To Be a Tutor
Like others, when I was hired as a tutor I thought it would be a breeze—sit down with a student, read her paper (preferably in silence to myself), tell her what was wrong, and send her on her way. However, when I went to class—and later to work—for the first time, I realized that I was grossly unqualified to help other writers and extremely unprepared to be a tutor.
In the beginning of the semester, I was completely surprised by the ethical and moral dilemmas of the writing center. What should a tutor do with an offensive paper or with an offensive writer? How do tutors help writers without “taking over” their work? What is the “line” and how do tutors know when they have crossed? And more importantly, how do they get back on the right side when it has been crossed? How much is a tutor obligated to tell—or not to tell—a writer about his or her writing? What is the best way to handle ESL students? Issues, questions, dilemmas—the list of problems faced in the writing center goes on and on, and the debate continues. Before I became a tutor, I hardly knew the writing center existed; I definitely didn’t know there would be so much “baggage” that came along with the job. But it has been good baggage––weighty at times, unpredictable, hard to carry and store, but always thought-provoking, insightful, and helpful in tutoring sessions.
For some reason, I was also shocked by how closely tutors work with writers. Before tutoring, I assumed that a session would center on the paper with minimal interaction between student and tutor. I learned quickly that tutoring is about the “process,” not the “product!” The goal of a tutor is to help students become better writers, not simply put out better papers. As I learned to play the role of a tutor and interact with students, I was pleasantly surprised by the gratitude many students had for the help I offered and by the gratification I got from offering it. It’s enjoyable to work with willing, dedicated writers—they make the job fun and interesting. Of course, not all sessions or students are ideal. Some drive me crazy and make me want to burn their paper in front of them, but it helps to have a sense of humor—and perspective. I laugh every time I read about Katie’s cell phone student. How long ago did it happen? A week hasn’t gone by that it hasn’t come up in a blog or in class discussion. I’m glad it didn’t happen to me, but it really is kind-a funny.
My best advice to other tutors is BE SINCERE, BE HONEST. Praise the writer when something is well written, funny, or interesting. Tell him you are confused when you don’t understand, and ask him to explain it more clearly. Tell the student how much time you have, and explain why you can’t spend two hours together discussing every comma splice of a seventeen page research paper. When you don’t know the answer, tell them you don’t know; when you do know the answer, teach them patiently and with confidence. Ask more questions than you answer, help the student think about the paper so they will understand it better. And when you can’t think of anything else to say or do, just BE NICE—after all, it’s only a paper.
In the beginning of the semester, I was completely surprised by the ethical and moral dilemmas of the writing center. What should a tutor do with an offensive paper or with an offensive writer? How do tutors help writers without “taking over” their work? What is the “line” and how do tutors know when they have crossed? And more importantly, how do they get back on the right side when it has been crossed? How much is a tutor obligated to tell—or not to tell—a writer about his or her writing? What is the best way to handle ESL students? Issues, questions, dilemmas—the list of problems faced in the writing center goes on and on, and the debate continues. Before I became a tutor, I hardly knew the writing center existed; I definitely didn’t know there would be so much “baggage” that came along with the job. But it has been good baggage––weighty at times, unpredictable, hard to carry and store, but always thought-provoking, insightful, and helpful in tutoring sessions.
For some reason, I was also shocked by how closely tutors work with writers. Before tutoring, I assumed that a session would center on the paper with minimal interaction between student and tutor. I learned quickly that tutoring is about the “process,” not the “product!” The goal of a tutor is to help students become better writers, not simply put out better papers. As I learned to play the role of a tutor and interact with students, I was pleasantly surprised by the gratitude many students had for the help I offered and by the gratification I got from offering it. It’s enjoyable to work with willing, dedicated writers—they make the job fun and interesting. Of course, not all sessions or students are ideal. Some drive me crazy and make me want to burn their paper in front of them, but it helps to have a sense of humor—and perspective. I laugh every time I read about Katie’s cell phone student. How long ago did it happen? A week hasn’t gone by that it hasn’t come up in a blog or in class discussion. I’m glad it didn’t happen to me, but it really is kind-a funny.
My best advice to other tutors is BE SINCERE, BE HONEST. Praise the writer when something is well written, funny, or interesting. Tell him you are confused when you don’t understand, and ask him to explain it more clearly. Tell the student how much time you have, and explain why you can’t spend two hours together discussing every comma splice of a seventeen page research paper. When you don’t know the answer, tell them you don’t know; when you do know the answer, teach them patiently and with confidence. Ask more questions than you answer, help the student think about the paper so they will understand it better. And when you can’t think of anything else to say or do, just BE NICE—after all, it’s only a paper.
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