What I wished I had known
I think I have to agree with Kyle on this one. It isn't good to know everything ahead of time. Learning is worth the stress and pain. If I had known what my family would be going through this semester, I'm not sure I would have been so happy to live through it. I might not have signed up for classes, and then I would have missed being a tutor.
Planning ahead is really the only option. For example, I picked out my bibliographic essay topic and had gathered tons of source materials ahead of time. It saved my life: I was able to get the writing done despite serious family issues. Yes, the writing experience was still difficult, but the preparation made the experience worth it.
One thing that helped me in this, my first semester as a writing tutor, was being brave enough to ask questions. There was so much to learn in the Writing Center! If I had given in to fear and pride and kept my mouth shut, I would have found myself in a lot of trouble. I felt embarrassed, even stupid at times, but asking questions was the best way to learn about this job. It was worth it. Besides, there were plenty of other things to be embarrassed about; I did not need to invent new ones.
This class has been great fun. I have enjoyed the lively conversation and the changes to my perspective that have come from meeting with this group of people. I cannot imagine tutoring writers without the advice and instruction from Dr. Rogers and our wonderful Claire. Our reading assignments came at just the right times for the more challenging tutoring sessions. I use the suggestions from the authors whenever I teach, even with my little art students. (The highly emotional sessions happen more for me in the elementary setting than in the Writing Center.)
Thank you for an interesting, stress-filled, entertaining, challenging semester!
Planning ahead is really the only option. For example, I picked out my bibliographic essay topic and had gathered tons of source materials ahead of time. It saved my life: I was able to get the writing done despite serious family issues. Yes, the writing experience was still difficult, but the preparation made the experience worth it.
One thing that helped me in this, my first semester as a writing tutor, was being brave enough to ask questions. There was so much to learn in the Writing Center! If I had given in to fear and pride and kept my mouth shut, I would have found myself in a lot of trouble. I felt embarrassed, even stupid at times, but asking questions was the best way to learn about this job. It was worth it. Besides, there were plenty of other things to be embarrassed about; I did not need to invent new ones.
This class has been great fun. I have enjoyed the lively conversation and the changes to my perspective that have come from meeting with this group of people. I cannot imagine tutoring writers without the advice and instruction from Dr. Rogers and our wonderful Claire. Our reading assignments came at just the right times for the more challenging tutoring sessions. I use the suggestions from the authors whenever I teach, even with my little art students. (The highly emotional sessions happen more for me in the elementary setting than in the Writing Center.)
Thank you for an interesting, stress-filled, entertaining, challenging semester!
Labels: what I wish I'd known
posted by Gabrielle at 11:58 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home