Caroline

As a part of the service-learning aspect of our course, I have decided to spend the next three weeks tutoring sixth and seventh graders at Bridgeport’s Cesar A. Batalla School.

As an aspiring elementary school teacher, I was excited about this opportunity and had all sorts of expectations going into it. Since I only recently declared my education minor here at Fairfield, this is the first time I’ve been able to participate in hands-on learning with children. My experience certainly exceeded my expectations.

From the moment I sat down with my first three tutees at 9:00 am this morning, I knew I had made a correct decision in declaring my education minor. I helped one seventh-grade girl, Angeleena, with her English homework. We worked together to fix mistakes she’d made in her paper and found ways to make her sentences more clear. Seeing her gain a sense of pride in her work was immensely gratifying for me.

At 9:50 I was directed to a sixth grade classroom. It was here that I met Ericka, Sherlyn, and Lord-Kynth. Their teacher instructed me to help them go over some homework problems she’d assigned, so we immediately began with the division of fractions. Immediately I was brought back to memories of my elementary school days. I reminded them to use the method of multiplying fractions by the reciprocal of the other fraction in order to divide them. I taught them how to reduce their fractions by using the greatest common factor.

The children and I had fun dividing fractions for 35 minutes, which is not something I ever thought I would say. We found ways to make it exciting, and I challenged them with numbers I thought might be a little confusing. Turns out, Lord-Kynth is a self-proclaimed “division master,” which the girls couldn’t stop laughing about.

Working these struggling students, even for only one day so far, has already proved to be rewarding. I acted as a literacy sponsor in assisting them with their homework and even teaching them new concepts. Not only was I teaching these students today, but they were also teaching me the importance of fostering the education of our country’s youth. This visit only reinvigorated my passion for teaching children, and I cannot help but look forward to my next tutoring session with them.

As someone aspiring to be an elementary school teacher one day, the idea of being a literacy sponsor in one way or another is exciting to me.

For the last four years, I have been a camp counselor at River Wind Farm, where we teach little kids ranging from 4-12 how to ride and take care of horses. I went to this camp as a little girl and was lucky enough to have incredible counselors who sponsored my equestrian literacy. Thus, I have tried to do the same for my campers.

Not only am I teaching these campers about horses, but they’re teaching me. They teach me what works and what doesn’t work. They teach me how to handle certain situations and certain identities. They teach me how to be empathetic, compassionate, and determined to teach.

I consider myself lucky to be a camp counselor because I am playing a part in the growth and development of each of my campers. I’m making an impact on their lives just like so many literacy sponsors have done for me. I remember one instance from last summer in which a little girl named Mackenzie ran up to me on the first day of camp and exclaimed, “Caroline! You’re here! I woke up this morning and said, ‘I hope Caroline is a counselor this year because she is the best!'” This was incredibly touching for me, to know I made such an impression on her and made her want to come back and learn more about horses.

When I first arrived at horse camp at the young age of eight years old, I had no idea where it would take me. I had always wanted to ride, and finally my mom had agreed to it. The camp leader’s name was Susan, and she’d been riding since she was a little girl. She immediately took me under her wing, along with the other campers, and my passion for horseback riding flourished.

Every day we’d do something new- clean stalls, groom and bathe the horses, feed them treats we’d made, clean tack, ride, etc… Susan was teaching us something new every day, and it was exhilarating. By the end of only one week I was trotting around the ring (on a lead line of course) and posting up and down. My parents came to watch and were impressed by the huge improvements from only a few days prior. “She’s a natural,” Susan said, and that statement stuck with me for years to follow. It was the positive reinforcement that I needed to gain confidence and get even better.

So I began taking lessons from Susan, and every Sunday we’d work on something different, to the point where I was competing in shows and jumping courses. Not only did Susan teach me the art of riding itself, but she also taught me a whole world of literacy that surrounds it. She sponsored my growth in riding as well as my love for it. To this day she’s someone I consider both a role model and a friend. For the last couple years I have worked as a camp counselor at the horse camp that ignited a love for horses in me so many years ago. I can only hope I can be as much of a literacy sponsor to the kids I work with as Susan has been to me over the years.

While I certainly encounter other sponsors of my riding literacy, such as my Equestrian club coach Naomi here at Fairfield, as well as my riding captain Maddie, Susan will always remain the person I credit with teaching me almost everything I know about horses and for always encouraging me to try harder and be better.

As a horseback rider of almost 12 years, something that I have had to learn is that communicating with your horse is essential. As a result of this, it is easy to develop a bond with a horse that you ride often. You begin to communicate with each other without even noticing you’re doing it. Thus, certain horses will always hold a certain place in your heart.

