Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Annual Tutoring Conferences: Where One Might Meet His or Her Long-Lost Younger Twin


















Even though all of our tutors are CRLA (College Reading and Learning Association) certified, we believe in continual tutor training and take our staff meetings VERY seriously. Every year since our beginning in the 2007-2008 academic year, we have also corralled as many staff as possible and herded them to the annual tutor conference, hosted by the Southern California Writing Center Association. At each conference, a group of our Mt. SAC Writing Center tutors have presented a panel or hosted a session. Not to mention, we've been able to visit a new college each time and check out their own writing centers. Through our participation at the annual tutor conferences, we have gained many insights about tutoring. For example, we've learned new strategies for helping ESL students, we've had the opportunity to share about our new computer lab tutoring, and we've even heard a Vietnam vet/writer speak about responding appropriately to personal narratives. Each year's conference has proven to add more nuts and bolts to our tutoring tool kit. And who knows? One might even meet one's long-lost younger twin, like Dr. Dave at our first conference!

~Posted by Nicole Blean

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

My, How We've Grown!

















Fall of 2007 marked the genesis of tutoring as we know it today in the new Writing Center under Dr. Dave's direction. We have to admit that we are still quite fond of the original WC clan that started it all. One of our old tutors put it best when he used to say, "Good times, good times!"

Now in 2010, we've quadrupled our staff of enthusiastic and dedicated WC members committed to help Mt. SAC students improve their writing skills.

~Posted by Nicole Blean

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

A Brief History of the Center in the Center



















Mt. SAC's Writing Center was not always located in the modern and very glassy (I'm thinking more along the lines of panopticon here) center of campus where it currently resides. Oh, no, we were previously tucked away in a brick back wing of 26D overlooking the staff parking lot. At least there were pine trees to brighten up an otherwise--as one of our tutors called it--"ghetto" existence. Since we were called the WRAC (Writing, Reading, and Assistance Center), people confused us with a medieval torture device and, needless to say, we did not get much business. Now, if people are British, as our hourly instructor Richard Myers points out, they confuse us with a water closet, but I digress.

The point is, we are now the Center in the center (of Mt. SAC). This is what we looked like then and now.

~Posted by Nicole Blean