A Lot of Worries...
Truth be known and told, I actually have quite a few concerns about tutoring in the Writing Lab. The majority of those worries following along the lines of the idea that I will do something wrong and make a lot of mistakes. I worry also that I just won't be able to communicate what I'm trying to say correctly.
I am worried that I will forget an important rule and make some kind of mistake that causes trouble, that is probably my largest concern. I don't want to cause anyone trouble, whether it would be for my fellow tutors and co-workers, a teacher, or the student her/himself. I'm also worried that I won't know the answers to questions. I know I can just ask someone else and look it up, but I just don't want to have to be doing that constantly.
I'm also worried that I'll make a mistake in telling the student to change or fix something and having my suggestion be wrong. I would hate to be the cause of anyone getting a bad grade. Another worry is that I won't be able to explain a concept to a student in a manner that is understandable to him or her. Then on the flip side to explaining something wrong I'm worried that I will actually have explained it well, and then have the student agree with what I said even though they didn't understand any of it. Which leads to a question: how can you tell if the student you are tutoring really understands what you've said if they just agree with everything you have told them?
One smaller worry is that I won't know or understand the material so I won't be able to understand them or help them. I also don't want to offend anyone or hurt anyone's feelings. I'm scared that I may say something I think I have put in nice terms and have it backfire on me.
I'm not worried about having a positive attitude or even about the amount of work I may have to deal with; but I am worried about things like the above. I just want to do the best that I can do and actually be able to help someone. So I want to receive all the training needed to accomplish being a good tutor. I like to help people, so I'm going to give it the best I've got and put forth my best effort even though I have a lot of worries.
I am worried that I will forget an important rule and make some kind of mistake that causes trouble, that is probably my largest concern. I don't want to cause anyone trouble, whether it would be for my fellow tutors and co-workers, a teacher, or the student her/himself. I'm also worried that I won't know the answers to questions. I know I can just ask someone else and look it up, but I just don't want to have to be doing that constantly.
I'm also worried that I'll make a mistake in telling the student to change or fix something and having my suggestion be wrong. I would hate to be the cause of anyone getting a bad grade. Another worry is that I won't be able to explain a concept to a student in a manner that is understandable to him or her. Then on the flip side to explaining something wrong I'm worried that I will actually have explained it well, and then have the student agree with what I said even though they didn't understand any of it. Which leads to a question: how can you tell if the student you are tutoring really understands what you've said if they just agree with everything you have told them?
One smaller worry is that I won't know or understand the material so I won't be able to understand them or help them. I also don't want to offend anyone or hurt anyone's feelings. I'm scared that I may say something I think I have put in nice terms and have it backfire on me.
I'm not worried about having a positive attitude or even about the amount of work I may have to deal with; but I am worried about things like the above. I just want to do the best that I can do and actually be able to help someone. So I want to receive all the training needed to accomplish being a good tutor. I like to help people, so I'm going to give it the best I've got and put forth my best effort even though I have a lot of worries.
posted by Joni Lund at 9:18 AM
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