Re: request for community college information

["Clinton R. Gardner" <cgardner@englab.slcc.edu>]

D'Ann,

I'm curious what kind of disasters you envision.  I too direct a 
community college writing center with peer tutors and haven't seen
anything remotely close to a disaster.  Sure we have times when 
students may feel that they aren't getting "the most" out of a 
response session, but then again our philosophy is that the purpose 
of a writing center is not to be writing paramedics, but to give our 
response.  If a student writer does not feel the response is adequate
they can work with others in the writing center, or discuss their 
paper with someone else.  

Beginning student peer tutors who have worked in composition classes have 
worked in groups and have some sense of response.  Aside from the 
composition classes, we also offer extensive training on how to work in 
one-to-one sessions, as well as writing center theory, and special 
topics like responding to ESL students.  With the concept of a writing center as a place 
for people to come and discuss their writing...to realize that 
writing is a social event, and to get honest feedback, the writing 
"expert" falls by the wayside.  

--clint

> 
> I direct a writing center at a community college where faculty are the 
> tutors.  While I believe that peer tutors are ideal in a setting where 
> you can find junior and seniors who have fulfilled writing requirements 
> and who have a fair amount of college-level writing experience under 
> their belts, I wonder who would tutor at community colleges if faculty 
> did not?  Students who were themselves taking their first writing 
> course?  Sophomores who had just passed their first writing course?
> 
> I'm more concerned about the DIS advantages, and even the potential 
> disaster of such an arrangement than I am about the advantages of 
> equal-status tutors.  
> 
> On Mon, 3 Feb 1997 KILBORNJ@TIGGER.STCLOUD.MSUS.EDU wrote:
> 
> > One of my graduate student tutors is proposing that a community college with
> > faculty tutors initiate a peer tutoring program. Although the tutor has done a
> > lot of research (into programs and numbers and such), she's hoping to include
> > some voices from experienced community college people in her proposal.
> > Specifically, she'd like answers to the following questions:
> > 
> > 	1.  What are the benefits of peer tutoring vs. faculty/teacher 
> > 	    tutoring in a community college?
> > 
> > 	2.  What are the benefits of having a peer tutoring center devoted 
> > 	    solely to writing in a community college?
> > 
> > The student -- Jessica Lourey -- asks that you e-mail her directly at
> > lourej01@tigger.stcloud.msus.edu and that you respond by 2/14.
> > 
> > Thank you for helping Jessie if you can.
> > 
> > Judy Kilborn
> > in St. Cloud where people are donning shorts and short sleeves in the 20-degree
> > weather
> > 
> 
> D'Ann George
> Writing Program Director
> Essex Community College
> 7201 Rossville Boulevard
> Baltimore County, Maryland 21237-3899
> 
> 
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Clinton Gardner (cgardner@englab.slcc.edu)
Writing Center Instructional Support Coordinator
Salt Lake Community College
Have you visited the SLCC Virtual Writing Center today?
http://www.slcc.edu/wc/
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