Final Thoughts on English 383

This semester in 383, the information we worked with and the different activities we did seemed like a lot to swallow. As far as the readings were concerned, I thought they were amazing in giving us an introduction to the different things we would encounter during my shadowing experiences, the Boys and Girls Club visits, and the College Mentoring project. To be honest, I initially did not understand the point of some of the activities we engaged in, like the visits to the Boys and Girls Club. However, at the end of our final visit with the students, I realized that it is important, as writing consultants, to be able to know how to help students with different assignments they may come to the writing center with. After all, with society becoming more technological, it is important and nice to get some training in helping students with digital assignments.

English 383 has given me a skill that I know will help me become a better writer, and allow me to share my knowledge with other students by working with them to help them become better writers. One thing I do wish I could have done was maybe conduct on of my shadowing experience to get the full effect of what it means to be a consultant. The shadowing was the one aspect of the course that I thoroughly enjoyed, because I could see what I could possibly be encountered with as a consultant. However, I think if future consultants in training are allowed to conduct one or two sessions (maybe one on their 3 visit and one towards the end of the shadowing experience), and then received feedback from the consultant the in-training consultant is shadowing, it would definitely make a bigger difference and really prepare the student for what is to come. I had a great experience in 383, and I hope future students will feel the same way as I do.

Athletes and the Writing Center

While doing more research on my intended subject for my final project (working with ESL students), I came across an article that addressed a subject we never discussed in 383-athletes and the writing center. I started reading the article and immediately got trapped in it. The article spoke of the struggles that athletes face when writing. Robin Redmon Wright, author of Coaching Critical Thinking:Tutoring Towards Self-Sufficiency, "Student athletes are often under-prepared and ill-equipped to handle the rigors of college level writing assignments" (2). Wright also adds that male athletes are thought to be strong rather than expressive and vulnerable. As a result, they are unable to utilize personal struggles and life experiences in their writing, something that professors usually look for in writing assignments. In addition, athletes are underestimated academically and are even looked down upon by professors. Thus, athletes tend to shut down, refuse to seek help, or try to make an effort. Instead, Wright attests that athletes make excuses for why they cannot succeed in writing assignments. However, with the understanding and help of writing tutors, athletes can get past their fears and open up in their writing assignments. Wright says that by challenging athletes to think and engaging them in a conversation, along with understanding their interests (such as football or basketball) and the time their athletic obligations require, the tutor can establish some trust with the athlete which will help them to think critically in the end.

In the end, reading this article and realizing the struggles of athletes and the attention they need ultimately changed the subject of my final project: working with athletes in the writing center.

Writing Center and ESL Students

Since our discussion on the Writing Center and ESL students, I have continued to wonder: is any other way to help ESL students with writing English? I found an interesting article that really gives some great ideas on how consultants can help ESL students. One of the points it makes is the fact that in Universities, professors usually do not have the time to work with ESL students and help them with their writing. That is where the writing center comes in. It can work as an "adjunct in the process and collaborative approaches" in helping foreign students struggling to write English. It also sheds light on the issue of cultural differences and how that could possibly affect consultations and the collaboration between the student and the consultant. It does, however, seem to imply that writing centers should have ESL specialists. While I do think that specialists would be great for the ESL students, I think it would also take away from consultants learning something new from the session. Regardless, I thought this was an additional source for us to look at as the semester ends.


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Last Hoorah at The Boys and Girls Club

On the last trip to The Boys and Girls Club, Sherzel and I were able to help our student get familiar with Creative Commoms, Audacity, and Photo Stage. Since Sherzel used these for her digital story, she was able to help the student a bit more than I could. I must admit that it was a learning experience for me as well. We also helped our student record herself saying something just so she could get use to hearing her own voice when she actually went ahead to record her script. I think our student felt a bit at ease about finding pictures for her story. After showing her how to find pictures, music, and using photo stage and audacity, we allowed our student to explore on her own, and when she had questions, Sherzel and I would help her with an answer.