One of those horses for me is a beautiful chestnut named Flash. I started riding Flash in middle school and continued throughout high school. Flash has always been known to spook easily, and will take off galloping the second he sees or hears something that rubs him the wrong way. Thus, I’ve had to learn how to deal with this sort of situation from my instructor and fellow riders at my barn. However, I also learned from him. 

I began to sense what would set him off, and would avoid those types of situations. If another horse was getting too close I’d make sure to create space to make him more comfortable. If we were headed to a jump that had a decoration that flowed too readily in the wind, and I could feel him start to tense up, I’d decide to avoid that jump. Thus, we began to communicate in such a way that made us a great pair.

When I got sick and had to take a year off of riding, I was devastated. All I wanted was to be on the back of Flash, cantering around the outdoor ring with the wind in my face. As time went on and I began to regain strength and confidence, the first thing I wanted to do was ride. My instructor suggested that I ride Flash my first time back, and that’s exactly what I did. I was nervous and shaking like a leaf, but the second I got on his back I felt at home. He seemed to know I was nervous, and behaved perfectly. We took it slow, only walking around the ring and trotting a few circles, but I will never forget how I felt after riding again. Flash made me feel comfortable, and I was finally able to do something I loved again after having it taken away from me from my illness. The communication and bond we developed between each other is something I’ll always treasure and be thankful for.

For our second peer praxis response assignment, we had to watch two videos, both depicting mock writing center sessions. The first was that of a “nervous student,” and the second portrayed a “reluctant” student. The videos were short but served to highlight important possible scenarios in a writing center atmosphere.

The first video depicted a young woman who came into the writing center as a requirement for her class. She couldn’t specify what exactly it was she wanted to work on, and seemed frazzled and distracted the entire time. She barely kept eye contact with her tutor and had her mind on different things, such as the fact that her husband may have been cheating on her.

Due to the writer’s lack of concern about the session and assignment in general, the tutor made the judgment call to wrap the session up early so they could reflect on the fact that the writer needed to be more focused and driven in order to actively participate in the session and get work done. This is a valuable lesson for an aspiring writing center tutor, because I need to know when it is appropriate to decide to end a session that is simply not productive and revisit the work at a more fitting time.

The second video depicted a young woman in the writing center who decided to make it clear that she did not want to be there. She was unwilling to participate and essentially stated to her tutor that her paper didn’t need any help and she was only there because her professor was forcing her to be. This is a difficult situation as well, because the tutor had to find a way to get the student to open up to her and complete the session for the professor’s requirement.

This is where the identity of both the writer and the tutor come into play, however. The tutor recognizes that the writer is the kind of person who needs an extra push in order to become motivated and participate. Therefore, she takes on her responsibility as the tutor to direct the session in such a way that work will get done. She informs the writer that because the session is required, she must stay the full 30 minutes in order to receive credit for it. She then asks the writer what it is she’d like to discuss and work on for the next 30 minutes, since she is unable to leave if she would like to receive full credit for her class.

This seems to provide the writer with the encouragement and motivation she needed, and she begins to soften and discuss something her professor had written on her paper that she didn’t quite understand. They also start to get closer and work on the paper together, encouraging a conversation between the two. Here, it is clear that the writer recognized that the tutor’s identity consists of some character traits such as motivated, hardworking, and willing to go the extra mile for a tutee. Thus, the writer seems to gain a sense of respect for the tutor, allowing her to accept more help and thus get more work done in the session.

Both of these videos were useful because it is important to keep in mind that in the writing center, you’re dealing with real people who have real problems and emotions that may be expressed during the session. There must be a focus placed on identity, as well as compassion, empathy, and determination so as to get as much productive work done as possible in each session to benefit the student to the best of one’s ability.

In looking into the International Writing Centers Association’s website, I found that this nonprofit organization has a number of resources to explore in order to gain a better understanding of what they do, how they do it, and why they do it. Writing centers are such a crucial aspect of colleges across the world. They provide an outlet for students to come to for help with their writing, and a way for writing tutors to use their knowledge and talents to help others.

Writing well is a vital skill to have in today’s world. It is not only English majors or students looking into careers of writing or publishing that have to worry about being able to write well. Rather, being able to articulate one’s thoughts in a clear and effective manner is a useful skill across various occupations. For example, people in the business sales world have to be able to articulately describe their product in order to make it seem appealing to potential buyers. Science-oriented people have must have the ability to discuss their experiments and results in a way that is both clear and concise, so that others may recognize the importance of their findings. Clearly, the ability to write eloquently is a skill that everyone should be encouraged to acquire during their time at college.

