My first time tutoring a college student went alright, I guess. She wrote about gentrification being a bad thing and went on to discuss how it was negatively affecting communities. One of the first things that I had asked her (after reading her essay) was if she had any concerns regarding her essay. She said that she was worried she wasn't detailed enough and I assured her that that was not the case, but that there were some ideas that should be expanded, some quotes that should have more context, or that should be explained further. I remember her being really quiet, the only time I got her to speak more than a few words was when I asked her what neighborhood she was from. We both lived a block away from each other at one point, that's not relevant, I just thought it was interesting. I was interested in something she wrote, it was something along the lines of gentrification being like a cancer that could not be cured, it could only be treated. I was interested in this idea and asked her to try to explain how it could be treated and she didn't exactly know how to answer it. I tried a writing exercise, I encouraged her to take a few minutes to write down what she had thought on the matter but she drew a blank. I also tried to get her to write down other ideas based off a part of a quote that she used, but had no results. I figured that in asking her and talking to her about it it might make things go smoother but that didn't work either. She shrugged a lot and said she didn't know. I found that to be the most difficult part of the session.
Over all, I didn't think many corrections were necessary to her original essay because as simple as it was it addressed the assignment. She answered the question, took a standpoint on it, and used sources to help her prove her point.
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