I haven’t had the opportunity to work as a tutor but the first thing that stood out to me is how many kids are actually going to use the writing center. I honestly thought it wouldn’t be as filled up the first time around but it is! It’s a little nervewracking to think that so many kids are coming to ask about their papers but I know I will have my resources. The room where we will be working is very comfortable which helps a lot with anxiety from not only tutors but also the students. The only other worry I have is getting there on time I don’t want students to have to wait for me to get there. Mrs. Galvin(Amanda) brought up that when handling students who don’t know when to start its best to ask what they have done so far or what their paper is about. She also gave us other pointers on how to handle the students such as sitting next to them and asking them what they want to do for the day. We already knew this information but it was a good refresher. My goal is to just get more comfortable with traveling to the school and helping the kids. I feel like I’m anxious about working with students without knowing too much but I’m sure I’ll be okay. I didn’t realize how passionate Asheville was towards their students. I remember walking into the high school and thinking about how big the school was. The fact that they have a lot of resources for their students shows that they care. Mrs. Galvin also brought up how when their students said they wish they had more in school activities to help with their work that’s when they decided to build the writing center. It makes me happy to know that the students are being listened too. 

By: Elizabeth Grissom

Tutoring in the AHS writing center has helped me understand other students and their struggles with writing. I’ve noticed students often don’t understand instruction from the teacher or do not have enough experience in writing to be confident enough to even start their paper. The frustration from the students is hard because I want to help them understand and enjoy being able to write cohesively. Yet the reward for helping them get through their frustrations is worth the hassle because at the end of the day we are all still learning. I have never taught before and it has given me a new appreciation for teachers and professors especially English instructors. Writing, in general, takes a lot of time and patience and it takes double to the time to help or teach someone how to write. Teaching others has improved my writing skills because I am practicing them often to provide guidance for students. The writing process itself can be a big challenge if you are not able to use the right techniques to write a decent paper. I feel highschoolers have a very different writing process to follow then students in college it feels that highschool has a very strict set way of writing yet college writing gives you more space to roam and discover a way that makes writing good for you. Goals I’d like to focus on during this service-learning project I wanted to work on my own writing skills and improve them more while assisting others. I want to improve my methods of tutoring and work on how I talk to students. I feel like when I communicate to other students I have troubling articulating how I want to phrase something I am explaining to them in a way they can understand. I learned a lot about myself and how I interact with others and it is definitely a skill I will improve on.

As I haven’t yet worked with a student, the thing that stands out to me the most about this experience so far is the school building. It is a huge school, and it looks like an old castle. The writing center itself is located in the alumni room, which is full of old artifacts and pictures. I really enjoyed being able to look at all of the history in that room, and I was able to do so on my first day because there weren’t any appointments. 

Originally, I hadn’t thought I would learn that much by volunteering at the highschool, but that assumption has already been disproven and I haven’t even helped a student yet. Reading chapters from The Bedford Guide has provided me with a lot of knowledge about how to help others with their writing. It has taught me many strategies to use when faced with writer’s block, how to help people at different stages in the writing process, and how to best help students with different writing styles. All of the things I’ve learned so far have influenced the way I think about teaching, as I am now more aware of how many different skills you need to have in order to be an effective and helpful teacher. As I begin helping students with their assignments, I hope to help them improve their overall skill as writers, and not just correct a few mistakes on one paper. I also hope to become more versatile in the type of people and writing styles I can help, as right now I don’t have much experience in tutoring others. 

Even though this service-learning class just began, I have already learned more about the community of Asheville. The highschool we are tutoring at is beautiful, and if I had just seen it in passing I would have assumed it was a very prestigious school. However, it is simply a public highschool in a nice building, and it faces challenges that any other school might face. Specifically, this school has a very large performance gap, which is something I would not have assumed if I hadn’t been told. Throughout the semester, I wish to learn more about what can be done to narrow such a gap, as well as more ways to help people in general.

When I first walked into the writing center at Asheville Highschool, I didn’t know what to expect. I found myself pleasantly surprised by the cozy environment, filled with the school’s history. There was something about the writing center, a smell, some effect of the lights, or perhaps it was caused by the countless displays, but the writing center gave off this presence that is only found in libraries and museums. It was quiet, contemplative, peaceful even. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t that. I didn’t expect it to feel like home.

While I haven’t really had any interaction with students yet, meeting with experienced tutors and preparing to become a tutor provided a new perspective on writing and teaching. I never considered teaching others, I never thought myself knowledgable enough to be able to even think about such a task, but I’ve come to realize that I don’t have to know everything about writing. I don’t have to be an expert to help someone. I keep thinking back to my dad, recounting his first experience teaching a community college class, “You only have to be a week ahead of the students.” He right, one of the best ways to learn is to teach, and I’m ready for that.

Such realizations have really shaken me, however. I was nervous to begin tutoring, and I still am, but I’m also excited. I want to teach others. I never thought I’d say that in a million years, but now, more than ever, I know its true. That has been a key part of my own growth from service-learning so far. I hope to continue to grow in this experience, improve my own writing, and I hope when I finish this course that I helped other students grow into better writers too.

By: Gabriella Gayoso

Within high school, the concept of writing is a developing process. It is a construct of learning that plays an intricate role in the identity we choose to present to the rest of the world. But, along the way, many undermine the importance of having someone to both help you, and support you, as you continue your academic journey.

   So far, as a tutor, what I noticed is the amount of increased engagement these students have, (at Asheville High School), in regard towards their academic writing ability. It is a very rewarding experience for me because it helps me identify their goals of writing, outside of the classroom. By being able to spend one-on-one time with these students, I recognize the amount of strength they possess in wanting to become successful writers. This is very inspiring because it exposes how tutoring can have a positive effect on the growth and development of their learning.

