Successful Tutoring Sessions

Kiedaisch and Dinitz’s discussion about the limitations of the generalist tutor interestingly resembles the discussion in ENG 693: successful writing must conform to that discipline’s expectations. Even though the tutees’ evaluations of the sessions were positive, professionals in the field regarded them differently. Since students are being evaluated by the professionals, in my opinion, the professionals’ opinions carry more weight. The authors of this article seem to think that “if students leave satisfied and motivated, they have benefitted. A session that is less than it could be is not by definition a bad session” (270). I disagree. While the profession says that the process is more important, its practice makes the product most important. I do agree with Kiedaisch and Dinitz that tutors in the writing center should not “[shoulder] the responsibility for showing students how to think and write in the disciplines” (270).