JEWELLE TROTMAN

For three years, my joyful and enriching experience as a tutor had been shaped by my lifelong curiosity about how people think, connections to tutees, and receptiveness to new ideas presented in work trainings. At one point, our staff discussed the topic of mindfulness in the Writing and Speaking Studio and the notion of “Taking an interest in each person, each situation” resonated with me. I realized how much I valued the peer-to-peer dynamic that came with tutoring. Almost every session had been a mutually educational exchange. With each person that I worked with, I learned new information not only from their assignment but interesting bits and pieces about the writers themselves and their unique process. At the end of each session, it was undoubtedly rewarding to successfully complete an assignment. However, when I was able to bond with a student, while getting work done, it made tutoring all the more worthwhile. 

 

First and foremost, it was important for me to break down the barrier that is associated with the tutee and tutor relationship. It didn’t take long for me to realize that students often saw me more as a teacher, rather than as a student just like them, which created a perceived power dynamic. When working with others as a Peer Writing Consultant, I found it was crucial to emphasize that I, too, was a student so I could relate to a lot of the stress and anxiety that tutees faced. 

 

Prior to getting started, I would make an effort to build a rapport during a session to put the student more at ease, especially with those who seemed anxious. Throughout my time as a tutor, I bonded with people over aspects like thrift store finds, shared ethnic background, and similar taste in cuisine. Even if we had absolutely nothing in common, I loved hearing about another student’s interests. I believed it was important for the tutees and I to warm up to each other to decrease the likelihood of having a cold and rigid session. 

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During tutoring appointments, I held onto the awareness that showing writing in a raw state, or asking for help when feeling extremely lost, could make someone feel vulnerable. For that reason, I was never hesitant to share that I often make mistakes and I am also constantly growing as a writer. Part of my practice was to ask a lot of questions as a way to identify where the tutee wanted to go with the session. The training we did over the years helped to reiterate the need to make every student’s tutoring experience personalized. 

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Moreover, the scholarly texts and conversations that our staff had in regard to neurodiversity, which encompasses varying degrees of learning disabilities and mental disorders, broadened my awareness even more. I realized that in order to truly give all students the space to feel comfortable enough to explore so we could learn together, that would sometimes involve me trying strategies outside of my go-to techniques like reading aloud or jotting down notes, and adapting to however a student learned best. My desire to make it so each tutee got the most out of us working together challenged my instinct to automatically do what I thought worked best.

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When flexibility was present and judgment is of little concern within a session, it contributed to a beneficial learning experience for both the tutee and me as a tutor. My most successful sessions consisted of communication about work style preferences, openness to explore ideas, encouragement balanced with suggestions for changes, and a few laughs here and there. Once my time was up in a session, I felt my job was done when the tutee had more confidence in their own writing and felt good about what we accomplished together.