Strengths, and a plan.

After nearly a week’s worth of hours at the Writing Center, I finally had my first tutee today.

Manesh (I think) brought in his 100+ page doctoral dissertation on methods of providing renewable energy to utility companies (I think). The combination of Manesh’s native tongue and the dense tech-speak of the dissertation made me want to jump out of the nearest window – at first.

After the initial shock of the thickness (both literally and figuratively) of the dissertation in front of me, I calmed down and hunkered down. We went line by line, page by page, reading aloud and suggesting changes of troublesome phrases. Even if we weren’t suggesting changes, the slow reading would have been necessary for me to understand the complexity of the text.

It’s a daunting feeling – knowing that the person sitting beside you is smarter than you. Frightening, too, is the feeling that there’s really nowhere to begin – that your tutee’s mistakes in articles and prepositions are always going to be troublesome for someone like him, a nonnative speaker.

But Manesh caught on fast…he began to notice improper articles and bad (or nonexistent) prepositions before I could ask him about them. He started to smile and, after I told him we should stop for today, said he’d be back tomorrow.

I guess the experience above is an example of my strengths. The task felt impossible at first, but by just doing it, just starting it, it seemed to get easier. I suppose I could have told him, “Everything looks fine,” and sent him on his way, but that’s not what we, as tutors, are here for. Sometimes, it’s going to be almost as hard for us to tutor as it might be for the tutees to accept that they may need help.

Starting that dialogue with your tutee can be the hardest part. Once you’ve made that connection, it gets easier.

Like Ali said below, recognizing tutees’ strengths is an important part of any writing center plan. Not only will this make the tutee realize he or she isn’t doing everything wrong, it will help build your relationship with the tutee as well.

Another characteristic of a good writing tutor is the ability to know when you don’t know. For example, today, Manesh had used the word “optimum,” and I thought he should have used “optimal.” I wasn’t sure why his word was wrong, so we went to dictionary.com – together – and read the definitions. One is much more common as an adjective, so we both agreed it was the best choice. By opening that initial dialogue and building that connection, the tutee won’t see you as an infallible dictator. They won’t loathe you for your mistakes. They won't secretly hope for your downfall. Work with your tutee, not on them.

In short, a simple writing center plan (with much room for elaboration) is this: Start the dialogue, recognize a tutee’s strengths, and know when you, as a tutor, need to look elsewhere for answers.