ch-ch-changes

Honestly, I don't think I've been working in the Writing Center long enough to know what changes should be made. Even though I think I've learned a lot in the last few months, I feel like I'm still settling in sometimes. Making changes before you have a solid sense of the way things work isn't going to help anyone. It's hard to improve on something you don't fully understand, even if your ideas have worked in other settings. Ahem. However, there are a few things I could suggest.

I agree with the last few posts; there might be a bit too much socialization at times. As much as as I love being able to sit and talk with like-minded folk, it might not be the best thing for the students who need our help. At the same time, I don't think off-duty tutors should be banned from the Writing Center. This might be giving us (I am including myself in this statement) too much credit, but I don't think we need rules to keep us in check. If we can all just be aware of what we're doing and remember that students are number one, things should be fine.

Cynthia's suggestion of staff nametags might work on several levels. Not only will it differentiate on-duty and off-duty tutors, but it will help students gain a familiarity with tutors. I don't know about the rest of you, but I almost always neglect to introduce myself properly. Nametags might pick up the slack. Several times I've had a student come in and explain that s/he was helped by, "that one tutor...with the hair...you know?" Nametags won't guarantee that students will commit our names to memory, but they might help them communicate with us more easily. Plus an official Writing Center nametag would make a nifty keepsake once we have to leave for a less appealing job. Can you tell I don't want to graduate yet?

Now that I've rehashed everyone else's suggestions, I have one of my own. It probably won't fly, but I'll put it out there anyway. What if we didn't have the same schedule for the entire semester? I spent the first few weeks of the semester watching the other tutors; this is where I learned the most. There are some tutors that I know from class, but haven't ever worked with. It's nice to have a set schedule, but it might be better for us to work with a greater variety of tutors. Maybe a monthy schedule might work? In reality, it probably wouldn't, but it's nice to think about.

That's all I've got for now. If you want to hear more of my ideas about what's wrong in the Writing Center, listen very closely during any of my shifts. It might sound like complaining, but it's really just my way of offering advice.