Reading the Writing Center

Three of the selections from the reading that are particularly pertinent to my success in the studio are the relationship between the tutor and a non-native English speaking student, the psychological apsects of tutoring, and the development of writing center scholarship (which inadvertantly led to the development of modes of writing center tutoring). The first indicated the need for the tutor to understand the difficulties of such a student, and to help the student recognize said difficulties in order to better tackle their writing problems. The second dealt with the psychological barriers that can hinder writing, discussing the need for a student to have a confident attitude towards writing and the fact that a pscyhological blockade can present more of an obstacle than an actual "writing" difficulty. The last conquered the development of writing center scholarship, pointing out the need for contemporary tutors to have knowledge of and accept the problems and issues encountered in such a place. All three of these bleed directly into my business as a tutor. I have dealt with international students, students whose papers are not "bad" because of a writing difficulty but because of a psychological road-block, and have recognized my own growth in accordance with the growth of writing center scholarship. It's quite funny how one develops his own tutoring mindset along the same path that all of the founding writing center scholars developed the "writing center." For me, these three articles/issues in the readings have been the most pertinent and useful to date.