This is exactly why the International Writing Centers Association exists. Not only do they have a website dedicated to explaining their mission and providing numerous resources for people to see more of what they do, with tabs such as “Resources” and “Publications,” they also run various social media sites. One of these is their Facebook page, in which followers of the page are able to keep track of any upcoming events or discussions happening.

Their twitter account, however, is what caught my attention. The account, named “@IWCA_NCTE,” is a way for the International Writing Center Association to not only connect and converse with writers and tutors across the world. They retweet the concerns of tutors, keep the public updated on upcoming events, and share blogposts dedicated to daily life in the writing center. For example, the account recently tweeted a link to the IWCA’s wordpress where a post was written titled, “Life, Love, and Leadership in the Two-Year Center.” This article provided a glimpse into what it’s like to be a college writing center coordinator, with all the excitement and stress that goes along with the job.

Here’s the link to the blog post:

https://iwcablog.wordpress.com/2016/02/17/life-love-and-leadership-in-the-two-year-center/

 

 

In class last week, Dr. Boquet prompted us to ponder in what aspects of our lives, such as in certain classes or clubs on campus, that we encounter the question of identity. This could relate to an exploration of our own identity or that of other peoples’ identities.

The first thing that came to my mind was my sociology class. I am currently taking a class titled “Race, Gender, and Ethnic Relations in the U.S.” This class is all about analyzing one’s own identity along with any privileges or hindrances that come along with it. It’s also about exploring the diverse identities of others.

For example, we often discuss common problems and disadvantages that people encounter if they are of certain minorities, such as women, people of color, homosexuals, or people of low economic status. This class often serves as a humbling experience, in which I realize that a person’s identity can shape every experience they have in life. It forces me to question what privileges I experience without even noticing it.

The question of identity is a complex one, to say the least. Identity is not merely made up by one’s physical appearance, economic class, sexual orientation, etc… alone. Rather, identity encompasses everything that makes a person who they are. This can include personality traits, hobbies, interests, passions, etc… Thus, identity is a major aspect of the writing center. In order to efficiently work together, writers and tutors must be prepared to encounter any type of identity. Being open to any diversity one may face will allow both the writer and tutor to be better equipped when it comes to addressing problems in the piece of writing and implementing the tactic of approaching the writing center session as a conversation.

 

 

(An excerpt from a response paper for my sociology class):

In discussing my literacy sponsorship assignment with Dr. Boquet, I found that I was ignoring a major aspect of my life that could be useful for this project. I’ve been passionate about horseback riding since I was eight years old, and it’s certainly something you have to gain literacy in in order to enjoy the sport and succeed at competing in it. Many people think being an equestrian involves little more than jumping on a horse and letting the animal do all the work as it trots around the ring. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Horseback riding is all about learning a whole new world of literacy, and learning how to communicate.

Communication is key. Whether it be communicating with your horse, your instructor, or other riders, you need to be able to express what it is you want to do and how you’re going to go about it. The relationship between a horse and its rider is always unique. It could be with a horse you’ve ridden since the first time you mounted a horse or it could be a horse you randomly drew from a hat to ride in a college equestrian show. No matter the situation, a rider must know how to convey to their horse what they are going to do.

Telling your horse to walk is simple enough, give a squeeze with your legs and most horses will get the picture. Trotting is pretty similar, though you may need a forceful kick or two if your horse is especially lazy. Cantering, however, is where the communication skills start to come into play. In order to ask your horse to canter, you have to pull your inside rein and kick with your outside leg. All the while, during any gait, you should be steering your horse where you want it to go with your reins and by using your eyes and legs as well. If your eyes are not looking where you want to go, your horse will likely sense that and go in the direction of your eyes.

As a rider of over 10 years, communicating with the horse I’m riding comes naturally to me. It’s just what you do. But now I’ve realized that in learning to ride, I’ve learned a whole world of literacy, thus opening up a whole realm of possibilities for literacy sponsors. For example, my riding instructor, other riders, or my equestrian club captain could all be considered literacy sponsors. This has allowed me realize the full scope of literacy sponsorship. 