   What I have been able to accomplish with these students has greatly changed my thoughts on both teaching and learning. What I have noticed is how everyone learns and processes information differently. Not every student follows the same pattern, or requires the same amount of attention within their writing. Teaching students takes time and effort, which is why it is important to be patient with the learner, without becoming overbearing or intimidating. Bombarding them with too much information can create a lack of momentum, and therefore lead to a slump within their progression. Overall, this experience has taught me the value of good teaching/tutoring skills, and how it plays an intricate role within advancing the students’ academics.

   As I continue to work at Asheville High, I hope to help learners attain writing goals that will prepare them for the unknown world. Writing plays such an important role in the way society functions. By tutoring, I have the amazing opportunity to help developing writers reach one step closer towards a goal of academic success and accomplishment. Whether they need help composing a poem, or a lab report, I want these students to know that they are capable of achieving great confidence, and intelligence, within their own writing. 

  I never thought I had the skills necessary for improving the understanding of writing. The world it encompasses is always changing, and I was unsure as to whether I could offer the fundamental tools for others to become successful within it. But, what I have noticed from tutoring, is that I possess the capability of helping learners navigate the “murky waters” of writing. This is important because it allows me the opportunity to communicate with the students in a way that can positively enhance their writing skills moving into the future and beyond.

Unfortunately, I was not able to be a tutor at Asheville City High school because my soccer schedule did not allow.  Professor Pisano decide to assign me and a couple other people with busy schedules to work on different projects better suited around our schedule. The first project we did was downloading YouTube videos onto a flash drive.  This was used to allowed inmates in prison, who didn’t have access to internet, to watch videos in order to help them write a research paper. The thing that stood out to me most while doing project was just realizing how much help this was going to be to the inmates and how important these videos could be to help them write their paper. This has influenced my understand in writing in one way which is that people learn in and comprehend things in different ways. These inmates are not just going to be using these videos they are also going to have books and articles and by providing them with these videos we are giving them a different avenue to find information and write their paper. My future goals for whatever projects I’m assigned to in the future is to make sure I do the best I can on all of them because I realize that my effort will affect others. If I put half effort in, people receiving whatever my projects I worked on will get half effort out. So not only I’m I cheating myself but I’m also cheating others. My service-learning experience has influenced me personally in exactly that way, If I’m cheating myself I’m also cheating others so I now realize I have to give my best on everything to not hurt others. With this being said, I’ve really enjoyed my service-experience and can’t wait to do more projects.

I, unfortunately, I have not started my service-learning project. It has been difficult figuring out how to make this work with my schedule and the high schools. Playing a sport and then trying to do more extracurriculars is proving to be as hard as it sounds. It has been frustrating throughout the whole process. Even the beginning of getting approved. Then we found a day that would work and had it all planned out, until the next day them saying that the one day we could go and would work with our schedules was not going to work for them. So, therefore, we have done nothing. We should be getting something figured out in the near future and hopefully helping out other students with something on campus.

Walker Lezotte

This whole process was a giant headache from start to finish. I have literally not started the volunteering yet because the first problem was that I got delayed the first couple of times. When I did my background check, it took forever to get back to me so that I could even start. The second main problem was finding a time to actually go. Being an athlete and doing school was hard enough and finding the little time to do this was really difficult. Don’t get me wrong I was excited to actually start and volunteer and help young minds grow and grow as a writer myself. So I found the only day that I could go was Thursday mornings. There lies my next problem. Thursday is the only day I could volunteer with my busy schedule and at first there was no problem in volunteering on Thursdays. Contacting the head of the program had its own hurdles in it of itself. When she said I could do Thursdays I was excited, but the day before I was going to go, she emailed my professor that Thursdays was a no go for their schedules. Three weeks have gone by and I have not been to tutoring. This is getting really frustrating for me because I know that I have to get a certain amount of hours in before the semester is done. Being an athlete and having a busy schedule is hard in itself and considering that I am now three weeks behind schedule and having big competitions coming up. It was one big headache. The end of the third week, the head of the program emailed my professor that it was good to go. I was again excited, then not even the following Monday I got an email saying that it was no longer a viable option to volunteer on Thursdays. Thankfully all that is behind us now. I am glad to hear that I will not be failing this class due to lack of volunteer hours. My professor and I sat down and talked about helping with the upper-classmen and shadowing them for a project they are doing.

The writing center is an elegant, cosy place meant to foster comfort and creativity. The leather chairs and long tables make excellent work stations for one-on-one meetings. The room is nicely decorated with Cougar pride items, equipped with its own Cougar merchandise. There is a small laptop where students can fill out surveys after their appointments which will provide feedback for changes in the center. 

 I have not gotten a chance to coach yet, but I am excited to begin helping students soon. Having an extra pair of eyes is always beneficial when undertaking the writing process. I am sure when I start helping students with their writing that I will become much more aware of habits that I have when I write. I hope in turn they will learn from me whether we are tackling organization of the paper, the development of ideas, transitions between paragraphs, reducing wordiness, explaining grammar rules, generating outlines, brainstorming, the works!

I am also looking forward to improving the ways I communicate with people and learning how to best be helpful in this writing endeavor. I hope to help dissolve any stigmas around writing or having aid with writing. I really like UNC-Asheville’s motto for our writing center which employs people to come to the writing center not because they cannot write, but because they do. Even the greatest writers had editors. Even Thomas Jefferson, the famed writer of our Constitution had editors. He hated them, but he absolutely had them. It can be discouraging to have your paper marked up, but I do not want it to stay discouraging. I want my methods of helping writers to be nothing but encouraging.

 I hope this service learning gives me confidence to do more service learning in the future. I hope to make a difference in the way students at Asheville High view writing by providing them a comfortable space and reassurance that writing is hard but they can do it!