I am a University Writing Center tutor and at first glance you would think that only involves editing papers and proofreading for grammar mistakes, but what most people don't know is that I have to know how to teach, how to get others to learn and want to learn and have to be able to communicate well with others. Through working at the University of Central Florida Writing Center, I have learned so many beneficial and worthwhile things.
First, I have learned that everyone is capable of learning and it just takes the right person or the right questions to bring out knowledge within someone. Second, I have learned that in order for someone to become a better writer and to learn on their own you can provide them with resources and tips that they can take with them to utilize in the future.
The most important part of being a tutor is realizing my own self-worth and my ability to instill intelligence and knowledge within someone else (my tutee). I never knew that I had the potential to give people resources to be a better writer and a better student and I feel honored that I have this opportunity to do so.
Along with certain aspects of my training that have allowed me to become a better teacher and student, I have also learned to be a better communicator. I have learned to look at the world in a more critical and deeper way. I’ve learned to analyze situations for deeper, more intellectual meanings and I have been able to read people better than I would have been able without my experience as a tutor.
Through conducting forty-five minute sessions in the writing center, I’ve learned how to speak to my peers and the students that come through in a way that is beneficial to both them and me and that promotes higher learning. I know how to interact with others on a daily basis in a way that is not controversial or negative or promoting any type of non-credible information. I now know how to speak to others respectfully, communicate effectively and how to treat others in a manner that makes them feel comfortable and at ease, especially in a vulnerable situation such as a one on one tutoring session.
I have learned that learning is a process and it takes time and patience and that it needs to be discovered by the student (sometimes with help from someone such as myself) and that once the student’s knowledge has been activated, they will be able to use that knowledge in the future. Through being a tutor, I have been able to help others realize their potential within certain subjects, particularly writing, and have been able to help people feel stronger about their writing and their process of learning as well.
Most importantly, through being a tutor I have felt more confident about myself and been able to realize that through helping others, I am helping myself to become a stronger person and I am promoting my own learning style that allows me to always stay sharp and to always remember that I can learn new things each and every day.
