None for me.....Yet
I have not tutored a reluctant student yet. I have thought about this topic and I have wondered what I would do if I get a student who is not interested in improving his/her paper. I just hope I do not get Emily Petersen's student who does not see the value of college! My fragile state of mind might get shattered at such a suggestion. It was hard for me to participate in the class discussion today because most of the students I have worked with were excited to be there and excited to get some help with their writing. I did have one student who seemed pretty quiet. She did not respond to me very well, and I think she may have been overwhelmed. Either that or I forgot to shower that day. She just did not seem overly excited about working on her paper, but she was not really reluctant. She was willing to work through things and answered my questions; it just seemed that she would rather be texting. At least she still likes college. I think.
After reading the piece about reluctant students I kind of want one so I can try the mirroring tactic. That tactic appeals to me. Or would it be a strategy? I am not sure I know the difference between a tactic and strategy. But nonetheless, it would almost be like a social experiment to watch how the student responds to me being just as uninterested. In all honesty though, I would like to continue working with students who are excited to find the writing center as a resource, and who honestly want to improve their writing. It feeds my ego when students tell me I am smart and I always know just what to fix to make their papers amazing. That is what I am getting the big bucks to do right? Even though most of the time I just make suggestions and let them do all the re-writing work. Maybe I am just really good at asking leading questions. I do not know. What do you think?
But to conclude this on a serious note (maybe) I think I would feel ill equipped to handle a student that does not want to be there. I hope that I can work through the session using some of the tactics we discussed in class, and some of the tactics suggested by the book. And maybe I will get lucky, like Stephanie, and at the end I will feel successful because I was able to get the student engaged and excited about his/her paper. As teachers we all want to be the students' inspiration right? I know I have always wanted to be like Erin Gruwell; having the ability to inspire by my very looks. I will look to the rest of you for help when I encounter that student that drains me of all my tactics. Mostly I will look to you to tutor the remaining students for the day while I pick up my ego from the floor and dust it off for another round the next day.
After reading the piece about reluctant students I kind of want one so I can try the mirroring tactic. That tactic appeals to me. Or would it be a strategy? I am not sure I know the difference between a tactic and strategy. But nonetheless, it would almost be like a social experiment to watch how the student responds to me being just as uninterested. In all honesty though, I would like to continue working with students who are excited to find the writing center as a resource, and who honestly want to improve their writing. It feeds my ego when students tell me I am smart and I always know just what to fix to make their papers amazing. That is what I am getting the big bucks to do right? Even though most of the time I just make suggestions and let them do all the re-writing work. Maybe I am just really good at asking leading questions. I do not know. What do you think?
But to conclude this on a serious note (maybe) I think I would feel ill equipped to handle a student that does not want to be there. I hope that I can work through the session using some of the tactics we discussed in class, and some of the tactics suggested by the book. And maybe I will get lucky, like Stephanie, and at the end I will feel successful because I was able to get the student engaged and excited about his/her paper. As teachers we all want to be the students' inspiration right? I know I have always wanted to be like Erin Gruwell; having the ability to inspire by my very looks. I will look to the rest of you for help when I encounter that student that drains me of all my tactics. Mostly I will look to you to tutor the remaining students for the day while I pick up my ego from the floor and dust it off for another round the next day.
posted by Tamar at 9:43 AM
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