In his blog this week, Steven discussed the different values administrators at Penn State have for how excellence can be achieved in the next few years. Dr. Burlingame talked about co-curricular activities and how what we learn in the classroom is just as important as what we learn in extra-curricular activities. Dr. Foley wants people to expect more, to not settle for what is, and strive to make something better. It is written as if these two perspectives are exclusive--if we focus on the importance of co-curricular activities, we can't expect more in the future. Maybe this was just the way I read these messages, but I feel like they are both incredibly important. Balance, which is basically what Dr. Burlingame is talking about is important in any field. If everyone focused solely on one thing--THON, schoolwork, writing, clubs, cooking, etc, our lives would be very boring and uninteresting. By emphasizing the value of extra-curricular work, students are more well-rounded individuals. Additionally, by expecting more from everyone, there is a sense of evolution--things can always get better. Students should strive to make their experiences the very best they can be, by working to improve the situations they are in and by becoming involved in a well-rounded set of activities.
Felix spent his blog discussing his new adventure into the world of tutoring. He is working for a tutoring center teaching students English as a Foreign Language. He got interested through his work in the applied linguistics department. Finding the right balance between teaching so that your student understands how to write a sentence and teaching so that they understand every detail of the construction and meaning of that sentence is a hard balance to find. As a tutor, I can appreciate how much Felix wants his students to know and understand as much as possible, especially because they will only be working together for a short period of time. However, his objective isn't to teach them everything, his goals are to improve the English skills of his tutors, and overwhelming them with minute details can derail any progress that potentially could have been made. When I was tutoring adult learners last semester for my ENGL 202H class, one of the first things I did with my students was clearly establish the learning objectives for this session--what did they want to do? I had to have some idea of what was reasonable to accomplish in a given setting, but I wanted the work we were doing to be something the learner wanted to work on. That way, everyone wins.
Felix spent his blog discussing his new adventure into the world of tutoring. He is working for a tutoring center teaching students English as a Foreign Language. He got interested through his work in the applied linguistics department. Finding the right balance between teaching so that your student understands how to write a sentence and teaching so that they understand every detail of the construction and meaning of that sentence is a hard balance to find. As a tutor, I can appreciate how much Felix wants his students to know and understand as much as possible, especially because they will only be working together for a short period of time. However, his objective isn't to teach them everything, his goals are to improve the English skills of his tutors, and overwhelming them with minute details can derail any progress that potentially could have been made. When I was tutoring adult learners last semester for my ENGL 202H class, one of the first things I did with my students was clearly establish the learning objectives for this session--what did they want to do? I had to have some idea of what was reasonable to accomplish in a given setting, but I wanted the work we were doing to be something the learner wanted to work on. That way, everyone wins.
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