Tutoring Session

[PSCGuy]

So I wish this was something along the lines of "I never thought it would happen to me..." Or "I taught this guy so much." But alas that will just be for when I'm dreaming later. There's not much to tell, expect I'm bored and wanted to write something besides my Foreign Policy paper.

I was working at my campus Writing Center today, where I tutor. Lately I've been loathing going, because I had a few ESL tutees, and they are a drag. (I mean, the students mean well, and I can't expect anything else from them. But it takes a lot out of you.) Plus, commenting on Freshmen papers is a little tedious after a while; they ALL make the same mistakes.

So time roles around and I have a session. Kids name is John*. Great, I thought, Freshmen paper. Not that the kid's paper was spectacular or anything, but it's one of the sessions I'll remember for a while. Man. I don't know how much I can say I got to know a guy in 50 minutes, but let me tell you. I never understood the fascination so much with upperclassmen and Freshmen girls. Well, a Freshmen guy got a hold of me for a bit. SO cute. SO subtly witty. SO charmingly shy. And seemingly quite smart.

I almost asked him if he wanted to get coffee or something afterwards, but I stopped myself. Would that have been different if I was more out? Probably not. I go to a small Catholic school, and there are no gay people. Hehe. His Facebook said he was straight anyway. Yeah I checked. But a guy can dream, can't he?

*End*

That was therapeutic for me.

 

[rareboy]

So time roles (sic) around

Now you're just scaring me.

 

[PSCGuy]

Now you're just scaring me.

Oh aren't we proper? Can't edit it, or otherwise I promise I'd fix it. That's killing the writing tutor in me, I hope you know.

 

[rareboy]

expect I'm bored

...this we assumed was just the dyslexia sneaking forward. Damn those keystrokes when you're typing single handed.

A word of advice. Never ever indulge in the 'fucked by Jesus'
academic syndrome. Just inhale the sweet perfume of their youth and know that it will be a wistful regret in your dotage.

 

[PSCGuy]

"Fucked by Jesus" academic syndrome? Care to explain? My university might be small and Christian, but we don't have many of those types either. Haha.

 

[BlueD]

I also do some tutoring at my school too, in maths and chemistry...and there is a guy that looks so cute, has an interesting accent, and is very friendly. I tutor him once a week, and he is my best tutee so far, except for his indecisiveness when it comes to maths. I have to confess that when he is doing math problems, I stare at him sometimes . And I was usually shaken a bit every time he gave me an "am-I-doing-this-right"/"what-do-you-think" innocent look... Maybe next time I will ask if he has a girlfriend

End of story...

 

[rareboy]

It also is known as Fucked by Angels syndrome.

It refers to the beatific aura around some students after they've been fucked by their profs and are assured of academic salvation.

Under no circumstances must you ever, ever tap the ass of one of your students. It is a betrayal of trust.

 

[BlueD]

It also is known as Fucked by Angels syndrome.

It refers to the beatific aura around some students after they've been fucked by their profs and are assured of academic salvation.

Under no circumstances must you ever, ever tap the ass of one of your students. It is a betrayal of trust.

That's a syndrome that I've never heard off, but it sounds cool, but brutal...

Anyway, in case you're talking about me, my story is just for fun, and something that I just thought about. I do go by the 'code of ethics' that we tutor have to sign at the beginning of the term that included 'not to date any of our tutees'... So I have no intention to date/take advantage of them (and tap their asses is just over the fence).

But you have to admit that some of them are cute... And one more thing, profs are not always the root of their academic problems; some of them even want to take another class from that prof again (like the cute tutee I told you guys above, he wants to take another math class from the prof he's having right now...)

 

[PSCGuy]

Under no circumstances must you ever, ever tap the ass of one of your students.

I'm not a professor, nor am I a professional tutor really. I'm an undergrad. Writing Center's are generally run by students, or at least with student labor. So there wouldn't even be a "trust" issue. Students generally just come in and are assigned to whatever tutor is available at the time they want. Although I'd be flattered if he 'requested' me in the future.

And BlueD as far of your code of ethics... I don't think we have one. Haha! One day there will be some tutee who stalks me... One day...

 

[rareboy]

Writing Center's

Don't confuse your students by making your plurals possessive. It is a bad habit that has developed over the last few years.

 

[PSCGuy]

Don't confuse your students by making your plurals possessive. It is a bad habit that has developed over the last few years.

You know that's actually one of my pet peeves? I've corrected flyers I've seen hanging up with those mistakes.

 

[TygreBryte]

I am sometimes shocked by the mistakes that come out over my keyboard. "I wrote *that*? No way!"

Besides possessive use of apostrophe when the intention is clearly to indicate a plural, one of my pet peeves is the use of quotation marks to indicate emphasis. "It's like they don't really mean it," one of my friends commented about this mistake.

PSC, you say the freshmen all make the same mistakes. I'm curious. What mistakes are those? If you listed them in order, what would they be?

In terms of admonitions about not 'crossing the line' when you're in some sort of teaching role, with a student: I think one of the hardest things I put myself through in my early 20's was being a teacher-type to people who were just a couple of years younger than me, while I wasn't dating anyone. It's so much easier now, that I am with a partner I feel committed to. I don't know, in your particular situation, that there is *no* way that you couldn't go out with someone who is a tutee at a writing center, but I think that all those situations come with extra potential for mess. If you were in a classroom teaching situation at *any* level, i'd be right with rareboy.

 

[PSCGuy]

I am sometimes shocked by the mistakes that come out over my keyboard. "I wrote *that*? No way!"

Besides possessive use of apostrophe when the intention is clearly to indicate a plural, one of my pet peeves is the use of quotation marks to indicate emphasis. "It's like they don't really mean it," one of my friends commented about this mistake.

PSC, you say the freshmen all make the same mistakes. I'm curious. What mistakes are those? If you listed them in order, what would they be?

In terms of admonitions about not 'crossing the line' when you're in some sort of teaching role, with a student: I think one of the hardest things I put myself through in my early 20's was being a teacher-type to people who were just a couple of years younger than me, while I wasn't dating anyone. It's so much easier now, that I am with a partner I feel committed to. I don't know, in your particular situation, that there is *no* way that you couldn't go out with someone who is a tutee at a writing center, but I think that all those situations come with extra potential for mess. If you were in a classroom teaching situation at *any* level, i'd be right with rareboy.

Freshmen Mistakes

• Summary Papers, rather than Analytical
• Bury the Lead (Unclear Body Paragraphs)
• Empty Language (Words like 'very', cliches, etc)
• Using Quotations without explaining them
• And So On...

And let me be clear. I don't tutor in a classroom setting or anything, like I'm "assigned" a tutee for a semester or so, that we have a set meeting time every week. I have friends who do that, but that's not the Writing Center. The Writing Center is basically 60 students, 7 working in any given hour, where a student can request a tutoring session and are assigned to one of the available tutors.

It's more of an ad hoc arrangement, so there's no teacher-student relationship or power dynamics. I say I thought about asking the guy out after the session because it's more likely the case that I'll never see him again; that's the case with most of the tutees.

 

[me12121]

Haha, I have the same problem but opposite. I have a crush on the tutor who runs the extra help sessions for my stats class. He is always wearing this bracelet that is kinda rainbowy and he has said some things that a gay guy would say, so I have a feeling that he's gay. I tried checking facebook, but I guess he's one of the few people left who don't have it yet. Lately I've been going to these extra help things even when I don't need them just to see him lol.