Whitney TP-6

Met with a tired Salma this afternoon. She is really having trouble going to bed and falling asleep and has made an appointment at Thagard--not really sure what that will do for her, but I encouraged her to not take a nap and go to sleep early....

Salma received my feedback and thanked me profusely, I asked if she had any questions. She said, "no" rather confidently, and knowing her usual eagerness to ask questions, I believed her. Due to her overwhelming workload, we focused strictly on her assignments for her summer classes (which started last week). We met at the Center for Global Engagement, with Salma's laptop--the ultimate blend of comfort (cushioning couch-like chairs) and education (accessing Blackboard straight from her computer--a tool we did not have last time). Her one class requires daily journal entries about the class lectures, which seemed to stress her out. We discussed the difference between a mere summary and the journal entry the teacher wanted (writing about personal impression, insight, etc.). Again, a real focus on getting internal thoughts written out, and in another language, has become our primary goal. I gave her a compare/contrast template to help organize her thoughts, observing her perception/assumptions prior to class and the change or additional depth added by the lecture.

We also read several examples aloud, discussing what elements made them acceptable as "journal entries" as well as the overall format and style.

Salma, not having much more sleep since we last met a week ago, was ready to nap when we finished. Instead of assigning something additional to her already abundant workload, I agreed to give her feedback on her first journal entry. I really hope this session encouraged and inspired her, in spite of her overall exhaustion. She is so discouraged right now in general, and has always been less confident about her writing--I keep reminding her that it is only a matter of getting her knowledge and insight onto paper, which happens to be a challenge even for native speakers/writers. She really has great potential, her mind is full of great thoughts, and there is simply a language barrier in the way--this can be overcome!

I hope to do something fun with her this weekend (after checking her schedule)--I think she could use the time off from the stress and studying, plus it would be a great opportunity to get to know her better. Even though this is my last tutoring-post, this was not my last session with Salma, we will continue to meet as we can (at least for the rest of the summer),and I think this is only the beginning of a beautiful friendship!