The Very First Blog

I have never written a blog before. It always seemed against the whole purpose of what a diary was supposed to be. What’s the point if its online for the world to see? It makes me assume people are lying. How honest can you be when the world is reading what you are saying? I know the purpose of this isn’t for that whole “he broke my heart” or “guess who said this about her” thing. This blog is for the writing center which means “What am I learning about tutoring?” from week to week. God, I hope I have enough to say from week to week. And then what if there is a particularly funny story about a tutee? Am I being unethical in telling the story online? Am I like a doctor? Confidential files stay confidential. Its probably unethical to say anything.

This whole grammar thing is throwing me threw a loop. Exactly how am I qualified for this? What do I know about it? Last semester I did take Latin and actually felt like I learned more about English there than in any English class. Funny how another language can do that. I hope I will be qualified by the end of this semester. I can’t remember how well I did in grammar during elementary school. All I remember is how excruciating the lesson plans were…the worst hand cramps ever. All we ever did was copy line after line out of our textbooks, fixing an error here and underline a pronoun there. English sounds so boring in that kind of context, but that’s not what it is. I wonder how many students that come into the writing center feel that way about English. I was really lucky to have a few amazing English teachers. A good teacher really makes the difference in how a person feels about a subject. One awful math teacher can ruin math forever for a person. It seems bizarre to me that anyone would despise English the way I hate math, but I suppose it happens.

Actually I’m really excited about being certified as a tutor. It feels like such a great opportunity. I already know how to use an engraver and laser machine, put together a frame, shelve according to the Library of Congress, and will shortly be certified as a tutor. I didn’t even realize they had certifications for this kind of thing. I’m curious to see how my first tutoring session will go. I don’t really think I’ll be nervous. I actually really enjoyed peer grading when you look at another student’s paper and give them your opinion. I tend to make their papers look really messy…notes bleeding all down the side. I’m practically cruel, but I always try to throw in the kind “I like this part”. Now I wonder if you should do that in the Writing Center. If there is one person who you particularly butchered should you throw them the odd bone?

Gina