My
first sessions shadowing my mentor, Casey Whitworth, really helped put my mind
at ease. For some reason I’ve had this idea in my head that the tutoring
process is a lot scarier than it really is. The sessions that I spent with
Casey were very laid back, the students were receptive and curious, and my
mentor created a relaxed environment which is exactly what I would like to do
for the students that I eventually meet with. I also realized that it was ok to
start a conversation with the students, to ask them how they feel about the
project or even the class itself. We don’t have to delve into the material
right away unless, of course, that’s what the student wants.
The first student brought in a poem,
which I was extremely excited about. Poetry isn’t the easiest thing to critique
in my opinion but it’s so exciting to work with someone who is right in the
middle creating it. Right away, ideas were popping into my head and I felt so
relieved because more than anything I was worried that I wouldn’t have anything
to say to the student, that I would freeze, my mind would go blank, and I
wouldn’t know how to help. But I knew almost immediately how I could help in a
way that wouldn’t intrude upon the student’s process of writing the poem, just
shed light on a new approach. We talked about adding more concrete images to
explain the abstract ideas he had written within the poem.
The second student wanted to
brainstorm ideas for a speech that she had yet to write. I thought it was cool
that I was able to observe two very different sessions in one afternoon and
during both I felt excited and eager to help. She needed to write an
informative speech about any topic of her choosing, which provides her endless
with paths to travel down. I told Casey that I think the most difficult part of
her project will be settling on one topic because of how many we came up with.
This is a good problem to have!
After these sessions I’m even more
excited to start tutoring on my own and putting what I’ve learned to the test!
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