In defense of honest-to-goodness B.S.ers

Despite Wingate’s attempt to reassure this tutor about the fickle nature of this easily crossable line, I find myself beset with confusion similar in many ways to the confusion I feel when trying to grasp the deconstructionist theories of Derida (the poster-boy for postmodernism), finding many parallels between Wingate’s ambiguous “line” and the seemingly arbitrary standards of deconstructive critical theory; however, although I feel that I lack a concrete grasp on both of these concepts, I am nevertheless comforted by the fact that well-known academic authorities have expressed similar confusions concerning these tricky deconstructive ideas that challenge everything but seem to end up saying nothing, and only make us honest-to-goodness B.S.ers look bad, just as the philosopher John Searle pointed out in a review of book about Derrida’s philosophy in which he famously remarked, “This is the kind of stuff that give bullshit a bad name.”

Despite the implication that we are all terrified by the line’s tendency to move, I feel that knowing that it moves, and that we will inevitably cross it sometimes, is comforting. Merely by knowing that it will happen, we could be liberated from tormenting ourselves with fear of this event or dread of the precise moment when it will occur. However, I would not recommend going to the extreme and crossing the line on purpose, just to get it over with. Just accept the fact that the line will be crossed, have a plan in place for when it does happen, and feel free to take chances- we are not neurosurgeons, we can afford to do that.

Recently, in my search for “the one true word” I have crossed the line. So now I know from experience to take Murray’s views with a grain of salt.

As tutors, we have to take chances because it is the only way we can hope to survive in the post-process swamp, especially considering that we only have grammar for support (the same grammar that skillfully hides it’s cunning nature under a mask of flexibility, so it cannot be trusted entirely) while trying to stay away from the elusive “line” which separates us from an even more dangerous place known as the “over-session” land, a place where the ground is solid and the journey is easy yet always leads to destruction; taking chances is not a matter of preference, it is a requirement for survival.

Ladies and Gentlemen Edit Away

All of the calm, soothing, “it’s alright to mess up because you’re only human” voices in all of the blinking world will not help one tutor who is distraught, distressed, depressed, let down, discouraged, or otherwise encumbered by the heavy emotional bands of guilt felt by one who, through no fault of their own mind you, has accidentally and incidentally let something, a session for example, or the relationship between themselves and one of their students, or perhaps just the handling of the paper its self, slip out of their hands, over the hedges, around the tree, through the grass, and down into the sprinkler system, where it can safely and effectively, wind up in a place where no one, man or beast is willing to touch it because of its completely putrid, again, not through any real fault of its own (or through the fault of the writer for that matter), nature: a session could hardly recover, even if the tutor in question employed all of the tricks and devices that they had acquired (through the various means tutors have of acquiring such tricks and devices), even then it would be difficult for one to recover, or to forgive oneself for such a slip.

146 Steps too Far

Despite Dr. Rogers best efforts to murder me with this blog post thing that we’re doing this week, I still think that I can respond to the aforementioned quotation in one hundred and forty six words or less.
I like Wingate, and to be honest I agree that we, as tutors, should not worry too much about crossing the line; however I find myself thinking that this is something easier said than done. She says herself that it is “not exactly reassuring” to know that you’re often going to “find it by crossing it,” and I for one am hoping that I catch my line-crossing before it goes too far. To err while reinventing a better wheel is human, it’s the dragging my dead horse around in the mud in an attempt to revive it that I’m afraid of. That’s the real danger of the line.

Bam!

Despite the fact that there is a line in tutoring sessions, the movement of it makes it hard to see. As tutors, we are given clear-cut rules and guidelines to follow. Yet we’re told not to be afraid of taking chances or making mistakes. It feels like a bit of a paradox. Every session is different as every student is.

However, having a general idea of how one will handle certain types of tutoring situations can be useful. Thinking about how one will navigate “the line” for different types of sessions may help us stay on the right side of the line. It scares me to think of making mistakes because I’m such a perfectionist about my work. But then I know I’ve already made many mistakes as a tutor since I’m still learning. I should not be afraid anymore because I’ve already crossed the line.

164 no mo no less

Despite the fact that tutors have eyes, we do not realize we have crossed that line until it is too late. It does not help that the line is constantly moving every time you enter a new session either. But as tutors, we can not constantly worry about the mistakes we may make. We must focus on helping the student.
However, this is easier said than done. I find myself constantly balancing my words in order to walk that thin line. Like everything in the universe, you must have balance; and for every perfect tutoring session, there are the disastrous sessions. Tutors must let go of their own concerns of helping the student too much and focus on the student. Do not worry about crossing the line, worry about crossing it too often. Just remember to always carry your eraser and wipe away that metaphorical line.

Compact blog with a long sentence

Despite my limited knowledge of sentence structure, grammar, commas, colons, semicolons, lists, aliens, the lock ness monster, and Sir Alec Guinness, I have managed to obtain a wonderful position in the writing center; this position of responsibility is a wonderful tool for me to enhance my writing prowess through: teaching, communicating, improvising, theft, and extemporaneous compounding. However, I still have many things to learn.

I have been thinking about crossing the line, and intuition, as the essay stated, is the best way to know. I have crossed the line today in the form of the over session. I had a nice old lady come in, and I tutored her for an hour and a half. She needed a lot of advice, but there was no way I could cover all problems in a single session. When I tutored this older lady, I definitely crossed the line.

Despite my limited knowledge of sentence structure, grammar, commas, colons, semicolons, lists, aliens, the lock ness monster, and Sir Alec Guinness, I have managed to obtain a wonderful position in the writing center; this position of responsibility is a wonderful tool for me to enhance my writing prowess through: teaching, communicating, improvising, theft, and extemporaneous compounding. However, I still have many things to learn.

I have been thinking about crossing the line, and intuition, as the essay stated, is the best way to know. I have crossed the line today in the form of the over session. I had a nice lady come in, and I tutored her for an hour and a half. She needed a lot of things, but there was no way I could cover them in a single session. I wanted to give her the best info. I will learn from this………

There is my official blog post. Phew. It is certainly hard to say everything you want to in 146 words!