Article

[Robert Lunday]

http://writing.wisc.edu/blog/?p=3163

[Ronald Foster]

Great article! It underscores what you have been trying to tell us. I had a student not long ago who was quite upset that I did not go over her entire essay. I instead pointed out a few mechanical errors and then proceeded to try to teach her better writing techniques and how she could improve her writing in general. Whenever I have a student who seems unconcerned about what I'm trying to tell them and just wants to get her paper 'fixed,' I tell them that we are not here to 'fix' their paper. We are here to teach them how to write a better paper.
This blog, however, brings up an even better approach, that of 'partnering' with the writer, something I need to work on.

Ron Foster C. 281-748-1994

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Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:38:02 -0800
From: robert...@gmail.com
To: hccs_se_wri...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Article

http://writing.wisc.edu/blog/?p=3163

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[Danny Asher]

Thank you for the article, Robert.

 

"As tutors, our goal is not to make students' writing better, but to make better student writers."

 

Since Robert gave us this simple advice in a meeting several years ago, I have gradually come to understand how seminal these words really are. Perhaps we could embroider them, frame them, and place them within pointing distance of tutors. If heeded, the words could help tutors make wise choices on what to say and what not to say during a golden half hour session.

 

I am not a fan of tutors who counsel minimal interaction with students. On the other hand, I often talk too much during a session. Allowing silences, sometimes long ones, for a student to answer a question or prompt can help shift the responsibility of the session from tutor to student. After I ask a student to respond, for example, to my question about commas before coordinate conjunctions, I allow the silence between us to lengthen. I suggest that this silence has two parts. The first several seconds establishes for the student that I will wait for an answer. This first stage of silence is necessary because students have found that if they wait long enough, the tutor will impatiently answer the question or give the student more help. Experience has shown me that this first stage of waiting is about ten seconds. At the end of this first stage, the student realizes that he/she will be allowed time to actually frame a response, and the second, thoughtful, stage begins. This second stage may take another ten to twenty seconds. Thus, the (hopefully) pregnant silence has last some twenty to thirty seconds.

 

As the session continues, the student learns that the tutor actually expects a response and will allow the necessary time; therefore, the student learns to skip stage one and to begin with stage two, i.e., actually thinking about the tutor's question.

 

Tutors can use silence as a tool to shift responsibility for the session from tutor to student.

 

Danny

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From: Ronald Foster <toro...@hotmail.com>
To: "hccs_se_wri...@googlegroups.com" <hccs_se_wri...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Mon, February 18, 2013 3:05:54 PM
Subject: RE: Article

[Ronald Foster]

Excellent point, Danny. As we've discussed before, tutoring is a bit like sales. In sales, we often just ask a pointed question and then sit back and be quiet. 'Green' sales people can't stand it. They think someone has to fill up the conversation at all times - and I'm afraid some of our tutors seem to feel the same way, but getting a student to think is far more important than just correcting and teaching, at least to me.

Ron Foster C. 281-748-1994

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Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2013 18:36:48 -0800
From: asher...@yahoo.com
Subject: Re: Article
To: hccs_se_wri...@googlegroups.com