[spotifyplaybutton play=”https://open.spotify.com/album/3M6KX4jy8zOQOskYbUfODq”/]
L’Artiste
I’ve come to the point where I recognize that tutoring is like an art—it is something that becomes perfected through practice and time. While my previous session was solo as well, this session was more natural than the last and I had felt more comfortable about the direction of the session. This occurred during Late Nite Writes in the library, so there were more possibilities of space to sit and discuss the tutee’s assignment. The student chose to sit outside at the tables, where we began the session discussing their assignment, a physical portfolio for their Composition and Rhetoric class. Oddly enough, the portfolio was put together just a piece of art, with bits and pieces of the artist here and there between individual assignments followed by reflections of their work.
To begin, we read through a rhetorical analysis paper regarding a piece of art from around campus. The painting being discussed was of the University itself but painted in an angelic manner. Since we were reading a paper that had already been graded but just needed to be revised, there were minimal errors here and there which I pointed out as I read the paper. We also found areas where more detail could be included, which the student worked on as we moved through the paper. Since there were minimal corrections, we moved onto the next assignment which was another rhetorical analysis assignment that examined the health of horses during riding as well as how certain elements such as vitamins can affect the health of a horse. As with the other paper, the assignment had already been graded so there were minimal corrections that needed to be made. We continued to read through each of the assignments until we had read through them all.
At this point, the tutee made all of the necessary corrections and went to print out their revised papers as well as the reflections of the assignments that they had written and brought them back to me, so that way we could begin piecing together their portfolio. The student was unsure of the order the assignments should be placed in, whether it should be organized by topic or personal preference, however, I explained that the best approach to organizing a portfolio would be chronologically based on when they were assigned and the order in which they were completed in. Once the portfolio was completed the tutee left and the session was completed.
The assignment that the tutor brought was unique because it was a compilation of the student’s work including their first drafts to their last one. This process made me think about how “the first draft is just you telling yourself the story” (Terry Pratchett). This was the case for the student and through reading their work I could see the improvement the student had made throughout the semester, just as an artist does with their work and just as I hope to as a tutor.
While this session was brief, it allowed me to perfect my art, and while it is still not perfect, the experience of solo tutoring during Late Nite Writes gave me the opportunity to work with a student as well as be in a space where other tutors are helping other students.
Victoria,
I love your exploration here of the idea of tutoring as an art. I agree that the opportunity Late Nite Write offers of being in a comfortable environment surrounded by other tutors really makes it easier to feel comfortable and confident while tutoring. Even the change of scenery you described when you headed to the outside patio of the library with your tutee must have helped to make both you and your tutee feel more at ease.
Also, the fact that you went from tutoring a student about a rhetorical analysis art paper to a paper about equine shows just how diverse the range of topics the Writing Collab has to work with is. I’m glad that despite not being an expert on all of these topics (I assume), you still managed to do an excellent job helping them with their writing and even with organizing their portfolio. This reminds me a lot of Chanock’s article “How A Writing Tutor Can Help When Unfamiliar with the Content: A Case Study” which I know we both read.
Victoria,
This piece is very intriguing! I love how you incorporate pictures and a song into the blog post. It gives an artsy feel (which is the theme of this piece) that the reader can comprehend if they are an incoming tutor or tutee. I love reading about other people’s experiences with sessions. The style of your tutoring seems relaxed and laid back, which is always feelings that are needed in a session. The aspect of having a paper related to art is not something that is normally seen within a session; I’m glad that you were able to experience it.
The fact that you had the first drafts of the student’s work to look back on was probably helpful in getting to the main goal of the session: having the student’s paper as best as it can be. Having the past drafts also gives background on the student, making the session more personal. The fact that it was a paper about horses is also interesting because you never expect an equine paper to be in a tutoring session. Also equine and art combined aren’t really concepts that are put together.
– Ann