Nearing the End Zone..

Like I briefly mentioned in my reflections this week, my shadowing session went more or less as it usually did. except the fact that I knew the student being tutored and it was hard not to get drawn into a conversation that had nothing to do with writing. I think I recovered pretty well after the initial outburst of girl talk in the beginning asking specific questions about her paper and what she was having a hard time writing. A rough draft was due in a couple days and I could tell she wasn't stressed out and that it wouldn't have affected her grade if we had gotten off subject but I can see the importance of keeping a session impersonal and professional. There's always the possibility of running into problems when being "too friendly". Also, it shows the students who come for help that the writing tutors are reliable and serious about helping the students.

The videos and readings for the non traditionnal writer was the most helpful for me as I learned new ways to approach different types writers. Reading about what the writer felt and their feeling of being rusty at the writing process made me see that it must be pretty difficult for those who come back to write after a long period of writing no papers. THey must have a tough time getting help with papers considering there would be more cases where the tutors would not assist the writer in the right manner. Professor D mentioned that we probably would not be placed in a situation where we needed to help non traditionnal students but at the same time this is another way of reaffirming the need for all tutors to be open and flexible with the writers that come in through the center's doors. There can be plenty of cases where there is a miscommunication or feeling of dejection on the writer's part without being a non traditionnal writer and I'm sure there is a wide range of confidence levels out there in the writing world.