Stage Fright
I'm excited... and worried! It reminds me a lot of being in a high school play. Those were some of the funnest time of my life, and also the scariest! I worried about lines and cues and costume changes, and that I would mess up and not be able to smoothly cover it up. There was so much to remember! I've never quite gotten rid of the nerves that come with performing either. They seem to creep up in so many situations. So I would be lying if I said I didn't feel nervous about being a tutor!
My main worry is how do I help someone who is a better writer than I am? Or more specifically, how do I help them in an area that I’m weak in? Life seems to throw you in hard situations like that a lot! I hope you’re all willing to help if that happens... when that happens. The selfish reason for why I’m worried is that I don’t want to sound like an utter fool; but the other is that I’d hate to have the student judge the writing center poorly for my failings. To help myself, I think I know of a couple of areas that need reviewing or improvement. Although, I really worry about what I don’t know I don’t know.
I definitely agree that only having about 20 minutes with a student is another worry factor. I'm not a fast reader because I like to be thorough. I like to try to "hear" the voice of the writer as though they were reading to me. Somehow I'm going to have to learn to both read both quickly and thoroughly. (Anyone have any tricks?) Another concern with time is that I’m not going to be able to accomplish what needs to happen in those 20 minutes. I’d feel awful if a student walked away with a feeling they didn’t get anything out of our session.
Then there is the issue that I tend to focus too much on grammar, spelling and punctuation. I'm not the grammar police, but incorrect things like that bother me. I tend to focus too much on mechanics rather than developing themes. This may be a result of my compulsive mind and from having to write several fact laden lab reports. On the other hand, this isn't a huge concern since I know that with a little conscious effort I can focus more on content. I’ll need help though. Again, I’d hate for the student to walk away with no ideas or methods to develop their paper.
In spite of all this worry, I do want to say that I am excited as well! It’s that feeling of wanting to do well with a new opportunity and to do your best. I really want to open myself and help all of you out, too. I promise to talk and be friendly, and not to be too loud or obnoxious! This is going to be exciting; but like the stage, the excitement and fun doesn’t come without some stage fright!
My main worry is how do I help someone who is a better writer than I am? Or more specifically, how do I help them in an area that I’m weak in? Life seems to throw you in hard situations like that a lot! I hope you’re all willing to help if that happens... when that happens. The selfish reason for why I’m worried is that I don’t want to sound like an utter fool; but the other is that I’d hate to have the student judge the writing center poorly for my failings. To help myself, I think I know of a couple of areas that need reviewing or improvement. Although, I really worry about what I don’t know I don’t know.
I definitely agree that only having about 20 minutes with a student is another worry factor. I'm not a fast reader because I like to be thorough. I like to try to "hear" the voice of the writer as though they were reading to me. Somehow I'm going to have to learn to both read both quickly and thoroughly. (Anyone have any tricks?) Another concern with time is that I’m not going to be able to accomplish what needs to happen in those 20 minutes. I’d feel awful if a student walked away with a feeling they didn’t get anything out of our session.
Then there is the issue that I tend to focus too much on grammar, spelling and punctuation. I'm not the grammar police, but incorrect things like that bother me. I tend to focus too much on mechanics rather than developing themes. This may be a result of my compulsive mind and from having to write several fact laden lab reports. On the other hand, this isn't a huge concern since I know that with a little conscious effort I can focus more on content. I’ll need help though. Again, I’d hate for the student to walk away with no ideas or methods to develop their paper.
In spite of all this worry, I do want to say that I am excited as well! It’s that feeling of wanting to do well with a new opportunity and to do your best. I really want to open myself and help all of you out, too. I promise to talk and be friendly, and not to be too loud or obnoxious! This is going to be exciting; but like the stage, the excitement and fun doesn’t come without some stage fright!
posted by Renee at 4:40 PM
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