Tutoring Philosophy

As a second year tutor, I value collaborative conversation within tutorials. In Murphy & Sherwood’s Exploring Paradigms and Practices, it is said that “the essence of tutoring [is a] conversation” not only a collaboration (2). In the “Oxford Guide for Writing Tutors”, Fitzgerald & Ianetta add that oftentimes in a tutorial “rather than one person talking or asking questions while the other person quietly listens, tutors and writers engage in a dynamic back-and-forth in which both of them talk, listen, ask, and answer” (51). This is a contest to the typical hierarchy often expected in tutoring sessions. I advocate for a break down of this binary of the tutor as the expert, and the tutee as the opposite.

Due to the focus on tutoring as a conversation, both Murphy & Sherwood and Fitzgerald & Ianetta discussed the necessity for a balance between the power dynamics of tutor and tutee in order for there to be a relationship of trust. One important aspect of cutting down this power dynamic and “downplay[ing] the role of the tutor as an authority figure or the single source of knowledge” is recognizing and accepting that tutors have room to learn too (Murphy & Sherwood, 4). We, as tutors, are not all knowing. Simply being honest about an area that you are unsure of is important. There should be a balance between acting as collaborators and as authoritative figures (Murphy & Sherwood, 4).

The theme of collaboration works hand and hand with certain aspects of the expressivism pedagogy. Therefore, focusing not on your opinions as a tutor but on helping the writer find their true voice. I hope to help writers by giving advice while still letting the student “see the problem [in their writing] for themselves” (Fitzgerald & Ianetta, 61). I hope to combine these philosophies of expressivism with flexibility and inclusiveness within the Writing Center.