tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post9201182688209305718..comments2024-03-27T08:11:29.257-06:00Comments on PeerCentered: Any teachers out there?Clint Gardnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07671508034667904543noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3790062.post-16119824981533664482009-09-24T20:48:02.417-06:002009-09-24T20:48:02.417-06:00Hi Ryan,
I started out tutoring as an undergrad,...Hi Ryan, <br /><br />I started out tutoring as an undergrad, and that convinced me to become a teacher, which I have since become (certified in ELA, grades 7-12, out here in NY). I understand your enthusiasm for wanting learn as many different ways of teaching writing as possible, but I think something you may be missing is that part of learning the history of writing centers comes with learning the associated pedagogy, and that will be extremely helpful to you as you gain experience teaching. Learning how theories of writing have changed do tend to get combined with the historical.<br /><br />My first experience in an actual classroom, while I was an undergrad and tutoring (and in a teacher prep program) was with a teacher in the south Bronx, assisting her with 7th grade summer school students. I wasn't really terrified, but I had no idea where to start. The first thing the teacher told me to do was just circulate and talk to students, so I espied a lone boy, plunked myself down, froze for a second...and then all the time I'd spent tutoring came whooshing back to me, and I just slipped into the basic tutoring questions. (Whatcha workin' on? What were you reading? What have you written so far? etc.) The more I tutored, and the more I was exposed to secondary classrooms, the more I realized that having a good idea of how to scaffold the writing process would really serve me well.<br /><br />And indeed, when I did my student teaching, I did a really good lesson on writing, thesis statements, etc. If anything, tutoring cemented how to teach the writing process as a whole. <br /><br />I don't know how long you've been tutoring, or at what stage you're enrolled in your teacher prep program, but start paying attention to how people respond to writing prompts, which might be better explained in terms of the actual assignment instructions, how students respond and how they begin writing.<br /><br />If you have any great urge to delve more deeply into this, let me know and we can find a way to chat. Good luck!<br /><br />Cheers,<br />MichelleMichellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15143978663214331262noreply@blogger.com