You probably noticed that this was not the most successful tutorial session in the world. But it is interesting to note that:

  1. Tim will leave this session happy - he did not have a paper when he walked in and now he does.
  2. The meeting will continue and Tim will realize that things he found difficult and irritating are actually tied to some of the themes of the text. He will learn something that may actually increase his confidence as a reader.
  3. Tim will return to the Center on Thursday, and will most likely write an adequate paper.
  4. Tim will probably recommend the Center to a friend and will most likely be a repeat customer.

As for the tutor - the situation was very difficult, and Jen was successful in several ways.

  1. She was sensitive to Tim's reactions. She recognized when she messed up, and tried to rectify her missteps.
  2. She tried several different approaches and had some good ideas in terms of trying to get Tim to figure out what he was interested in (recounting what happened, getting him to talk about the characters, and so on).
  3. She stayed sensitive to Tim's immediate and practical needs - they had only 15 minutes left in this session and Tim didn't have a thesis statement, let alone a viable outline.
  4. She also made sure that she asked Tim to come back with a first draft, thereby modeling good writing habits and setting up a work schedule for him to follow.

This tutor has probably had a number of very successful tutorial sessions.

Although Tim may eventually come to see that confusion can yield strong interpretations, the problem with the tutorial should be obvious. Tim is going home to write Jen's paper. Tim still does not fully understand this idea, he would never have thought of this topic on his own, and most likely he will not be able to complete the paper without Jen's continued help.

As for Jen... She is hampered throughout the session by her own knowledge and love of the text, as well as her frustration with Tim as a poor reader. Although she asks good questions, Jen is looking for certain answers to her questions. These expectations affect how she is hearing Tim's responses, and they then inform her follow-up questions. Perhaps the most obvious example of selective hearing is when Tim claims the book is about Conrad's own experiences, and not a bunch of symbolic mumbo-jumbo. Jen hears only: "symbolic mumbo jumbo" and misses that Tim is really saying: "I think the book is really about a disturbing, real-life encounter with imperialism." This statement is exactly the sort of thing Jen wanted earlier when she asked him: "What do you think this book is about?"

Let's watch and see another possibility for this session...

Last Updated: 7/9/08