The material on diverse populations seemed rather predictable and repetitive to me: be patient, pay attention to body language, pick one or two things to focus on so as not to overwhelm the writer, make the writer feel comfortable, be respectful, assume the writer is smart, make sure the writer has a plan for what to do after the session. Make yourself approachable, but be flexible about how you do that because different writers have different ideas of what that means. And then, per TAW, start with broad questions and progress to narrower, more focused questions, in order to figure out where the writer is in terms of confidence and ability to generate appropriate ideas within the writing tutoring context.

In other words, be everything to everyone... Easy, right?

This section of TAW and the chapter in Bedford are both focused on how to make the writer most comfortable in order to draw their best work out of them. Both acknowledge the tutor's role as facilitator and conference manager, and the more flexible role of tutor as teacher. My tendency in the past has been to feel like, "who the heck gave me the authority to be in charge here?" I failed to take charge, and my tutoring lacked direction and focus. (Sixth grade German kids can be intimidating, okay?) Now, I'm more aware of the danger of a power vacuum--and what might fill it if I don't! Students come to us with the expectation that we have more expertise than they do. It's awesome if they have self-awareness about the strengths and weaknesses of their writing--but they don't always, and refusing to take a leadership role within our conference won't help them progress or make discoveries. I guess what I'm saying is, it's the tutor's job to act as facilitator, and that itself is, or at least can be, teaching.

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