A Metaphor for My Experiences as a Writing Center Tutor 2006-07

After much deliberation, I feel the best way to describe my experiences as a writing center tutor is to use the metaphor of the 1990-91 Chicago Bulls. In that year, the Bulls won their first NBA Championship. The Bulls found themselves in an entirely new environment—the Finals—and they realized that they had to work as a team in order to succeed. What we faced as writing center tutors at the beginning of the semester was not unlike the plight of everyone’s favorite Chicagoans as Game One rolled around. I say “we” because it is impossible to function in the Writing Center strictly as an individual. There is a constant exchange of ideas and information among individuals; in this way, then, we function as a team. And as we all know, there’s no I in team.
We were dropped into a completely new environment, lacking experience and filled with nervous energy. What if we were not able to effectively help our first tutees? We would, of course, give it our best shot and, hopefully, learn the ropes quickly. This sentiment parallels the actuality of the Bulls’ Game One performance. They played some good ball, but came up short in the end. They now trailed in the series. But the Chicago Bulls would persevere, and so would the writing center tutors.
But who are these characters, these Bulls, these tutors? I will draw parallels between the Bulls starters and the elemental units of which the writing center consists:

John Paxson—a team leader; shoots long balls from outside the three-point arch with great accuracy; “goes downtown,” the lingo for being a great three-point shooter.
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Gordon Sauer—also a team leader; tackles (without personal foul or injury) the most difficult tutoring sessions with finesse; lives downtown.

Bill Cartwright—the center, the big guy, the man in the middle; the backbone of the team.
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Matthew Fairman—the big guy of the writing center; lovable, huggable; literally sits in between the other writing center tutors; gives our team a commanding presence.

Horace Grant—the power forward; the workhorse of the team; fights for the ball and for his team; wears goggles.
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Ben Shealy—known around the writing center for his workmanlike qualities; willing to fight the good fight, to protect the reputation of the writing center by displaying excellent writing center mentoring prowess; wears contact lenses; wears sunglasses on sunny days.

Scottie Pippen—the young guy on the team; a “diamond in the rough”; a potential superstar; always already improving his skills.
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The Student—takes the first step toward being a better writer by showing up to the writing center; has potential, always potential; is molded into a better writer by those around him/her.

Michael Jordan—the team superstar; the gamechanger; MVP; MJ
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Technology—revolutionizing the way we approach writing center theory and pedagogy; a limitlessly valuable tool for leading students to better writing. Trouble with citing sources in MLA or APA format? Check out Purdue’s online writing lab at owl.english.purdue.edu. Feeling under the weather and can’t make it to English class? E-mail your teacher. Want to look up the Chicago Bulls’ starting lineup for the 1990-91 season? Google it.
The Bulls went into Game Two of the Finals—and the writing center tutors into mid-September—doggedly determined to succeed. The Bulls fought and won Game Two as well as Games Three, Four, and Five; as a result, they won the series and the first of many championships. The writing center tutors also greatly improved and are now benefiting Clemson students from many different disciplines. Some of the Bulls players were selected for the United States Olympic team; they competed in the 1992 Olympics in front of the international community and won the gold. In the writing center, we have helped international students realize true potential and create golden papers.
We’ve had the opportunity to gain experience and depth of knowledge with every week that passes in the writing center. Next semester should be no different. For, if we continue the Bulls parallel, we see that they would win five more championships over the next few years.