As I’ve mentioned in most of the writing I’ve done within my two rhetoric classes, I’m queer. I believe this integral part of my identity will lend itself as being a great trait for any writing tutors. People often find comfort in recognition and familiarity, so perhaps when a queer person comes to the writing center, they’d feel more at ease interacting with and receiving help and feedback from a fellow queer person. Using different aspects of one’s individuality is important in a place of work as open and vulnerable as being a writing tutor.
Writing, whether it be creative or for schoolwork, is an innately personal thing. Oftentimes one is divulging personal experiences, thoughts, and opinions within their different writing exercises. Writing is one of the most vulnerable things a person could possibly do, so seeking help is quite a difficult step to take. A writing tutor should be warm, personable, and friendly. They should be someone comfortable and kind. Sometimes people will come to the writing center flustered, confused, and after having a bad day. Sometimes (in addition to some tutoring, of course) a “hey it’s going to be okay” or a “no worries, we’ve got this” can ease even the most high-strung of students.
I think it’s also important to note that being a writing tutor is a great act of vulnerability as well. It’s opening oneself up to critique just as much as being a tutee and preparing to morph the way one thinks and acts depending on whoever walks through the door. Tutors and tutees are on the same playing field with the same exact level of discomfort and unfamiliarity. Tutors just must mask it better than the tutee. This entire thread of thought makes me think of “Trickster at Your Table” and the following quote which states, “In these ways, Trickster nudges tutors and students from their comfort zones to acknowledge new voices and countervailing forces within texts, arguments, and research findings” (27).
Being a tutor means not knowing what to expect every day, and not knowing what a day of work may hold, but being prepared to be open and vulnerable regardless. I don’t think being a tutor is an inherently intellectual thing, I have one functioning brain cell at any given time. I think it means being able to make friends at any moment and any place, and wearing a smile the second someone enters the writing center.
Geller, Anne Ellen, et. al. The Everyday Writing Center. Utah State UP, 2006.
Pure Vibes. 