I am a bit nervous about beginning to meet with students this week, as it is my first time meeting them individually. They seem like a good group, which I am thankful for, but I am still nervous. However, I am a bit excited to finally get going on tutoring stuff and talking with them. I am hoping to avoid talking at them so much as I am talking with them. Being able to pose questions is going to be the most helpful there, but I know that I go on tangents here and there. Another worry of mine is my other schoolwork. Last week I had tons of assignments pile up without warning, and I fear that it could happen again while I am reading and providing feedback on these students’ essays. I don’t want to get caught up in that spiral again, and knowing that I have to provide office hours that take up the time I would normally have to do work is slightly worrying.
This week is when we begin to put what we have learned about being a writing tutor into action. As for me, I will be starting to meet with students this week. I already have seven appointments booked for the latter half of the week, and as that time approaches, I grow more nervous about how it is going to go. I have fears and worries about my ability to help the students improve their writing, and trouble-shooting problems in the best way possible when they come up. Some of these are fears that go back to the discussion we had at the beginning of the semester. Those fears revolved around not knowing how to help, the feedback I offer not being well-received and a lack of effort on the part of the student to want to work with me to improve their writing. The thing about all of these fears is that they are all totally valid, as they are all probably going to come to fruition in some way, shape or form. A student or two is probably not going to fully appreciate my feedback. I am likely going to encounter challenges with a student’s writing where I will not be the most confident in offering my own advice. I know for a fact that I will be meeting with students that will be grumpy about having to meet with me, and will be very uninterested in the ways in which I try to help them. Although these realities of tutoring young college students are not ideal situations, what matters most is how I respond to it, and that I See it as a problem to trouble-shoot rather than something to be discouraged by. I can recognize that I am not going to cause a breakthrough for every single student. I can do my best to get the students interested and excited about their work by trying to relate to them. I can be affirming, and kind when I give them constructive criticism, or make suggestions. These are all ways that I can do my best and be confident that I am doing my job as a tutor.
I have also been nervous about the APA style paper that I am doing the tutoring for. As a Political Science major, my comfort zone is more in the realm of opinion pieces and persuasive essays. I have written a few APA style papers before, I understand the assignment and have confidence that I would know how to achieve a good grade on the paper if it was assigned to me. Therefore, I have to apply that same feeling of confidence to reviewing students’ papers, and I have to know that I don’t need to be a content expert. I am excited to get into tutoring this week, and get to know the job as I do my best to help my tutees with their introductions.
Journal #5:
Going into week 5 I’m feeling pretty good. So far I have met with four tutees, as my faculty mentor, Professor Frank, has required that all students meet with me before turning in their essays on Monday. It’s gone fairly well so far, the tutees have been great to work with, and a lot of my anxieties have subsided. I have run into a few scenarios I hadn’t thought of though, and therefore wasn’t as prepared for. First of all, how do you approach an essay that needs heavy duty global revision. For example, if you’re writing a response essay, but you merely state the argument of the piece you are meant to be responding to, how do you help that person? Secondarily, if you meet a writer who doesn’t think they need your help at all and are just meeting with you because the professor said they have to, how do you help them loosen up to hearing a second opinion? Currently that’s what’s on my mind. Additionally, I found a new anxiety. What if I suggest something that the professor doesn’t like, and the writer gets docked points because of one of my suggestions? I think Professor Frank has done a really good job framing my job for the students though, as all of them have had the correct expectations of what I am there for, and have yet to ask me to act as their editor or get them an A. However, this has become one of my main worries. Finally, I have discovered that having my tutees read their essay aloud has worked surprisingly well. I was expecting this practice to make things more awkward, but instead it acts as a sort of ice breaker and lets us both laugh and get into the writing headspace.
3 thoughts on “JOURNAL # 5”
I am a bit nervous about beginning to meet with students this week, as it is my first time meeting them individually. They seem like a good group, which I am thankful for, but I am still nervous. However, I am a bit excited to finally get going on tutoring stuff and talking with them. I am hoping to avoid talking at them so much as I am talking with them. Being able to pose questions is going to be the most helpful there, but I know that I go on tangents here and there. Another worry of mine is my other schoolwork. Last week I had tons of assignments pile up without warning, and I fear that it could happen again while I am reading and providing feedback on these students’ essays. I don’t want to get caught up in that spiral again, and knowing that I have to provide office hours that take up the time I would normally have to do work is slightly worrying.
This week is when we begin to put what we have learned about being a writing tutor into action. As for me, I will be starting to meet with students this week. I already have seven appointments booked for the latter half of the week, and as that time approaches, I grow more nervous about how it is going to go. I have fears and worries about my ability to help the students improve their writing, and trouble-shooting problems in the best way possible when they come up. Some of these are fears that go back to the discussion we had at the beginning of the semester. Those fears revolved around not knowing how to help, the feedback I offer not being well-received and a lack of effort on the part of the student to want to work with me to improve their writing. The thing about all of these fears is that they are all totally valid, as they are all probably going to come to fruition in some way, shape or form. A student or two is probably not going to fully appreciate my feedback. I am likely going to encounter challenges with a student’s writing where I will not be the most confident in offering my own advice. I know for a fact that I will be meeting with students that will be grumpy about having to meet with me, and will be very uninterested in the ways in which I try to help them. Although these realities of tutoring young college students are not ideal situations, what matters most is how I respond to it, and that I See it as a problem to trouble-shoot rather than something to be discouraged by. I can recognize that I am not going to cause a breakthrough for every single student. I can do my best to get the students interested and excited about their work by trying to relate to them. I can be affirming, and kind when I give them constructive criticism, or make suggestions. These are all ways that I can do my best and be confident that I am doing my job as a tutor.
I have also been nervous about the APA style paper that I am doing the tutoring for. As a Political Science major, my comfort zone is more in the realm of opinion pieces and persuasive essays. I have written a few APA style papers before, I understand the assignment and have confidence that I would know how to achieve a good grade on the paper if it was assigned to me. Therefore, I have to apply that same feeling of confidence to reviewing students’ papers, and I have to know that I don’t need to be a content expert. I am excited to get into tutoring this week, and get to know the job as I do my best to help my tutees with their introductions.
Journal #5:
Going into week 5 I’m feeling pretty good. So far I have met with four tutees, as my faculty mentor, Professor Frank, has required that all students meet with me before turning in their essays on Monday. It’s gone fairly well so far, the tutees have been great to work with, and a lot of my anxieties have subsided. I have run into a few scenarios I hadn’t thought of though, and therefore wasn’t as prepared for. First of all, how do you approach an essay that needs heavy duty global revision. For example, if you’re writing a response essay, but you merely state the argument of the piece you are meant to be responding to, how do you help that person? Secondarily, if you meet a writer who doesn’t think they need your help at all and are just meeting with you because the professor said they have to, how do you help them loosen up to hearing a second opinion? Currently that’s what’s on my mind. Additionally, I found a new anxiety. What if I suggest something that the professor doesn’t like, and the writer gets docked points because of one of my suggestions? I think Professor Frank has done a really good job framing my job for the students though, as all of them have had the correct expectations of what I am there for, and have yet to ask me to act as their editor or get them an A. However, this has become one of my main worries. Finally, I have discovered that having my tutees read their essay aloud has worked surprisingly well. I was expecting this practice to make things more awkward, but instead it acts as a sort of ice breaker and lets us both laugh and get into the writing headspace.