My First tutoring Session

I can’t find the words to say how nervous I had felt before I had begun the tutoring session. Everything that I could possibly think of became difficult to understand. As if everything I had learned erase cleaned from my mind. I wanted my tutee to learn something from me. I wanted to guide my tutee in the right direction. I was so nervous that I started to re-read the "Tutoring and Writing" handbook all over again. I thought this would help me refresh my memory. My classmate could see my eyes beginning to close as I passed through the state of almost fainting. The pressure became too high, the coldest room became the hottest room in the matter of minutes, and my temper started to increase. My classmate was telling me to stay calm and I just kept breathing very harshly to the extreme measures. As the Professor walked into the classroom, I knew it was time to break all the nerves out of sight. I did not want her to see how terribly pail I looked or think that I was not ready to do this. I was ready to begin the tutoring session. Everything was happening so quickly and I was just trying to adjust to the new setting within my own head.

The next thing I knew, I was assigned to my tutee. His name is Henry and judging by his image and profile, he looked as if he did not want to be here working with me. I did as I always do when I see a trouble student. I smile a lot and talk about my accomplishments so that he knows exactly what I am capable of. I quickly came back to my senses and ask him what have you been working on? He pulled out a CATW paper essay on “Bundle of Trouble”. I than asked if he had a written draft on this particular piece of essay and he had told me that he was absent for the day they wrote about it. Automatically my first thought came to mind and it was “When a Writer needs help finding a Topic” from the book. We quickly conversed about the reading I was unable to get much out of him so I tried another method. I had him free write for ten minutes about whatever comes to mind about the reading. As he was writing, I was re-reading the CATW essay again to myself. I am the kind of person that needs to re-read more than once. It helps me make better judgment on what I could do next for him. Ten minutes have gone by and he was still writing his thoughts down. I did not want to stop him because I felt that he was learning from this. I couldn’t help to smile in the moment because I was so happy to see that he was doing so much better in expressing his ideas. I could see his mood change as he was writing. He was in his moment and I gave him another ten more minutes to finish his thoughts. After those minutes have passed, I quickly reviewed his writing. I could tell that he had an understanding of the piece although I had found another issue in his writing.

This issue may possibly be another reason on why he may have failed the entrance exam. His sentence structure is completely unheard of from at least in my perspective. He loses the true meaning within his one sentence. I could see the same issue being done repeatedly throughout his entire paper. He does not use any conjunctions (and, but, so, etc.) or articles (The or As) to support a subject and verb in the sentence. If anything, he needs to take an entire course on linguistics because this will help improve his essay writing. The next time I see him on Tuesday, I will bring my dictionary and linguistics book so he knows exactly how to write a better sentence.

Now that I have a better idea on how he writes, I than moved back on to the CATW essay. We read the paper once together and then we went back to re-read the essay again. I told him that we are going to make some side notes on each paragraph we have read this time. We read one paragraph and he took notes, than we read another paragraph than took more notes, and so on and so forth. I told him to gather all the note so that he could tell me in his own words what the author is trying to say. He did outstanding when he gathered all the information together into a summery. Since we ran out of time, I left him with a little homework assignment. I told him the next time I see him on Tuesday, I would like a summery on the author’s perspective so that way we could compare it to the previous writing u made for twenty minutes. He was very pleased with the session and I asked him if he learned anything and his response was a yes.

After the tutoring session, I’ve learned within myself that there is much needed work to be done. I want to better improve my verbal skills because it was very hard not to stutter. I stutter when I am nervous and I hope to overcome those fears one day. Although I felt the tutoring session went very well and I am going to be looking forward in the next one. I have a better plan now that I understand where the tutee is coming from. Hopefully my tutee Henry would be thinking the same way as well. My best recommendation to all tutors who are nervous is to never hold back on what you’re truly capable of. If we hold back, there will be a lot of lost information that could have been said sooner rather than later. Overcome the fear and shine to your fullest.

Description on Moffett's "System" in a Letter to a Friend

Dear Katrina,
        I understand that you love to write based on your feelings but did you realized that you are following one of Moffett's strategies. In class, we are working on a piece called "Active Voice" by James Moffett. He discusses the different  strategies he uses to help the writer find their inner voice. One strategy that you would like is the "Composed Observation". This strategy works because it helps the writer write differently but also makes you look at it differently as well. The writer is able to produce a different type of style and writers should understand their options.

