I’m a One on One Literacy Tutor

The entire learningandviolence website is aimed at you, and exists so you can explore all the issues in the connections between violence and learning. It offers ways of thinking about, approaching, and working with the things that arise from those connections. But as a tutor, you may need resources that address a specific pressing question, or even help articulating what your questions are. Below is a quick guide. 

…I’m feeling lost about…

♥ I’m just starting to think about violence and literacy – people around me (school, programme where I volunteer) have been talking about this kind of thing – I’m curious and starting to make some connections.

Take a look at:

• “The Complexity of Violence” – especially “The Spectrum of Violence”
• “Connection to Literacy Problems”
• Too Scared To Learn – Brief Notes for Educators ()
• Parkdale Project Read’s Tutor Training Materials ()

♥ I think my learner may be currently experiencing violence in their personal life.

Explore:

• “In Our Homes” talks about intimate partner abuse
• “Personal safety”, links for those who need supportive resources 
• For resources that help learners move through difficult times

♥ I’m feeling anxious about my role with my learner. I’m not comfortable with how I am treating them, and/or how they’re treating me. We’re having trouble setting/articulating and respecting boundaries (they are bringing really heavy stuff to me that I don’t feel qualified to deal with, they are asking me for money, they are calling me at home, that kind of thing).

Look at:

• Confidentiality and other boundary issues are discussed in “Making Stories of Violence Known”
• Play with the “Outside the Box” cards in “Reflective Practice”, note #34 and #19 But I’m not a Therapist
• “Walking the Line” in Reflective Practice ()

♥ I get the sense that I don’t quite understand my learner’s “learning style” or “cognitive style”. I think things might work better if I presented material in different ways, but my knowledge of how to respond to different learning styles is limited.

Take a look at:

• An excerpt from Multiple Intelligences
• From neuroscience to social justice, “What’s Happening in Adult Education” features different takes on the impacts of trauma on learning
  Be sure to scroll down to the articles in the “Acknowledging Violence” section!

♥ Acknowledging/dealing with my learner’s issues with violence is making ME feel weird. I get wobbly or tense or nervous when we talk about it. It seems to be triggering either my own memories or I don’t know what.

Check out:

• Taking Care of Self
• Read the overheads from a tutor workshop by Brenda Squair  

♥ We’re bored. I know there are lots of things yet to explore, but our sessions feel stuck/stagnant, and my learner I’m working with is becoming discouraged by being in this “plateau” phase for too long.

Take a look at:

• All the links (collages! curricula!) in the classroom at “Helping Others Learn”
• Links for using expressive arts in Learning Processes

♥ I don’t know how to move from talking about these themes, to working with them to teach writing.

Look at:

• the interview in “Teaching Writing” ()
• Eliciting Meaningful Writing by Heather Lash ()

♥ The learner I’m working with is a refugee or newcomer who, it seems, has had traumatic experiences with migration. I’d like to better understand the issues they are facing.

Read:

• Overview, and various articles on Forced Migration in “The Complexity of Violence”
• Supportive Resources for newcomers in “Making Changes” 

♥ I’m feeling isolated, or disconnected from other tutors / I have a specific question that is not talked about on this website.

• Join the forum

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