The Role of a Tutor
Kenrod James
September 7, 2010
English 1810
Role of the Tutor???
Tutors play a vital role in the development and the progression of any student. Students go to a learning center to learn how to develop their writing skills and to receive guidance from someone who has expertise and more knowledge. This is where the difference between a tutor and a teacher comes in to play. Teachers are there to watch you and to set regulations on the material you learn and how you learn that material, whereas a tutor is there to guide you and allow you to create your own views and ideas. Tutors actually in my opinion, are more influential, because they allow for the student to find their own voice and develop their inner most thoughts and feelings. I know that tutors have the responsibility to judge whether a student actually wants help or if they are just looking for someone to write the paper for them. The relationship of the student tutor has to be one of respect. I think that the student has to want learn and the tutor to teach.
September 7, 2010
English 1810
Role of the Tutor???
Tutors play a vital role in the development and the progression of any student. Students go to a learning center to learn how to develop their writing skills and to receive guidance from someone who has expertise and more knowledge. This is where the difference between a tutor and a teacher comes in to play. Teachers are there to watch you and to set regulations on the material you learn and how you learn that material, whereas a tutor is there to guide you and allow you to create your own views and ideas. Tutors actually in my opinion, are more influential, because they allow for the student to find their own voice and develop their inner most thoughts and feelings. I know that tutors have the responsibility to judge whether a student actually wants help or if they are just looking for someone to write the paper for them. The relationship of the student tutor has to be one of respect. I think that the student has to want learn and the tutor to teach.
Interesting take on the role of a tutor vs. a teacher, Kenrod.
ReplyDeleteI think that the role of a tutor is to come alongside a fellow student and help them learn to be a better writer. Our role is to be whatever the student needs us to be. If they need a soundboard to bounce their ideas off of, we become that. If they need someone to take an active role in simply listening to what they have to say, we put that hat on. If they need someone to help with organization, we hand them the tools necessary to learn to do it for themselves. We equip them to not only “get a better grade,” but to become better writers in the long run. We are friend, coach, co-conspirator, ally, and a higher opinion they can come to for better judgment. We have such an amazing opportunity to work closely with the student and give them one-on-one help that they would not otherwise receive, all the while learning from them! Teachers are a great source of information, help, and guidance…but they can only do so much with the amount of students they usually facilitate. Tutors are available to give tutees much needed time, resources, and attention that the teacher may desire to supply, but find themselves unable to. It’s also a unique circumstance for us as tutors because we are occasionally able to see the process from start to finish, thereby enabling us to give more specific assistance and insight to a struggling writer. It’s certainly one of the most rewarding jobs a person can have. Tutors are those who do what they love, while helping others to better themselves. I love tutoring because we learn right next to the students. At times, I think that I come away with more than the tutee does. Dave Martinez once said “I feel like a tutor, but I'm also a student. You listen to those guys talk; you can do nothing but learn. It's been nothing but good…” and I can’t help but wholeheartedly agree.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very insightful post on the roll of a tutor. We as tutors have a much more personal role in the students work than thier teachers do. Tutors help a student one on one and I believe that it is our job not only to help them get a better grade but to help them to grow as writers and as human beings, becoming more comfortable expressing thier own thoughts and opinions in thier writings. When a student is comfortable and writing about something that they care about they write better. We definitely have a job with multiple job descriptions and whatever the student needs to help them write a better paper is what we become in order to help the student to become more comfortable and write a better paper. We must always be supportive of the student in order to make them comfortable because sometimes thier papers involve deep issues and the tutor is the first one they have talked about these things with.
ReplyDeleteI originally thought that the role of a tutor was to find as many mistakes as you could. I remember peer reviewing papers for the first time during my freshman year of high school. I'm fairly adept at grammar and I made sure that I nitpicked every single error I could. I took pride in marking that paper up with so much red ink it was illegible. Several days later I was called in by the teacher. The student whose paper I had edited ended up going home in tears. I belittled them so much and made them feel so bad about their own writing abilities that they dropped out of the honors english program that we were in. I no longer felt proud. I felt ashamed. Now, years later tutoring at my college WC, I take the memory of the teary eyed girl into the session with me. I never want to repeat the same mistake that I made back then. I no longer believe the roll of a tutor is to stroke your own ego and show the tutee how "wrong" his or her paper is. I believe that the roll of a tutor is to help them identify major issues with their paper when it comes to content, and I try to boost their self confidence as much as I am able. Writing is a scary process that is daunting to many. Tutors should be the guides that a person seeking help with writing should be able to follow in order to navigate the many little intricacies of thesis construction and paper development.
ReplyDeleteI believe that a tutor can provide a friendly, peer opinion and guidance in forming ideas as well as occasionally giving instructions. I have tutored multiple students who wanted instruction in grammar, MLA format, sentence structure, organization, outlining, etc. My role as a tutor is to aid them wherever they or their instructor believe the student needs some help. A tutor can cover many different aspects of the writing process which thus changes their role. If the student wants to brainstorm ideas or develop a thesis, then the turot is able to help them hone their creativity into an effective form. If they require work with structure, then a tutor can help remind them of the grammar rules that they are leaning. A tutor is there to aid their writing, however they may need to do so. Giving them the confidence or skill sets in order to accomplish this will in turn help them to be a better writer in the future. A tutor is not there only to proofread or write their paper. A tutor only helps them find those answers for themselves. We are here to coach and encourage them and to be a friendly voice of reason. It does not mean that we smarter or altogether more knowledgeable, but simply a different set of eyes with a different opinion and more practiced writing skills. Tutors, in my opinion, are meant to be friendly helpers that give you the guidance needed to better your own writing.
ReplyDeleteI believe that a tutor can provide a friendly, peer opinion and guidance in forming ideas as well as occasionally giving instructions. I have tutored multiple students who wanted instruction in grammar, MLA format, sentence structure, organization, outlining, etc. My role as a tutor is to aid them wherever they or their instructor believe the student needs some help. A tutor can cover many different aspects of the writing process which thus changes their role. If the student wants to brainstorm ideas or develop a thesis, then the turot is able to help them hone their creativity into an effective form. If they require work with structure, then a tutor can help remind them of the grammar rules that they are leaning. A tutor is there to aid their writing, however they may need to do so. Giving them the confidence or skill sets in order to accomplish this will in turn help them to be a better writer in the future. A tutor is not there only to proofread or write their paper. A tutor only helps them find those answers for themselves. We are here to coach and encourage them and to be a friendly voice of reason. It does not mean that we smarter or altogether more knowledgeable, but simply a different set of eyes with a different opinion and more practiced writing skills. Tutors, in my opinion, are meant to be friendly helpers that give you the guidance needed to better your own writing.
ReplyDelete