Not sure for how long this will be our logo… But it’ll do for now.

Welcome new and returning staff members!

A number of major procedural changes promises to make life interesting here at the Center.  Chief among them is the capability for students to schedule their own appointments–either in half hour or one hour slots. We feel that by  affording students this option, those that come to us with shorter written assignments can be served effectively without using up an entire hour, freeing up more available appointments.

in addition, we will employ an iPad at the front desk so that students can log themselves in and allow you more time to work with them on their actual writing. While you will still need to write up the session notes and log them out, we think you’ll agree that this will lessen some of the tedium of record-keeping. (I reserve that privilege for myself!)

From now on, all consultants will attend to “written comments” (formerly e-tutoring) uploaded to TutorTrac and assigned to whomever the student chooses. This way, your response to the submission is built into your scheduled hours as an “appointment,” and those requiring more than, say, a 30-minute slot can be addressed at a later time. (Students are notified during the uploading process that a response may take up to 72 hours depending on volume and/or length of submission.)

We will discuss other changes during our initial semester meeting(s). Our hope is that by streamlining our intake and response procedures, we will make the real task of helping our students more efficient and our sessions with them more fruitful.

Here’s to an exciting Fall semester!

One of the most challenging aspects of directing a Writing Center is deciding how to start off the academic year. Should I redecorate? Find a banner and/or a poster that captures our ethos? Or, should I instead focus on our staff? When working in a large, public institution, I think we have to direct our limited resources towards our staff…

I like to imagine that everyone in our Center (the seasoned writing consultant and the recently hired writing consultant) will not only get along but also work collaboratively to deliver the best possible service to students. And in the process, develop a deeper, intimate awareness about what it means to write. However, in a setting such as a Writing Center, especially when there is a steady stream of students and other day-to-day issues, it’s hard to really control and/or dictate this process. Consultants might be working on their own writing projects, might have homework to complete, or they simply might be tired from tutoring and want some time to themselves before their next appointments.

The challenge becomes managing the different personalities that comprise our staff, respecting each staff member’s experiences while at the same time, challenging everyone to develop their practice for their own  reasons.

So, thinking about Fall 2018 (and Spring 2019!), I want our Writing Consultants to work on…

• Norming our practices (making sure we are all, for the most part, going about “tutoring” in roughly the same way. We are the Queens College Writing Center, all students that come here (or here about us) should know what they are going to get.

 

• Making sure we are prepared to tutor (and that we are prepared to ask questions when we are unsure). This is hard. As a writing consultant, there is an expectation that you are an “expert” on writing so asking questions might not seem right…

 

• Finding ways to challenge ourselves and build our practice (tutoring is an iterative practice: we have to develop our practice alongside our students and within the discourse of Writing Center practice). I’ve heard many directors say that they tell their staff, “You have to do this because you love it… because you aren’t going to get rich tutoring!” I agree. It’s imperative to find ways to fit Writing Center work into your life somehow…

 

• Preparing ourselves for the mental exhaustion of tutoring (perhaps we have to make sure we have an hour before or after tutoring? or perhaps, we have to make sure that we take our breaks this semester?) One of the things I’ve seen in our Center is how some writing consultants are willing to sacrifice their bodies and their minds to help students. While I appreciate the effort, I also believe self-care is a crucial aspect of Writing Center work. Consultants need to be reminded that their well-being is tantamount.

These are just some ideas… What else do you think we should be working on as we start a new year?