I Can't Learn For You

In my tutoring experiences so far, I have not really encountered an extremely reluctant student. I have had one who seemed to fade away as the session progressed, but it had begun well with him stating his concerns and telling what he would like to have accomplished. This vigor seemed to ebb, however, within a few minutes and towards the end he became largely unresponsive. When I asked him if he was alright, he claimed he was tired and left not long after. Although I have not yet worked with an extremely unresponsive student in the Writing Center, I have had experiences with some through other tutoring means. Many junior high students that I have worked with will calmly sit and stare off into space as I am explaining a concept to them. These types at the very least don’t seem to be doing it on purpose (although they aren’t obviously trying to focus either), but others I have worked with purposely ignore my cajoling because they are annoyed to have to be there. If pushed too far, in my experience, these ones become slightly more than irritated. The worst experience I have had was with a largely unresponsive student who, when I asked how his work was going, swore at me and walked out. This, of course, is a very extreme case of something even worse than unresponsiveness, but if bothered too much by the tutor, some students will not take to it nicely. Because of this, I have learned to not force the student to do anything they don’t seem willing to do, after initially urging them. Any kind of session for any subject needs to be student-oriented, and if the student is refusing to cooperate, it is not the tutor’s responsibility to force them to. Yes, the tutor should do everything in their power to make the session productive, but if the “vibes” emanating from the student don’t seem to be favorable to the overall peace of the session, then the tutor needs to back off. I really liked the reading’s idea of “minimalist tutoring” in that by mimicking the body language of the student, the tutor begins giving off the same attitude and feeling as the student is. Perhaps this alone would alert the student to his unfriendly attitude and might motivate him to change simply for the sake of civility.
Interestingly enough, my most difficult subject who I have had to tutor has been my very own brother. Although this doesn’t necessarily apply since the tutoring with him is done in an informal setting and the “sibling rivalry” certainly factors in, he is the epitome of a reluctant student in my mind. He serves as a sort of “practice tutee” for my experiences with real students. Often, my choices with him are to continue to encourage him kindly as he works, or simply shut off from him, myself, so that, in order for the help to continue, he must respond somehow. By effectively ending the actual tutoring, the tutor is able to place the student in the driver’s seat. Whether or not the session is successful depends on whether or not the student is willing to put forth the effort to make it so. If they aren’t, then there is simply nothing the tutor can do to make it otherwise. Learning is not something that somebody else can do for a student, but is an individual process that must occur on a personal level if anything at all is to be gained.