So, as I'm sure you've gathered from the tittle, I am not so fond of thirty minute sessions. Why? I think it's because I'm Cuban.. Meaning, I talk too much. This may be indicative of a flaw in my tutoring, but I think its just reflective of my tutoring style. That's right fools, I gots' style!
On a serious note, I am really conversational in my tutoring sessions as I feel that it is beneficial for every facet of my teaching/ tutoring approach. I really enjoy to build rapport with my tutees, through conversation, joking, questions, and overall friendliness. It brings down the apprehension level of the student because, after all, a stranger is about to read their writing. This isn't easy for everybody.
I always begin my sessions by asking them for a rubric, what their class is about, and what their essay is about. Then I converse a tad bit, just to see what they are like and to, hopefully, have a couple of laughs. I solemnly decree laughter to me MANDATORY for tutoring sessions (Authoritative, raspy, deep voice)!!!!!! :) I know it does wonders for me. Of course it doesn't happen every session, but when it does, I feel the wall between them and I just melt. After I've spend about five, seven, sometimes ten minutes (when we're really enjoying our conversation) then I move on to the paper. Again, this isn't every time.
I know that might sound crazy, but check out my reasoning. I enjoy one hour sessions because it achieves three important things for me.
First, I have the right amount of time to be non-directive. When I have thirty minutes sessions I feel as though I am forced to be more directive, because I really want to address everything. I am put in an uncomfortable position of either being directive and knowing that a lot of what I address wont make a permanent impact on the student's writing, or being non-directive, as I like, and risk running out of time and not being able to cover everything. Lose-lose.
Secondly, I want to build a friendship with the student. Why? Two reasons: I like having friends, and I want them to come back to the tutoring center. I want their first tutoring session with me to be the catalyst that leads them to become "regulars" in the Lab. This continuity of tutoring really helps cement any lesson we are trying to get across to the student, thus making our tutoring much more efficient. If we are truly attempting to make better writers, not better papers, then we must aim for this.
Lastly, I want our sessions to be long, and their visits to be frequent, because I am trying to be a better tutor to Foreign and Non-English speaking students. This is an interest of mine (being myself an immigrant) as well as a topic of research for various class projects. In having a longer tutoring session, the tutee and I have more time to talk, thus improving the language proficiency of the student by framing language withing a social context. My ESL Education textbook has reiterated many times that deep, meaningful acquisition of language happens best when part of real communication. Thus, being non-directive with ELLs is doubly good, as we improve their language acquisition simply by conversing, all while addressing the content that needs to be addressed. Win-win.
So basically, my loathing of thirty minute sessions stems from my love of 1 hour sessions. Coming from a teacher perspective, it makes total sense for me to adopt this stance; it is beneficial in every way. Then again, the session might not call for one hour. Maybe the paper is in solid shape, not that long, and only demands thirty minutes of attention. And, after all, there are lots of students that need tutoring.
Obviously there is no one right way to tutor, and our best skill will always be our adaptability. But as far as my sessions have gone, there is often something else that needs to be addressed, and thirty minutes simply isn't enough for me.
So what do you think? I am interested in your responses. :)
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