"Cheating" can be good
Throughout the semester, the purpose and goal of tutoring has been repeatedly emphasized––tutors don’t just help students to write better papers, they teach students to be better writers. If every session were ideal and the time tutors spent with students was unlimited, it might be possible for tutors to accomplish this goal: students could look up all the answers to their questions in the reference books, they would be able to write out the main topics of each paragraph and how they relate one to another, they would be interested in grammar, and their cell phones would never ring—and if they did, they would not answer them--and if they were rude and answered their phone during a session, they certainly wouldn't block the door at the institute building so the tutor they had already offended smashed her face into it and then insult her afterwards. . . (Of course, that situation is completely hypothetical.)
But tutoring sessions are not ideal, and time is not unlimited. Sometimes—especially before the last week of school—there are so many students waiting for help that a tutor just wishes the student she is helping would read a little faster, think a little quicker, look up the answer on his or her own time, and stay focused on the writing. When I am in a situation similar to the one I have described, I tell myself to relax and try to handle one student and one concern at a time. While telling myself this may help me to calm down, it does not make the clock move slower or make students more patient. So, sometimes I “cheat” and step a little outside my role as a tutor.
For example, what if the student doesn’t know how to cite a movie in his research paper using APA format? Instead of giving the student the APA manual and waiting for five, ten, or twenty-five minutes while he learns everything about APA format except how to cite a movie, I look it up for him. I don’t want him to relax and lose interest so I show him where I found it (if I actually managed to find it myself), then I give him the book so he can read the answer and fix his paper. I always hope the student learns enough to do it on his or her own, but sometimes that is wishful thinking—sometimes there is just not enough time to teach as patiently and properly as I want to.
What if the student doesn’t know how to spell a word? If there is time, I tell the student to find it in the dictionary, but more often than not, I look it up myself or just write it out on the paper if I already know how to spell it. Or if I am really busy, I just tell the student that the word looks wrong and that they need to look it up after the session because we don’t have time now. This same problem can present itself in many forms and there are many ways for tutors to handle it. Although tutors always want to teach students properly and with care, they also need to consider real-life issues such as time, other students, and their own sanity. Sometimes “cheating” a little is in the best interest of everyone involved.
But tutoring sessions are not ideal, and time is not unlimited. Sometimes—especially before the last week of school—there are so many students waiting for help that a tutor just wishes the student she is helping would read a little faster, think a little quicker, look up the answer on his or her own time, and stay focused on the writing. When I am in a situation similar to the one I have described, I tell myself to relax and try to handle one student and one concern at a time. While telling myself this may help me to calm down, it does not make the clock move slower or make students more patient. So, sometimes I “cheat” and step a little outside my role as a tutor.
For example, what if the student doesn’t know how to cite a movie in his research paper using APA format? Instead of giving the student the APA manual and waiting for five, ten, or twenty-five minutes while he learns everything about APA format except how to cite a movie, I look it up for him. I don’t want him to relax and lose interest so I show him where I found it (if I actually managed to find it myself), then I give him the book so he can read the answer and fix his paper. I always hope the student learns enough to do it on his or her own, but sometimes that is wishful thinking—sometimes there is just not enough time to teach as patiently and properly as I want to.
What if the student doesn’t know how to spell a word? If there is time, I tell the student to find it in the dictionary, but more often than not, I look it up myself or just write it out on the paper if I already know how to spell it. Or if I am really busy, I just tell the student that the word looks wrong and that they need to look it up after the session because we don’t have time now. This same problem can present itself in many forms and there are many ways for tutors to handle it. Although tutors always want to teach students properly and with care, they also need to consider real-life issues such as time, other students, and their own sanity. Sometimes “cheating” a little is in the best interest of everyone involved.
posted by Anonymous at 11:29 AM
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