When I first started working at the writing center I didn't know what the difference between a writing tutor and an editor was, and I was devestated when I read the article that explained the difference before the second day of class. I didn't want to be a tutor; I wanted to be an editor. I guess I kind of wanted to show off my writing skills, and I didn't care that much about and/or thought I wouldn't be able to teach students how to improve their writing. But after working in the center for a semester. I'm a writing tutor and that's what I want to be. I get offended when students come in and want me to edit their papers. I get annoyed when students come in and have nothing to say, when they just want to rely on my personal genius as a writer. As a tutor, I want to talk about students' writing with the student; I want the student to actively participate in the session, because what the student wants from his/her writing is what I want to help him/her achieve. I hate when they ask me what I want. I want my teaching philosophy to show how I got from point A to point B, and exactly what point B is.
Part of how I got to point B was realizing that I would be pretty offended if I tried to get help on one of my papers and the tutor just fixed all of my problems without telling me how to do it. I want my writing to be my writing and no one else's, and I know I can make my writing as good as it can be without the editing skills of some snob-nose at the writing center. Although I know many students do not think like this, I do think this about every student and I come into every session thinking that it's in the student's best interest for me to treat them this way. What the student wants is of the utmost importance, unless, of course, the student wants me to edit his/her paper.
I think I know a lot more about what point B is than how I got there. I think the best way to write this paper might be to clearly define what point B is, and when I have that totally figured out, to go back and try to figure out how and where I learned all of that stuff.
Posted by hoga0094 at December 8, 2004 2:49 PMi know what you mean about reading that article and being all, "hot damn. but i LIKE to edit."
i also thought i'd be allowed to bust out my red pen and go to town, and help people with higher-level stuff. i was not pleased when i learned that tutoring was much more work than that, but now i can't imagine just editing. i still catch myself unconsciously marking a comma or something sometimes, but when i can stop myself, i just make a mark to come back to that part of the paper so the student can figure it out. and instead of going ahead and combining two sentences myself, i'll underline them and point out the possibility to the student. while i still edit every once in a while, i really don't mean to, and even if i do, i make sure to address the important stuff. i like seeing that i've made changes in how i do things, and that they're helpful. jim told me once that once you find a job that is intellectually engaging it's really hard to go back to flipping burgers. or, in my case, answering phones at middlebrook.
and yeah, i don't know how i got to point B, either. but point A is looking farther away every day. i love that now if a student asks me to proofread, my fingers still itch for that red pen (my red pen is my version of the amputee's phantom limb) but i'm also totally miffed that they would DARE ask.
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Posted by: India Giunta at January 3, 2011 9:46 PM