Within these past few weeks, I have been able to work with a few students and was even given the opportunity to work in a classroom setting. This should come as no surprise, but I took notice of how different students are when it comes to their pieces. Sometimes you’ll get a student who doesn’t care so much for their project, a student who is extremely passionate, or one that just wants to get an assignment done. I have worked with students that were laid back and I have worked with others that were more scattered and rushed. Either way, it was always an adjustment to work with different students. If anything I learned a lot about teaching. When I was in the classroom I wasn’t able to do much but the class was very hyper and did not match my ‘ready for break’ attitude so I had to adjust like I usually do. One goal I have for the next few times that I tutor, I hope to actually take notes on what the students and I talk about. I forget every time I go to take notes and remember what is happening in our sessions. I also want to work on seeming friendly with the students, even if I am not in the right headspace. I was struggling the few weeks before our spring break to focus on their assignments. However, these past few weeks have changed my outlook on tutoring. I used to be very anxious when it came to tutoring students at all, but now I am extremely comfortable in that area. I find I still struggle with feeling like I’m actually helping a student. Sometimes I feel as if I’m basically just copying what they say and that’s it, but I’m getting better at it, slowly.
By: Elizabeth Grissom
I’ve noticed that during tutoring students don’t usually know what they need help with or you have to ask questions and really understand what the student needs help with and how to properly help them without giving away too much. It is frustrating for me because I want to help them but I don’t just want to give them the answer I want them to do it themselves so they can better understand it. This experience has really changed my view on teaching and how much teachers have to do to provide for their students. I couldn’t imagine being a teacher full time and I have a new appreciation for my professors and teachers and how hard they work to provide us with an education. One thing about tutoring that has helped me is when I work with students and help them with issues they may have with writing overall it improves my own writing because I am constantly thinking of ways to explain how to improve their writing and just the repetition of that helps make my own writing better.
My goal for service learning is to improve the way I talk to students and find new ways to articulate my words in a way they can better understand. I have a lot of trouble explaining things because I understand it perfectly in my head but when I have to try to explain it to someone else it comes out in a way I feel can confuse students. One thing I learned about the community of Asheville is that the students really care about their school and they care about their work too. One of the first people I tutored was writing a letter to the people who deal with the bus routes because her bus route changed and she started missing her club’s meetings. This letter was really important for her and she was just a freshman, it’s really nice to see young students inspired to learn and improve themselves for the better and I think it is a very good idea to have a writing center in a high school. Personally, if I had a writing center in my high school I think I would have been a much better writer.
What stands out the most to me so far in my work as a tutor is that kids really do come in at varying points in the writing process. Not only that, but some simply want a quiet place to work and may not even need help. Another thing that stands out to me is the kind of questions kids ask, mainly the “how” question: “How can I say this?” “How can I make this say what I want it to say?” These kinds of questions challenge me to think creatively as I was in their shoes not too long ago myself with these questions. However, something along those same lines that ends up being frustrating is when the students don’t want to think for themselves. I can give them questions and try to guide their thinking, but I don’t want to think for them. That presents another challenge, helping them do the work without doing the work for them. Service-learning has opened my eyes to how fortunate I am to have the chance to work with these high school students. I was an academic in high school and I’m happy to pass knowledge on to those behind me. I hope in the future I can better engineer a way to get these students thinking critically for themselves and relying on themselves for answers rather than others.
Service-learning has revealed assumptions I had about these high school students that they would be nearly at the same level as me with regards to writing. I now realize that over the course of my four years in high school my writing improved without me even realizing it and I know these pupils will do the same. It may be helpful to me in the future to ask my students what grade they are in so I can get a better feel for their writing skills thus far.
By: Gabriella Gayoso
As a tutor, it has been very rewarding being able to help students with their academic writing. What I have continually found throughout each tutoring session is that students WANT to become better learners. They all work very hard to make sure that the messages they convey throughout their writing are descriptive and thought-provoking; both key elements towards becoming a great author. It has become increasingly satisfying to work with students who are voluntarily striving for better academic achievement.
From these service-learning experiences, I have become increasingly aware of the skills required in teaching developing learners the art of writing. Teaching is more than telling students what to do or how to learn; it is recognizing their academic abilities as a whole. For instance, not all students are going to comprehend the information you give them, which is why it is vital for tutors (like me), to teach every student individually in a manner that best fits their learning style. The writing process is different for everyone, and therefore must be treated in an appropriate manner that allows for either the teacher or tutor, to communicate with the learner without barriers/miscommunication.
For the future, I hope that students at Asheville High School are able to take away new ways of approaching difficult writing challenges. Oftentimes when I am working with students, many are unsure of how to approach new assignments; never finding their “starting line”. But as I continue to cultivate my service learning skills, I want these learners to visualize how to begin an assignment without the fear of failure or confusion. It is ok to be afraid of bad writing, but it’s not ok to use it as an excuse for not working on it. Overall, I want these kids to recognize how to handle new writing tasks even when it may appear impossible.
From this experience, I have learned that I can help others improve upon vital skills I never thought I had. Throughout my academic career (thus far), I have worked hard to enhance my writing skills both inside and outside of the classroom. Taking every opportunity to prove myself as a “good writer”. But now that I have been able to help others become better writers/learners, I want to further my teaching skills and give students the opportunity to find a new part of themselves within their writing.
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.
PREWRITING STAGE
Usually consists of breaking down the prompt and planning out the essay step by step. Its helpful for finding out who your audience is and the purpose of the paper.
What can you do? (examples)
- Brainstorm
- Free write
- Research
DRAFTING
Writing your first daft is very important to the writing process. Its a great way to get your thoughts down and work with others to add to your paper.
REVISION
Revising is when you’re looking over your work and making edits wherever you can. The Bedford Guide gives us some ideas on how to revise.
Global Revision
Dealing with the larger issues in the essay. It focuses on structure, flow, tone, purpose, and audience.
Sentence Level Revision
Dealing with smaller details (not that they are less important but they are not as big as something such as purpose) such as grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
EXTRA TIPS FOR WRITING
- For long papers, try to break the work down and manage your time at a level that works best for you
- Maybe try having multiple drafts you can use
- Use track changes (Google Docs and Microsoft have this turned on already) but you can also use other sites such as Grammarly
- Use your resources! Highlight, bold, underline, italicize do whatever you can to help
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.