I spend a lot of time in the Center while Jenny is working and I’ve sat in on quite a few of her consults. There was one consult in particular that I focused on for this weeks prompt.
A Music 101 student came in and needed to write a paper about his personal experience with music. He felt like his paper was all over the place and didn’t really “say” anything. Jenny made eye contact and focused on what the student was saying. He spent most of the time doing the talking. Jenny would prompt him with questions about his piece and the goals he had set whenever he paused.
After talking about the piece the student realized his main problem was that he had never really liked music to begin with. He had been trying to fib his way through the paper. Instead of encouraging his agenda, Jenny suggested that maybe he try writing about why it was that he didn’t like music. This was a real wheel turner for him. He had so much to say and felt like he’d easily be able to write his paper on that topic. He left feeling refreshed, confident that he would be able to re-write something worthwhile.
What an interesting session you observed here, Ryan. I wonder if the student already knew he was faking his way through the paper, or did he figure it out when he was talking to Jenny? I appreciate how Jenny encouraged this student to follow where his thoughts were taking him--seems like a good move.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
mk