Scared...

What scares me most is the thought of not being a good enough tutor. I feel like I can help, but can I help enough? When we were going over the paper in class I was just overwhelmed. I didn’t know what to do or where to start. I was lost. Maybe I was thinking too much or not concentrating enough. Also as I was reading through this essay I was often reminded of myself, I thought that paper could have been mine. I am guilty as charged when it comes to fluffing to get that extra page or two, but nobody is perfect. Another fear I have is becoming misleading. I do not want to give the tutee bad advice or even false information. I’m taking this class so I can become the best tutor I can be. I will learn from my mistakes and bad habits and overcome my fears. I want to work on my writing strategies, my tutoring skills and I want to master grammar. I also have a constant fear of writer’s block, which by working on different writing strategies, I wish to eliminate.

When it comes to tutoring explaining something that you understand to another person can be difficult. That’s what makes a good tutor, explaining something and making sure the tutee understands what you are saying. When I’m out there giving people help with their papers I need to know what I’m doing. I need to know how to express myself the way I want to, so I’m not just one big ambiguous wreck. With time and practice I know I can overcome the nervousness of not being good enough. I have a good idea on where to start my practice, my own work. By working on my own writing I can learn and reflect from my own mistakes. And from these mistakes I will develop strategies that will not only help me, but my peers too.

I don’t want to mislead a student with their paper wasting my time and most importantly theirs. I don’t want them to work and spend time on a dead ended, pointless paper. That’s why I’m going to question the writer. I’m going to question both the grammar and the thesis of their work. I want them to learn something as well as have their paper to be tutored. I have also realized that I’m going to run into students that have writers’ block. I want to be able to rise above this barrier so I can show others how to as well.

When I tutor I want to be clear on what is to be done. I want to form my own type of style and game plan so I can breeze through the students’ papers with no problems. I don’t want to be unorganized with each paper. I want to be on my feet at all times so I know what I’m doing. This class will help me correct and learn from my mistakes and get on my feet. It will help me basically develop a lesson plan that I will improve over time.