This particular week at the Writing Center was an interesting one indeed. I'm really starting to get a taste of the required visits now. It's cool because every time someone else comes in with the same type of assignment I've had experience know with the requirements and can better adapt to help the writer. At the same time, however, there were some issues of conflict as well. I'm not sure how it happened, but a frequent visitor to the center apparently had an appointment on Tuesday and in the struggle to get things organized she was skipped. I tried my best to get her signed up onto the WC website to see what was going on but she didn't remember her password and I specifically remember helping her set up an account last time.
The second event happened on Thursday where I had an hour long session with a writer. His computer had just eaten some of his assignments, so he was pissed and cursing a decent bit. Knowing that we had to do what we could with the writing I nevertheless sympathized with him and offered some suggestions on possible ways to keep his documents safe. We then got to the paper itself. Each and every sentence was in poor shape and by the end of it I was practically exhausted. What I didn't realize is that this student had a learning disability and that in fact I was doing the right thing by going through it sentence by sentence. This was a huge relief to me because that experience had momentarily changed my entire perception of things. I wanted to help everybody but was faced with a piece of writing I had no idea how it could fly. But then we read about several types of non-traditional students which helped me start to feel okay again.
I'm doing fine now but it was an unexpected experience I wish I had known a bit more about. It seemed like lots of the people in class knew except for me. Nevertheless, I did have some positive consultations this week and am steadily advancing through my hours. I just feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my chest now that I know what the situation was and hope to maybe meet the student again so that I have a more sound strategy in mind.
As for the reading itself it was strange because I basically tackled most of it right after the consultations in which I practically had a combination of all three together in one individual. I think the articles were meaning well by bringing up the subject but there were still inherent troubles. As was mentioned in class it seemed like a lot of these student/consultant relations were something able to steadily build over time. With us in the center it's always a battle of who gets you next.
I was really excited to do e-mail consultations this week and seemed to have adapted pretty well to it. I read the easy, wrote and even did some editing of my response in about 50 minutes and received positive feedback from Joy. While I enjoy the process of fact to face tutoring I'm wondering if e-mail is a little more my style. When I was first helping friends and family with projects, before working in the writing center, it was the most common way I stayed in contact. Thus this was a natural transition for me.
Just plugging along I guess, always trying to do the best I can.
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Ben, don't feel bad about not being totally prepared for your consultation with the guy with a learning disability; I think we'll always encounter things that throw us through a loop, and all we can do is our best. It sounds like you took the right approach!
ReplyDeleteAnd for the record, I haven't worked with this particular student yet, either. But I am glad I heard the feedback in class about him because he has an appointment with me next week.
Anyway, I'm sure you did well. No worries. :)
Hi, Ben.
ReplyDeleteYou're right--it does seem that certain student would benefit with working with the same consultant over and over again. We don't always get that luxury, as you note. Sometimes, though, students may benefit from working with different consultants--different perspectives.
And not to worry about the first student you mentioned. I chatted with her last week, and we discussed the problem that arose that day, and she was certainly more understanding than she was before.
It does seem you took quite naturally to email consultations, and that is super. Don't worry, though, you'll still be getting the majority of your sessions via face-to-face. If at any time you're working on an email that does seem to be a bit difficult, please feel free to chat with Joy, or me, or another consultant--it's always best to get a good game plan when working on emails.
Thanks for your thoughts here, Ben. I hope you had a fun Halloween!
mk