounge. (If you haven’t yet hung out in the tutor’s lounge, waste no time
– go there today!) The three of us had remarkably similar experiences about men who were struggling
with their master’s theses. As it turned out, we had all worked with the same man! Greg (not his real
name– we have a lot of fictitiously named people using the WRC, it seems) was very resistant to change.
Kathleen said it best, “He wanted me to explain why he shouldn’t have to listen to his thesis reader's
comments! I found this to be a challenging session because 1) I felt a lot of pressure to do some magical
thesis feat, 2) we only had 30 minutes, 3) he seemed pretty defensive, and 4) I didn't understand his main
argument and I had a difficult time trying to get the student to understand where/why I was having
difficulties (not because I don't think I was being clear, but because he thought I did not understand how
the first few sections of a thesis are organized...but I do! sigh...it felt like a lose-lose).” Alex and I had
had almost identical experiences with this writer. The three of us didn’t come up with a magic solution,
but we felt better knowing that it wasn’t necessarily our problem. We all have very different tutoring
styles, yet we all had the same problem helping this man. Kathleen and I were also interested to learn that
this was not a case of the male writer not listening to the female tutors. This story has no perfect ending.
This may be a case of doing our best to apply the theories we are learning and creating some really useful
knowledge that arises out of everyday practice as Marilyn Cooper suggests (Murphy and Sherwood, 62).
Perhaps we need to share our stories about working with Know-it-All tutees so that we can begin to form
a collective understanding. Instead of reacting defensively, and labeling a tutee as a Know-it-All who
will probably be a waste of time, we can try different approaches until a connection or at least a neutral
zone for negotiation begins to form.
Some of our most meaningful rewards are those won after a difficult struggle. Working with the Know-it-
All requires a great deal of flexibility and determination. As in the case of my encounter with Dejan, and
Andrea’s session with Jim, the results may be positive and rewarding. But, as demonstrated in Story 2, we
may not get through to all of our tutees, no matter which strategy we attempt. Rather than giving up in
frustration, we can try to see these tutees as challenges -- people who require us to put theory into practice
and teach us a great deal in the process.
The truth is we have no idea how hard these tutees have worked or what obstacles they have overcome to
produce the writing they present to us like works of art for which they hope to receive kudos and praise.
So, when we feel our hackles rising because a tutee is defensive and condescending, we might come to
see it as a good sign – a chance to earn some valuable tutoring stripes.
Works Cited
Murphy, Christina and Steve Sherwood. The St. Martin's Sourcebook for Writing Tutors.
Bedford: St. Martin's, 2008. Print.
McAndrew, Donald and Thomas J. Reigstad. Tutoring Writing: A Practical Guide for
Conferences. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook, 2001. Print.
69