Shannanigan's Search for More...

I got this brilliant idea today while sitting bored in the Writing Center that I could start this blog off as a little account of what it's like to be a writing tutor...then my boredom was interrupted by a swarm of customers and visitors...

I had come in at 11, and seen that there were already two appointments set up for me back-to-back at 1 and 1:30. One of our tutors recently decided that she no longer wanted to work her 9-4 Tuesday and Thursday schedule, and instead changed her schedule so that she worked Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. These days were already well staffed, and her schedule change now left Tuesdays and Thursdays understaffed... meaning... I'm the only one who now works Tuesdays and Thursdays. Ugh. I may be head tutor, but I have no power to dictate schedules, so I get to just deal.

Anyways, 12 rolled around and our shiny brand new director who really didn't want the job drops in for a visit. He's asking random questions, wanting to know how to fill out our employee evaluation forms (I have no idea) and what kind of problems students have been coming in with (where do I begin?) We're basically having an impromptu meeting, and we are occasionally interrupted by students coming in who need help.

The new director is unconcerned about the students, he just keeps talking while I try to quietly juggle conversation with him and explain MLA format to them...someone comes in wanting an appointment, and I see that it's 12:15, so I tell them that signing up for 12:30 was their best bet. They sign up for 3 o'clock instead. Goodie.

Director man is still going on and on, until he finally leaves at 12:35...at which point I get a string of phone calls of people requesting appointments with specific tutors, or wanting to know hours, etc. etc. A student comes in to finish a practice "English Proficiency Exam," a required essay-writing test for graduation here at UVI which you have to pass in order to graduate.

1:00 rolls around, and the appointment never shows. The 1:30 does, and I sigh at the smell of cigarrettes on such a young and intelligent girl. I'm not one to judge smokers or try to talk them into quitting...it just saddens me to see young people addicted to anything at all...

So once her paper comparing Rastafarianism to Islam is proofread and re-arranged for "flow," two more girls come in wanting practice "EPE's". One is quite polite about it, but the other has one of her eyebrows permanently raised in a sneer of scrutiny. She wants to know who grades the practice EPE, what question she has to answer, why she has to answer a question, etc. etc. Another saddening thing to think that this is someone who has signed up to take the EPE THURSDAY...and today is TUESDAY and she has no clue how the EPE is conducted. I explain to her that the practice is conducted in as similar a manner to the real thing as possible, and is graded the same way, and she gets a random question just like in the real thing and has the same time to write an essay of equal length...etc. etc...

They sit and start the practice, and the 3 o'clock eventually shows. She needs help outlining her paper comparing tsunamis to earthquakes. Lots of comparison papers coming in, lots of them just want grammarchecks...I did a lot of grammarchecks today even though we are not supposed to, but I was avoiding homework and felt sorry for these students who are panicking at the end of the semester and are trying everything, including coming to the Writing Center (gasp! ), to get a good grade.

Anyways, that seems much too long and rambling now, but I'll post it anyway and promise to improve as I go along...