"Preparing for Emotional Sessions"

At least a few of us have dealt with criers--or students who are anxious, frustrated, or angry--and those tutoring sessions are never easy. This article, by Gayla Mills, gives us some pragmatic advice for dealing with very emotional students.

I agree with the author that giving students a few minutes to talk about what's bothering them may be the best option for getting them back on track. On the other hand, we need to acknowledge that we aren't therapists. When students have seemed deeply troubled, I have referred them to Madonna's counseling services (Amy Halstead, ext. 5766). I once had a student who seemed potentially suicidal, and I contacted MUBIT (Madonna University Behavioral Intervention Team) about him. -- I also like the author's suggestion that we offer the student the option of rescheduling.

When each tutoring session and student tutor is unique, how do we find the best balance? We're here to focus on writing, not emotional issues. Still, it would be inhumane to respond to a distraught student with a purely let's-get-down-to-business attitude. Yes, we want to address writing, but we're also called upon to offer some measure of comfort to another person's pain.

How have you dealt with emotional student writers?

"Watch and Learn: Peer Evaluation and Tutoring Pedagogy"

Author Jane Van Slembrouck addresses a critical question: Do we learn more from our peers than from authority figures? We keep trying to ensure we're offering consistently high quality tutoring to our student writers, but we haven't yet tried peer observation yet. (Don't panic. If I do try this, it won't be until fall semester.)

I was struck by Slembrouck's comment, "Suspecting that at least some of this productive exchange disappears when the director comes calling, I wondered how I might reduce my role in the evaluation process and find a means of assessment that would take advantage of this nonhierarchical flow of ideas." The author seems to feel that--peer to peer--the flow of ideas is more of a rushing river than a trickling stream (not to torture the metaphor).

So, we're not talking about Writing Center Specialist-to-student tutor or Writing Center coordinator-to-student tutor. Do you believe it would be easier--perhaps less threatening--to learn from each other in this way? Would you feel less self-conscious?