Experiences as a Writing Consultant

This semester I've been given a great opportunity to work in the UM-Dearborn Writing Center. If you're not familiar with the resource, here's the quick pitch: come to us if you'd like any form of assistance on a piece of writing you're working on. It could be a 15-page final project essay you'd like revised one more time before submitting. It could be a single paragraph response that you need help brainstorming. It doesn't even have to be related to a class. Bring us your resume and cover letter. We're here to help.

While my endorsement will be in Integrated Science, I thought it would be a valuable experience to work as a writing consultant. Foremost, these are small teaching sessions I can hopefully use to practice my craft. But it's not just the hours. Writing is important. Every discipline will require the ability to construct writing at some point. I would like to learn as much about the writing process as I do about teaching.

I may have only had a few hours in the center so far, but I think I'm already seeing dividends. The most significant of which is that I will need to work hard to become an expert teacher. It took me longer than some to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. When I decided to become a teacher, I felt very confident about it and people close to me immediately say things like, "You're going to be the best teacher!" or, "That's perfect for you!". My first few sessions in the writing center have been a good reminder that it takes a long time and a lot of effort to be really good at something. You don't just walk up to the plate as a rookie in the big leagues and hit home run after home run. I can't be discouraged when I feel like I struck out during a session. I need to be able to focus on how I can improve and that I will improve. I need to be okay with not hitting a home run. I need to celebrate the times that I just get on base. I need to appreciate the little victories, both the ones I have and those my students do. My goal is not to be 100% perfect all the time, start to finish. My goal is to be better today than the day before, to be better at the end of the year than I was at the start of it. One step at a time and we can all reach the summit.