Peter Elbow developed 13 ways to get words onto paper in order to get thoughts, ideas, and energies flowing when it comes to writing, and called it “Loop Writing.” He is one of the founders of expressivism. Some of his thoughts include…

1. People need to get ideas out there
2. Against the outline format, just start by putting stuff on paper
3. Lowering the threshold for censorship
4. We are our own worst critics
5. Loop writing is a voyage in which writers venture out and come back to a fuller understanding of a starting point

I took 15 minutes to get through as many of the ways to explore my topic as I could. I immediately skipped to the ones I found most intriguing and helpful, as well as the ones I was actually able to complete in the classroom setting. (I was only able to get through 7 out of 13 tactics of Loop Writing in the given slot of 15 minutes time).

(First Thoughts) Possible Literacy Sponsors:

• Teachers/Educators
• Books
• Professional Contacts
• Doctor
• Family
• Music
• Technology (multidirectional nature of sponsorship)
• Government (sponsor schools, closing literacy gap, veterans going back to school to finish their education)

(Common prejudices) Literacy sponsors can only be people who’ve helped you with reading/writing. They never intend on pushing their thoughts on you nor do they have any incentive or ulterior motive for being of assistance.

(Instant Version) Video… discussing through words and pictures how sponsors of literacy such as my doctor, my family, and my teachers have helped me to expand my literacy in various areas.

(Dialogues) What’s the most important thing a literacy sponsor can do? Well, they usually help you learn something new, or foster your growth in the learning process. Do they ever hinder the process? I think it’s possible, but most of the examples from my own life seemed to only help rather than hinder. But they certainly can limit your views or project biases onto you.

(Narrative Thinking) I started by thinking about who initially taught me to read and write. Naturally, my family came to mind. I spent hours on the couch reading Nancy Drew with my mom or Biscuit with my dad. I then progressed to the way my literacy skills were fostered during my education, such as through elementary school and high school teachers. (Shout out to you Mrs. Roy and Ms. Zigouras) I also thought about the importance of varying aspects and types of literacy. For example, I related this to my own life experiences and found that my cardiologist has been a major sponsor for my health literacy.

(Stories) One story that sticks in my mind is when I finally received a diagnosis after months of not knowing what was wrong with me. My doctor spoke the words “Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome.” I had no idea what this was, and needed to ask numerous questions to help familiarize myself with the condition. Therefore, I became more health literate so as to better take care of myself.

(Vary the Audience…to a child) Literacy sponsorship is when someone helps you with something. The thing can be related to learning to read or write. The person who helps you may be helping you for good or bad reasons. A good reason would be to encourage you to do better at reading and writing. A bad reason could be helping you be better so that you can do their work for them when they’re feeling lazy.

 

 

 

 

In class, we have been dissecting and analyzing Deborah Brandt’s article titled “Sponsors of Literacy,” in order to better understand the concept of literacy sponsorship and the role it plays in our everyday lives. While I had an idea of what literacy sponsorship was before I read the article in its entirety, I didn’t quite grasp it’s wide scope. I was unaware of the fact that literacy sponsors do not always have to be positive influences on literacy. In fact, they often impose constraints or limits to our access to or understanding of our practices of literacy.

Furthermore, I had not considered prior to reading the article the fact that there is a persistent stratification of literacy opportunities based on social or economic factors. The case studies displayed throughout the article allowed me to better grasp this concept. Through the examples of Raymond and Dora, as well as the others mentioned in the article, I came to the understanding that as demands for literacy go up, those who are able to increase their literacy increase their opportunities and therefore make greater economic gains. Thus, those who are not able to meet these increasing literacy demands begin to fall further and further behind. This all results in an unequal access to sponsorship. Ultimately, literacy sponsorship can be influenced by various factors, and is an extremely dynamic process that people often experience multiple times throughout their lives.

In my own life, there are numerous instances in which I can recall experiencing a form of literacy sponsorship…

• My first grade teacher, Mrs. Roy. She worked with me as I learned to read and write and fostered my interest in and excitement for learning how to read even the simplest of children’s books.
• My mom, who also has a love for reading, inspired me to start reading for pleasure in my free time by reading the Nancy Drew books with me.
• My freshman year high school English teacher, Ms. Zigouras, who worked on my writing with me both in and outside of class. She helped me craft better theses as well as learn to articulate myself more effectively in my writing.
• My pre-calculus tutor, Mrs. Cardey, who spent hours in the library with me during Junior year of high school, in an attempt to assist me in my goal of being literate in mathematics.
• My CCD teachers throughout the years, who allowed me to become more literate in the realm of Roman Catholicism.
• My cardiologist, who spent time  explaining my medical condition to me and therefore expanded my knowledge and literacy in that area of my life.
• My chemistry tutor from Freshman year of college, who attempted to expand my literacy in this specific area of science.