Advice

I should have assumed tutoring would be rather complex-- or at least something that would require training. Even as I registered for the class, I still felt like it would be something more natural than learned. And then I read the essays dedicated to the situations tutors encounter, and I listened to the way Claire spoke about the writing center, and my ideas began to focus. I really started to enjoy the camaraderie of the class and the way it felt to help someone grasp the possibility of expression in writing. I still feel like we knew most of the techniques we reviewed in class before we became tutors: it's just that we learned directly how a certain word or phrasing can change someone's attitude dramatically; how a quiet gesture or a spoken compliment can open doors previously sealed.
It's important to remember that not every suggestion or technique can or should be employed in a particular setting. It's like the contents of a drawer have been dumped on a wide table: we choose the pieces to organize and call our own. Some other ideas floating in the pensieve include never assuming the depth of someone's intelligence from his or her writing; the importance of conversation in establishing the tone of a session; and that global issues take precedence over local issues.
I haven't met the ultimate tutor. I don't suppose I ever will. Everyone -- professors, tutors, doctors, scholars -- keeps a back room with a table of acquired paperclips, rubber-bands, stamps, and (sometimes) knowledge. The fools are those who keep the door locked.