In this article, North revisits three main ideas that he believes greatly contribute to the writing center:
- Tutor and Writer
- Tutor and Instructor
- Tutor and Institution
I must say, I am in love with the way North refers to Dead Poet’s Society. As a personal favorite of mine, I believe that many teachers and students should look to this movie not as a guide, but as a reference to great teaching and critical thinking. North somewhat contradicts this statement saying “I find it annoying, disturbing, irritating.”, even though he enjoyed the film. I agree with North on the idea that teachers don’t need to be grandiose by ripping up textbooks or standing on tables, but I believe that the idea of encouraging students to see things in a different perspective is a great way to teach.
Now, let us look at this three main ideas and we can discuss them a little bit.
Tutor and Writer
North quotes “Writers come looking for us because, more often than not, they are genuinely, deeply engaged with their material, anxious to wrestle it into the best form they can: they are really motivated to write.”
In my opinion, and possibly in yours too, this is the ideal of the writing center. As a writer who loves critical analysis, I can get so tied up in my paper and I can get so excited I feel like my brain is going to explode from all the ideas. As a consultant, I would encourage students to find ways to enjoy their paper and hopefully I can help them to the best of my ability.
Tutor and Instructor
We’ve discussed this before, and my stance remains the same. Tutors are not instructors, and therefore can not tell the student their grade, why they got the grated, or completely disagree with the instructor. However, the tutor can be either a guide to possible understanding or a resource on how to ask the teacher these questions.
Tutor and Institution
I feel like I don’t get a clear understanding between the relationship of tutor and institution. I think North describes not the Institution itself, but what it can bring to the writing center: the amount of people, the type of people, and the ideas of people. In a larger university like ours, we do our best to help everyone who is willing to come to us for help.
Mikala🌹Rose 