a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment by Devac
Devac  ·  2409 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: August 23, 2017

Thanks. I'm trying. Believe me, I'm doing my best here. I've been tutoring people for quite a while and I agree with all that you've said. I'm excited, doing what I can to be patient and try to prompt them where and what questions one should ask. There's some improvement already. It's just tiring.

But there is a massive problem where I don't know if I can give them a boost: my track was thrown into the deep water from the start. From the day one, I was solving problems that were too hard for me by design. I once described to you what I was doing as a freshman:

Tackling problems on your own, without having to be prompted, takes years of practice and some mental independence. I can give them the gist, and I will, but it's an entirely different way of thinking about tasks. Sorry for being on a Star Trek reference binge, but this whole assignment feels to me like Kobayashi Maru test. The teacher must experience futility and yet remain optimistic.

Do note that I have never said I'm giving up on them. It just seems like no matter what I do it feels half-arsed and exhausting.





lm  ·  2409 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yep, it is exahusting especially if, like me, you're an introvert and any kind of interaction with people takes energy. On top of that, it's unlikely that you'll really see the fruits of your work -- the foundation you build with them now won't really begin to show until they build on it in higher-level classes (and maybe even projects/work after they graduate).

Since I stuck around at the same university for undergrad and grad school, I've had the pleasure of running into senior students that I tutored or taught when they were freshmen and having them tell me just how much they benefited from my efforts. That's one of the best feelings in the world.

So, keep at it! Things may seem futile now, but in the (very) long run they will be better people because of you.