Micki Burton WRD 396 Philosophy Draft Expectation: I was truly psyched to be reading over drafts and making

comments in the manner I had been practicing in WRD 396. I felt calm, cool, collected, and prepared for the first round of appointments. Reality: That is, until I was informed that my class, LSP 200: The Promise of Happiness, is structured in a manner that has the first round of appointments based around students outlines. Dubbed brainstorming sessions, these meetings forced me to readjust my approach to the first essay. I read through the prompt beforehand, annotated the key points, and imagined as best I could how I would go about writing that thematic essay. Expectation: I thought I was prepared to lead a fruitful brainstorming session that would ultimately lead the writers to have a much easier time writing this paper and all of the papers to come, and they would be shouting their blessings and thank yous to me as they skipped out the door. Reality: The questions that were raised during the conference, about the course readings and the class discussions, were questions I was not at all prepared to answer. The questions they had prepared about the prompt were much deeper than something I could explain as an outside reader and a Fellow who wasnt required to read their material or participate in their class discussions. Expectation: Our WRD 396 activities led me to believe that, as the outside reader, I would be at an advantage here. Id have a draft beforehand and Id read that draft and Id say what I didnt understand and they would explain to me what it meant and they would revise based on that and the essay would be in better shape when it left than when it came in. Reality: I could explain the general way I would go about a thematic essay, or what a strong thesis statement does, but I had no idea of the right answers in terms of the content. It turned into a Socratic questioning, where I would pose questions that I hoped would lead to some kind of selfdiscovery on their part, and while they answered, my mind would be racing for the next question to show that I knew what I was doing. Reality: For as unprepared as I felt, it actually might not have gone half bad. People seemed to leave with their questions answered, my poor attempt at Socratic questioning seemed worked a few times, or at the very least, point them in a direction in which to ask more questions to someone like their professor. We talked writing strategy and outlined the next few weeks before the due date, I made them laugh, they made me laugh, and they would seem to genuinely thank me for what I was able to do. In all actuality, all that may have been was just forcing them to sit down and think the paper through themselves, with no distractions or pressure. In the case of these brainstorming sessions, the success of the meeting relied almost entirely on the student, who had to bring an outline, a thesis, questions to ask, and possible answers for those questions in case I couldnt answer them. They have to come ready to leave with more questions than when they came in, with a clear focus as to what they have to do next, with the true intention of taking the most important urging suggestion I had to give, make a detailed thesis and outline and bring it to your professor. And maybe thats ultimately some of

10/13/12 4:17 PM Comment: Hey, Micki!

I just had the strongest urge to finish that line with the lyrics from the song. But I wont, because Im sure you get that all the time! Haha. Anyways, Im looking forward to reading your philosophy! Thanks for letting me do so. FYI: I highlight any sentencelevel/grammar issues in green. -Mo

10/13/12 4:17 PM Comment: I am loving this layout so far!

10/13/12 4:17 PM Comment: This is something a lot of Fellows do in this situation. Its really the only thing you can do when the writing is so content-based. However, try reflecting on what it means to be a peer tutor, or even what the word peer means. This may help you reflect on this experience deeper.

10/13/12 4:17 PM Comment: I realize this is a more stream-ofconsciousness style of writing right now, but watch out for lengthy sentences like these as you revise this. Its a lot to digest in one read.

what Id like writers to get out of my tutorials. A sense of satiety could be harmful, couldnt it? If someone doesnt have any more questions, or feel as if they need to work any more, they wont put in the extra effort past draft one or two. At the same time, however, Id like to leave them with something more than just more questions to ask. No one wants to be a crappy tutor, the impersonal, unintelligent one that just wasted their time. Connecting with tutees on a personal level, even by just talking their writing methods in comparison to mine, or how midterms week is going, but especially showing my enthusiasm for my work and especially the real face-to-face appointments that are to come at least thats something. Expectation: Ive read and discussed only a fraction of the multitude of ways to go about the tutoring process. The instructors and theorists that publish these approaches give certain characteristics of the writers that would benefit more from one tutoring style more than another. We, as peer writing tutors, shouldnt have to identify with one specific method and follow it exactly in each and every appointment. It would seem to me that it is more of trial and error, always looking for a way in to the writer. This way in is something I loosely define as getting their trust, or let their guard down, so that we can talk freely and without the fear of mistakes or judgment. Reality: Without knowing it, I acted in a way that made me doubt my own theory. It was only after I had completed all of my conferences, thinking I had gone about it in a highly individualized style that culled pieces from each of the big-name players, that I realized I was following the minimalist methods and ideology of Jeff Brooks. Brooks says the most common difficulty for student writers is paying attention to their writing (2). After seeing how clearer students seemed to be after I read the prompt aloud and asked them to explain specific parts to me, or by just telling me how they wanted to go about their argument, it is clear that just taking time to understand the prompt can work wonders. And that, although I felt I was not able to give life-changing advice to anyone, I did something Brooks finds incredibly valuable: spen[t] that time talking and listening, always focusing on the paper at hand. The primary value of the writing center tutor to the student is as a living human body who is willing to sit patiently and help the student spend time with her paper (2). As someone who will pick apart every single utterance I made during a tutorial and think of the thirty more helpful variations I couldve given instead of the one I did, I find this important advice to remember. If I am present and engaged and willing, I am doing good work. If I can use the minimalist methods to engage the writer and help them to learn something new about the writing process, Im doing better work. Expectation: I will use these methods for every tutorial I have, from now until forever. They will go off without a hitch. Reality: Its probably safest to just assume that everything will change when I start reading and commenting on drafts, or when I am assigned a new class next quarter, or if I begin tutoring in the Writing Center. Some people wont be receptive to minimalist tutoring. I will have to borrow from the methods of other and adjust on the fly when somethings not working. My methods may no longer be those of Jeff Brooks, but a hybrid of Jeff Brooks and Nancy Sommers and Peter Elbow. I will not change one life per appointment. I may hardly change one life per academic year. I will, however, be present and honest in my meetings; I will smile and urge them that they are writers that deserve to have their words read and heard.

10/13/12 4:17 PM Comment: Right. Is this something you could build on for the finalized philosophy? As in, how important interpersonal enthusiasm is in for peer tutoring?

10/13/12 4:17 PM Comment: Im beginning to see your point, but Im not quite clear on the dichotomy between your original theory and that of minimalism. What specific differences exist between those two?

Hello again, Micki! Wonderful work so far. Its pretty obvious that youve already done some in-depth thinking in regards to your UCWbL philosophy, whether you realized it or not. I especially love how youve constructed this draft (expectations vs. reality). It really helps me to see how your thought processes have changed and rerouted. You have a lot of things you could use to hone in on your final piece! As a general comment, Id think in a more active tone as you revise. A lot of this reflection is based on experiences youve already had, which is of course relevant and good. To develop these further, though, it may be helpful for you to create a theoretical game plan for yourself. So, you want to connect with your writers on a more personal level. How do you plan on doing this? What kinds of things do you think will be effective? As youve already laid out in your structure, a lot of our learning experiences come from expectations we have. Continue to create expectations (or, more formally, goals) for yourself, and youll continually have new revelations. Id love to discuss this and more at our conference next week. You seem to have a lot to reflect on still, and Id very much enjoy being a part of that process! Bring any other ideas youd like to chat about as well. Otherwise, happy philosophizing, and Ill see you soon! -Mo