Oct 16 2008
Tutor track!
Did my first day of tutoring today. I’m signed on to tutor a lot of classes such as accounting, business, marketing, computer, and humanities/liberal arts. Not bad for a freshman I would think. And it actually turned out fine. Before entering our Academic Support Center lounge, I was so nervous that I thought I would start crying, but it wasn’t as scary as I thought and the students were really nice.
It’s funny how a single saying can make you change they way you approach a task. In the tutor-training seminar we held last week, we talket a lot about not just giving away the answers as much as guiding the student in the right direction, showing them how they should go about finding things out. What I was really nervous about was the fact that I might not know the answer to what they’re asking me, but I soon learned that it’s okay. As students they can’t come to us expecting us to know everything. We are NOT professors in the subjects, we are simply peers who want to guide and support our fellow collegues. Since I’ve only worked a day, I clearly don’t have that much experience, but so far it feels good and I’m ready to take on whatever challenge tomorrow has to offer. Even accounting! 
By the way, tutors and the entire concept of peer tutoring is not something we have in Sweden but something that I believe in and would want to introduce over there. I think the idea is great as the students tend to feel more relaxed with a peer than their professor. When done right, tutoring is both effective, helpful, and fun. More tutors for the people and let’s hope that the ones that do exist already keep up their good work. Snaps for tutors!
