I love to make an agenda for everything I do in life, that is just the way my mind is comfortable. I not only make a list of what I need from the store, I make a list of what stores I need to go to and in what order. So I felt having an agenda for my tutoring session was important, almost needed, for me to be successful. I discovered in a short time that my set agenda needed to be tossed.
I can appreciate what William Macauley says in his paper "Setting the Agenda for the Next Thirty Minutes", "I like to think of this plan like planning a trip with a road map". I can appreciate more his line "Anyone who has ever driven on an expressway knows that having a map is no guarantee against wrong turns and traffic jams". There are so many wrong turns and traffic jams that come with the program, they just cannot be avoided. I have discovered the best way for me to deal with this is to leave my agenda with open ends and set it around my needs instead of the writer (what do they need from me, what does their instructer want, how can I help). It is always good to have a plan....brainstorm, pick an idea, write a thesis statement....but you can never know what may be asked of you or what may come up. So my agenda now is set for me. An agenda for what I need to do. After that I listen to the writer and help them direct the flow.
1 comment:
That last line gave me the image of you standing on Western Avenue with a cross guard uniform, whistle, and stop sign! You looked great, lol!
So glad you got something useful out of that piece and I love the idea of having a plan, but just being flexible with the plan. Then, you have the best of both worlds.
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