A Monday Blog

I am probably the least experienced of the new tutors and so I usually answer these questions with a broad "maybe-they-won't-realize-who-I-am" grin. But when it comes to awkward silence, and knowing how to create it, I think I'm a near-expert. For that reason, I think it's something naturally human to perceive when another is uncomfortable (they're usually sitting rather close to us and that of course can intensify the experience). I agree that the instant we start feeling that something is wrong we can generally assume that a line has been crossed. But I don't think it's that much of a tragedy if something can be done about it. It's very plain to see why training is necessary to become a tutor, but it just isn't possible to exemplify and use every suggestion and training received in one session. It would really be ridiculous -- I think my head would explode. And so I realized that eventually (or perhaps not even then), when our experience matches our level of training, we can develop a style that incorporates much of what is expected but some of what is entirely natural and untouched. That's why crossing the line is important but not essential -- we can do it in a thousand ways. It's returning that's significant.
That's what I want to learn.