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A Bumpy Beginning In January, the head of Treasure Valley Community College's English
department gave me the go-ahead to tutor writing students. I had been
working as a Spanish tutor for several months, a job made easy by
the simple grammar questions asked when students actually showed up
for help, but had turned away writing students because I didn't feel
qualified and didn't have official approval to help them. But there
I was-an approved writing tutor. This fact brought a combination of
both fear and excitement. I am a good writer and my grades are excellent,
and I had only taken the job as a Spanish tutor to open up the possibility
for working as a writing tutor, but I was terrified that I would be
a horrible at it. I was also scared by the fact that there was no
training involved, which meant that I would have to wing it. During the first few months, each tutoring session started the same,
with me in absolute doubt and fear over my tutoring abilities. My
stomach felt queasy and my mouth felt dry. All I could think of was
how unprepared I was to work with students and how afraid I was that
I would tell them something wrong and hurt their grades. Worst of
all, I feared looking like an idiot if I didn't know the answer to
every question that might come my way. I wanted to be a perfect tutor
or not tutor at all, and I was unforgiving of even the smallest hint
of a mistake in my sessions. Unfortunately, all of this fear, doubt,
and expectation made me a nervous wreck, and probably not as helpful
as I should have been. This bumpy beginning made me doubt that I would ever be a good writing tutor. I have always had some trouble in social situations, and this was increased by my feelings about tutoring. Furthermore, I still had no idea what it was I should be doing, so I just spent my time going through the paper, fixing every mistake I found. However, to the benefit of the writing students at TVCC, any future students who come to me for help, and myself, I was able to enroll in Eastern Oregon University's Writing 220 class-Methods of Tutoring Writing-with Susan Whitelock. Through the textbook readings and course lectures, opportunities for hypothetical and real practice, and online conversation, I have been able to evolve from a scared, clueless tutor into a tutor with more knowledge, experience, and confidence. Taking a Deep Breath Early in the class, I found out that I wasn't alone in feeling insecure, and this helped me feel a little less panicked. This discovery was made through comments posted by other students, as well as through the reading. In our textbook, Writing in the Center, Irene L. Clark writes that "Tutors cannot be expected to be experts in every subject or to remember every piece of information they have ever learned…" (35). These words were such a relief to me, and I was able to relax a bit. The next time I dealt with a student and didn't know the answer to a question, I told him I didn't know and referred him to a professor. The action itself was unremarkable because I had done it before; the improvement was in my reaction-I didn't feel bad about it. This made this, and future experiences, a lot less stressful. Learning How to Interact With Students As a person who does not find social interaction easy, I also benefited
greatly from the reading on writing center theory, especially the
description of the ideal setting. Clark writes that "As Rogers
has discovered in clinical therapy, 'the more a student feels that
an environment is safe for personal thinking and feeling, the less
tentative become the contributions, the more accelerated the momentum,
the profounder the insights and self-satisfaction' (cited in Mandel
626)" (44). Based on this, I began making a real attempt to lighten
up and interact with students on a personal level before beginning.
I started asking how their days were or if they saw one of the crazy
lightning storms we've been having lately. While I hadn't been acting
superior before, I had been a little shy with students because of
my discomfort and uncertainty, and I found that this effort towards
informal interaction improved the feedback I received from students.
I also benefited from information about the theoretical view of the
ideal writing center. This kind of center is described by Andrea Lunsford
in her article entitled "Collaboration, Control, and the Idea
of a Writing Center," as a "Burkean Parlor of Collaboration…[which
is] informed by a theory of knowledge as socially constructed, of
power and control as constantly negotiated and shared, and of collaboration
as its first principle…" (51-52). This is an ideal based
on "Social Constructionist Theory," which is described by
Clark as the idea that "…all knowledge is social knowledge,
derived from our surroundings" (14). These theories, and further
discussion on the importance of collaboration, helped me realize that
simply correcting student's papers would not be helpful. Based on
this, I began having conversations with students about their papers.
