The Bedford Guide's second chapter concentrates on the inner workings of the writing center. This chapter is primarily aimed at potential tutors and advises them on strategies, tools, and abilities that will help them develop meaningful relationships with their tutees. Setting the agenda and asking questions were two methods described in the chapter. Setting the agenda allows the tutor and tutee to determine what the major focus of the session will be without overtly asking the participant. Overall, the focus of this chapter is on communication and how to conduct a tutoring session. The chapter's active listening and questioning sections are extremely advantageous to anyone who wants to work as a tutor in the wiring center.
The third chapter of the Guide focuses on how to direct writers through the writing process, regardless of how advanced they are or what stage they are at. The three stages of the writing process, prewriting, drafting, and revising/editing, are critical in understanding and using the maxims presented in this chapter. The chapter also provides narrative examples for each step of the writing process to completely comprehend the steps. The use of recommendations in this chapter allows the reader to use the exercises in the chapter to improve their own writing and then give those same suggestions back to their tutee. Overall, this chapter is one of the most significant in the entire guide, as its emphasis on the writing process is critical for writers like me who do not adhere to a set writing routine.
Kenneth A. Brufree's paper "Peer Tutoring and the "Conversation of Mankind"" examines the origins of peer tutoring and how conversation plays an important role in the functioning of relationships in the writing center, as well as in writing and thought. Brufee's article not only conveys the difficulty of creating relationships through tutoring, but it also emphasizes the necessity of collaborative learning. One of the most significant improvements presented by Brufee throughout the article is his rationale that peer connections are far more comfortable than teacher-student ones. Using other scholars such as Micheal Oakshott and Clifford Geertz not only strengthens his case for social collaboration and conversation-enhancing thinking, but also deepens it to give a well-organized thesis and explanation of his important ideas. Overall, this is one of my favorite articles because of the link between peer tutoring and intellectual enrichment for both parties involved.
The three assigned readings for the fifth blog post are critical in understanding writing and how to develop critical relationships in the writing center. While all three readings are relevant, Brufree's piece is perhaps the most important in comprehending the writing center's current structure. Because of Covid-19, many writing centers are pivoting toward digitally oriented content, which may lead to a lack of creating genuine relationships. One question that I believe might be useful to examine is if it is possible to have meaningful teacher-student interactions without the need of a hierarchical framework.
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