         The Spontaneous Sensory Monologue helps you pick through different feelings. This involves the writer to sit at any type of location other than school. The writer must write their surrounding situation using only their eye's, ears, and smell. You can actually participate this type of activities because this will help you become a better and more open writer. You are channeling in what you see, what you hear, and identify your senses. Moffett writes " By comparison, sensations do feel less meaningful and much more raw". It is better to be in a present situations so the meaning comes to make more sense than trying to remember them. Memory can help you in bits and pieces but actually participating would help you produce more details. Although the disadvantage to this particular step is to create meaning. But their is no need to worry because this is exactly what your trying to depict. If you see two adults arguing in a public park, you are going to describe what the situation is? Who started the argument? Can you identify the emotion?  Why did they choose this setting? What type of season is it? Are other people (including children) looking? What are the children's reactions? Once you ask these questions, try to answer them. Take many notes on everything you have witnessed.

        Moffett believes that we are always thinking and developing with our thoughts and feelings. I can agree because this strategy helps the writer to stay focus. What drives our attention and how can we elaborate. I hope this helps you and your writing so keep up with the good work.

Sincerely,

Deseree Rivera

Tutoring Do’s and Don’ts

Deseree Rivera

Professor Gallagher

ENG220        

October 3, 2013

Tutoring Do’s and Don’ts

Do’s

§  Positive reinforcements are being used to encourage the writer to express more ideas.

§  Student was asked to take out a piece of paper in order to write more ideas (brainstorm).

§  Tutor is looking for higher order concerns (HOC) rather than lower order concerns (LOC).

§  Tutor is asking many questions to help the student look at things from a different perspective.

§  Tutor provided an outline to help the student stay focus to the topic.

§  Tutor is listening while the student explains the issue.

§  The 3 types of body language (Posture, gesture, tone of voice) is being expressed in a formal demonstration.

§  When a student is confused, the tutor is giving examples.

§  Tutor is working on an essay in sections while making corrections with the student.

§   Tutor is using a pencil to make the corrections while the student is reviewing the paper.

§  The tutor is presenting confidence in the hopes to help reassure the student overwhelm nerves.

§  When you see a student giving up on their paper, you should not leave it alone.

 

Don’ts

§  The tutor is enforcing teacher-center tutoring rather than student-center tutoring.

§  Tutor reads essay in repeat while the student is trying to understand but simply cant.

§  Tutee one is receiving all the attention while tutee two is staring into space. Tutor should have given the student something to do.

§  The conversation was very informal rather than formal language.

§  The tutor is speaking too fast while the tutee is trying to comprehend.

§  The tutor was very sporadic and the tutor should stay focus.

Response to “Understanding Composing” by Sondra Perl

Deseree Rivera

Professor Gallaghar

ENG 220

October 2, 2013

Response to “Understanding Composing” by Sondra Perl

The most important aspect in Sondra Perl’s writing occurred when I was reading the recursive stage process model. It is define to be a process for when a writer is writing fluently but is reviewing the writing backwards. In some way, it is difficult to explain because there isn’t enough research involved to the particular model. Sondra Perl helps the reader to understand the true concept when composing a piece of writing.

 In Sondra Perl’s essay, she writes “In recent years, many researchers including myself have questioned the traditional notion that writing is a linear process with a strict plan-write-revise sequence.” I can agree to this particular quote because all beginner writers including myself don’t quite understand the process of writing. When we first begin to write, we our handed outlines in elementary school to make writing more sufficient. Writers don’t think about the process because we are taught to write to standards and not to our own. If I was to understand the writing process from when I was young, I would have had better score on all my essays.

As an English major in college, I feel that I lack curtain qualities in junior high through high school that I should have been explained to me further. I was misinformed and lacked the true concepts of writing. When I was reading the Sondra Perl’s essay and I strongly believe that she explains the writing concept in true depth. I feel that all writers must understand the concept for when composing a piece of writing. One must understand themselves before they could understand others so that they can apply it to their own work.