I think that a lot of the techniques we used with our student, especially on this last visit, can help when consulting with writers on their text. It is a great idea to help writers realize how they can improve their writing by pointing out a few things to them, and then allowing them to use the guidance they received from consultants to pin point other aspects of their writing that they should or would like to improve on. This is especially important when it comes to grammatical errors, because the Writing Center is not a "grammar shop. It focuses more on making better writers.

College Mentoring Part 2

So last Saturday, we worked with the high school students involved in the college mentoring program. This time, I did not work with the same student as I did the first time around. I worked with a male student whom I will refer to as Fred for the purposes of this blog. When we first got there, Long and I had already sat down with our first student from the first session, but then I was assigned to work with Fred which I thought would be better because it would just be nice to have a one-on-one session. Fred and I first got acquainted with each other--I asked him his name and introduced myself. We then talked about the mentoring program for a little bit and the colleges he was looking to apply, one of them being MIT. I then asked him about his essay, which he wrote on why MIT would be a great fit for him. I read the essay over and just made some initial or little corrections on it. Then, I talked to Fred about the strengths of the essay and what I thought he could improve on. As I talked to Fred about some of the improvements he could make with his essay, his shyness in the beginning turned into a defensive mode. He tried to make excuses for everything I pointed out, and at first, I thought he just wanted to let me understand why he made or wrote something. However, after his fifth excuse for the fifth point I made, I realized that Fred was getting really defensive about his paper, not in a negative or belligerent way, but in a sort of "I don't want you to think I'm stupid" way. So my question, then, is this: how do you help students make improvements in their writing without the student feeling as if you, the consultant, are trying to say he/she is stupid or not so smart?

Second Trip to Boys and Girls Club

The second trip to the Boys and Girls Club was not as great as I hoped it would be. I was a bit flustered and worried about my own personal problems before going to the Club, and it had an effect on my whole mood. So, honestly, I did not feel like being at the Boys and Girls Club. When we finally got there and started working with our student, Sherzel and I quickly caught on to the fact that our student was not as enthusiastic about the project as she was the first time we met her. First of all, she did not have her folder that had all her information in it, so we could not help her with her script. We tried to help her with other parts of her project, but she continued to say that we helped her with what she needed and she would finish the project with her mom. Her objection to our help and the slight attitude she had added on to my frustrations, and I was honestly ready to just get up and give up. That is when Professor Dolson stepped in saved the day. She talked to the student and got her thinking, which really helped to get her to be a little more positive in the end.

The experience taught me something that I think is very valuable when working as a consultant. I realized how important it is for me to leave my personal problems at the door when I walk into the Writing Center, because students seeking help do not need and should not pay for my own problems, and it will definitely have an impact on how I help students. I also learned that when a student is somehow disinterested in the assignment they are seeking help for, it is important, as a consultant, to learn what the problem is and to find a way to attack it. With Sherzel and my student, her lack of enthusiasm was a result of the fact that she felt like the guidelines of the project (including the interview questions) were too strict and did not allow her to do what she wanted with her project. It was hard to find a way to tackle the problem, but I think Sherzel and I were able to help her a little, and I was able to learn valuable lessons from the session!

Helping ESL Students

One thing that attracts me about the University of Richmond is that students are not divided up based on their ethnic backgrounds and whatnot. The University does well to integrate the student body, and I think that having one Writing Center for the student body works well in integrating students. For me, it would be saddening if the University found new consultants for ESL students because it would really be a division of sorts between students. Working with different students from different walks of life benefits everyone involved, because the consultant learns how to handle different students and the student learns how to seek help from people who are different. It is all a cultural and educational experience.

In Monday's class, someone said that maybe it would be nice to have Japanese consultants for Japanese students and so on. However, I think that may send a negative message, as if saying "Your problems are too big for an English student to help you with". What if a Japanese consultant let a Japanese student off easy because they didn't want to make the student feel bad? The student would not really be benefitting. The Writing Center should be a place where everyone involved with it in one way or another should benefit, and assigning students to different consultants based on their background would defeat that purpose. Every person struggles with writing in one way or another, and they all deserve the same help available!