Blog #1 - Response to First Reading

Research has shown that peer tutoring is effective for all age groups. It can help improve the skills and knowledge of the person being tutored, as well as the tutor herself. I learned through the readings that one-on-one conferences is as effective as traditional lecture classes because it creates in the student a positive attitude towards writing.

There are certain features that should be found in a person in order for them to qualify as a good tutor. Through our class discussion, we learned that tutors should be genuinely interested in helping the students succeed and improve in their writing. Tutors should offer feedback and encouragement so that the student will be inspired to finish what he/she started.

There are certain things that tutors should not be found doing, one of which is offering empty flattery. Offering too much praise creates doubt and suspicious in the student, causing them to wonder if their writing is really all that you're making it out to be. A tutor should not point out all the flaws in a student's writing because it will discourage them from improving on their writing.

What surprised me the most about the "don'ts" of tutoring is that some act as a therapist. There are times when tutors become overly involved in the student's writing that they cross the line. This should not happen; instead, tutors should focus on what's written and help the student improve and expand on what's there.