For example, instead of simply writing "unclear" or putting
a question mark next to sections I didn't understand, as I had done,
I started asking students what this meant, and used the discussion
to help them clarify their meaning, a method which seems much more
helpful. The most helpful experience in helping me realize how I should interact with students was my experience with being tutored myself via Eastern Oregon University's Online Writing Lab. I was amazed by this experience. The tutor, who I had interacted with as a classmate very briefly, used the kind of tone I normally receive from a good friend. She was very upbeat and nice, mixing compliments of my writing with some helpful criticism so that it was so softened, and I don't think I could have taken it the wrong way if I tried. This helped me realize just how informal and positive I needed to be with students. Because of this, I now try to find ways to compliment papers at the beginning of the session, throughout the discussion, and at the end of the discussion. I've also started telling students "Good luck with your paper!" as they leave, something I hadn't thought to say before. I think they appreciate this last word of encouragement because I always get a "Thanks!" Figuring Out What to Do in a Tutoring Session My experience being tutored also helped me realize exactly what it is I need to work on with students. I had been going through papers line for line, pointing out anything I noticed. Now, I follow the same format the EOU OWL tutor used, a format which is specified on the OWL website in the "Writing Tutor 'Best Practices Checklist'" as a movement "…from global to local, or macro to micro issues…" Based on this, I now start with large scale issues, such as the thesis, focus, organization, audience, and other problems that affect the whole of the paper. Then, if necessary, I work on small scale issues, such as grammar and syntax. This format is a lot more productive than a sentence by sentence approach. For instance, a student recently came into the writing lab with a paper that had no thesis statement and was essentially a summary of a novel. If I had gone over the paper sentence by sentence, it would have been a complete waste of time for both me and the student. Instead, I quickly skimmed the paper and noticed the problem, and we worked on developing a thesis statement with three main points-this was a five paragraph essay-and I sent him off to begin a draft based on his brainstorming and proposed format, with his assurance that he would be back with his new rough draft. Finding My Niche While I have become more comfortable in face to face tutoring sessions at TVCC, my experience with a hypothetical online tutoring session showed me that I am most comfortable with online tutoring, a feeling which is not a surprise since I am generally more comfortable writing than I am with conversation. I enjoyed the freedom to really think about what I wanted to say, something that is not really possible while feeling rushed by the presence of a student sitting next to me. I also appreciated the fact that I didn't have to worry about sounding stupid because I could just change the wording of any sentence I didn't like-something I only wish I could do in speech. Of course, this tutoring practice was made easier by my ability to model my own tutoring experience, as well as some examples we had analyzed in class. Utilizing My Strengths in Face to Face Tutoring While I do still feel more comfortable with online tutoring, I have
been working on finding ways to utilize my strengths in that forum
while tutoring face to face. While tutoring a good friend of mine,
Amber, just this week, I realized that it was easier for me to follow
the global to local format and discuss her paper comfortably after
I had jotted down a few notes while I read. The paper simply listed
four main points we needed to cover-broaden thesis, organization,
integrate quotes, and Introduction and Conclusion-but it allowed me
to keep my thoughts in order, and when I needed a reminder of what
to go over next, I just looked down at my little list. This is something
that I plan on doing in all of my future tutoring sessions. I have also found it helpful to keep helpful resources nearby. I
try to always have my copies of Joseph Gibaldi's MLA Handbook for
Writers of Research Papers, the most helpful guide on MLA citations
that I have ever seen, and Diana Hacker's A Writer's Reference, which
I turn to for any questions on grammar. I also try to have some of
my favorite tools from Clark's text handy. My absolute favorite is
the function outline, which is a great help in organization (126-128).
In fact, I used this to help Amber organize her paper. While I could
have said roughly the same things about organization that the form
says, it is easier if I can show it to students and see it as I discuss.
Just as my notes helped me stay focused, seeing the function outline
while I was working with Amber helped me remember how she could improve
the organization of her paper. A Smoother Road While I still have a long way to go before I feel completely confident with face to face tutoring, I am a completely different tutor than I was before taking Methods of Tutoring Writing. I have evolved from a timid, insecure, self-critical tutor to a tutor who has learned how to relax, enjoy the experience, and really help students. This was evident in a tutoring session of just last week, which was by far my best session with a TVCC student yet. What made it the best was not what we accomplished, which was a pretty typical amount; it was the best because I felt completely at ease throughout the session, and didn't once doubt myself or become self-critical. While I needed to learn what to work on while tutoring and how to interact with students when the term began, this has probably been my biggest obstacle as a tutor because it affects everything else. Now that I have realized that my biggest enemy in tutoring is myself, the road ahead should be much smoother.
Clark, Irene L. Writing in the Center. 3rd ed. Iowa: Kendall/Hunt,
1998.
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