Tutoring Wish List

When I think about my first day as a tutor, I wish I had known that everything would eventually be alright. Instead of freaking out for weeks because I didn’t remember every writing rule, I wish that I would have taken two deep breaths and enjoyed my first days more. I wish that I would have asked the students more questions during the session, which would have made my job much easier. I wish that I could have looked at the first students that I tutored with an expression other than utter terror. I wish that I could have ended a tutoring session feeling happy and triumphant rather than immensely relieved. I can now happily say that time and experience has remedied these “wishes.” Oh yeah, one thing I forgot to mention above is that I never dreamed that tutoring could be so frustrating and require so much patience! One piece of advice I would share with future tutors is DON’T FREAK OUT! Being a tutor is great, and once you realize that you know more than you give yourself credit for you will start having more productive tutoring sessions. Stick with it because it is worth it. The second piece of advice I would share with new tutors is make your students feel comfortable because when they are comfortable, you are comfortable.

I think the tutoring class was really helpful at preparing us for the things we were bound to face in the writing center. Even though the writing response assignments may have seemed unhelpful at first, they really taught me a lot about everything that goes on in a writing center and what a tutor’s responsibilities are. The BIG (bibliographic essay) assignment had the same purpose just on a much bigger, broader, in depth scale. Writing this thing takes more time than I think any of us knew, but in the end I think we learned tons about our chosen writing center issue. Overall this is a great class that helps an ordinary student become a tutor.