Now If I Could Just Get Paid to Do This. . .

I struck it lucky with my first session.  The student had written a three-page personal essay for ENGL 1010.  The paper was almost flawless!  There were a few grammar and punctuation errors, but aside from that, he nailed it.  He wrote a strong narrative piece with genuine emotion and smooth flow.  Most of my job seemed to consist of showing him what he was doing right and why it worked and encouraging him to keep it up.  What little work I had to do was to help him tighten up his thesis and expand and clarify his conclusion.  He was receptive to my suggestions and had some good ideas of his own.  I have high hopes for that young man. (sigh)

Besides the paper, the tutee himself was a pleasure to work with.  He responded well to encouragement and was active in collaborating with me on what could be done to make the paper even better.  I was encouraged that he brought in a paper that was already so polished, that he was so attentive to my suggestions and prompts, and that he was so eager to see improvement.  It’s great to see a tutee who cares about what he’s doing.  I know I can’t hope that all sessions will be so good, but his attitude and skill really took the edge off of a first session that could have been much worse.

This was a great experience.  My nervousness at the outset was minor compared to the dividends of good interaction with a good tutee over a good product that he really cared about.  I’m sure I’ll feel worse on other days, but as of now I feel elated.  He even asked for me specifically when he needed help with something else!

My second session was with a creative writer.
I love my life.