The Writing Coach Experience

I'm not new to the game when it comes to tutoring/mentoring. I've been helping students since I was a young one, myself. Math, Spanish, English - sisters, friends, strangers - I've done it all. Every experience was always its own. This time, however, blows all of those experiences out of the park. Coaching online has been very different, but so has attending school. Adapting to new circumstances has been both exciting and exhausting. In the end, getting to know and support a variety of students has been one of the highlights of a rather bizarre year. 

The beginning of this adventure had a rocky start. I wasn't receiving anything from a single student. There were no email responses, no rough drafts, no notes, nothing. I was incredibly discouraged. Even though I had never had an interaction with my students, I still felt like they were already avoiding me. I wondered if they were disappointed in the fact that I was their writing coach. I felt very negative and found myself getting bored with the idea that I had once found thrilling. I was starting to give up on my hopes of receiving a response when I finally saw the email: "Re: A Quick Hello." This, paired with a series of following responses, reignited that initial buzz. It's been about a month, now, and I've still barely seen any work from my students, but I still love getting to know these amazing young adults. 

Now that I've said I've rarely received any work from my students, I'm going to talk about the opposite: the work I have. These kids are outstanding. They are really powering through a lot of adversity, just to do some great classwork. The pandemic has clearly taken a toll, but I strongly commend each of the students who continue to try and put their best foot forward (if you're one of my students reading this right now - amazing job!!). No matter the case, whether virtual or in-person, I've noticed a trend among these peers. Not only are they trying their hardest, but they rely on a similar support from me as their writing coach. 

What Do They Need From Writing Coaches?

First and foremost, many of these children need a friend. Before I get into the technicals and the serious matter, I wanted to bring this up. Many of my students have expressed that they feel lonely. For some, virtual learning has distanced them from peers while others have had close friends and relatives move across the country. Whatever the situation, they are looking to the coaches for social interaction. Even sending an email can help to lift their spirits during this trying time. This also allows coaches to build a relationship and a rapport with their students. From this, students will feel more comfortable in sharing their work and reflections.

Beyond the social aspect, many students need some positivity. It's easy to read a piece of work and pick out the flaws. This can help fix some issues, but this also discourages students from improving their skills and sharing their work with you. Many just need some extra attention and reassurance that they may not be able to receive in other places. In Marcelle Haddix's article, Y'all Always Told To Me To Stand Up For What I Believe In, a student by the name of Josanique Everson finds herself inspired by the words of Haddix and her partner, Reba Hodge. The pair ran workshops that were meant to spark an activist mindset through English pieces. They encouraged their students to work on bigger aspects, such as tone and fluency, in their works, rather than picking on small issues like spelling and punctuation. Ultimately, Everson wrote a speech for the school board in which "she wrote each word beginning with a capital letter and inserted additional spacing before end punctuations as a silent protest toward a teacher who did not think she knew how to 'type correctly.' (Haddix 264). Haddix and Hodge built a relationship with Everson in a way her teacher never had, and in turn were able to inspire her to produce a well-written and compelling speech. This is what needs to be done with our students. Congratulate them on their successes and guide them from their errors. As coaches, we shouldn't essentially be teaching the subject of writing, but giving tips and tricks that will help them to better establish a positive writing experience.

What Do They Need From Teachers?

Teachers provide a different type of support in students. They should be doing the same as writing coaches (inspiring, building relationships, focusing on bigger issues, etc.) but to a new level. Any issues that are seen in the text should be addressed to both the student and the classroom. Coaches cannot teach a lesson to a whole class on spelling and grammar like a teacher can - they don't have the resources. So, if a teacher is continuously seeing issues on an aspect, they should provide feedback that is followed by a lesson. When it comes to more individualized feedback, teacher should still remain friendly and encouraging, but a little more strict than a writing coach. They are the ones who will be providing a grade to the student, so only they know what they are truly looking for. Guiding students towards that goal is very important, but they should also keep individuality in mind. Teachers are on a rocky road where they can slip between teaching students the "proper" way to write through perfection and teaching students that individuality matters with "errors." In all truth, teachers sometimes need to be the bad guy. They shouldn't be monsters that scare children from writing ever again, but they need to be able to draw a line and perfect that balance when it comes to lessons and feedback. Reassurance versus correction, grades versus individuality, spelling versus themes, etc. is the fight that should be apparent, but clear, in their feedback.

What Do They Need From Peers?

It's hard to provide feedback to peers. Many of us have faced a time where we did not feel comfortable with editing a friend's paper, because we did not want to hurt their feelings. Children often have a hard time understanding criticism and tend to take it in a negative way. No matter how many "one-negative" and "one-positives" there are in feedback, students can still feel betrayed by their peers. In order to fix this, students need to recognize amongst each other that they are only trying to help each other.

When it comes to feedback, then, peers can begin to look at those smaller errors. They should still be looking at the big picture of the paper, but they can address spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. These students are much closer with each other than they are with their teachers. They understand that when it comes to feedback from a friend, it will likely be the little things. And that works! Because at this point, the teacher and writing coach are working on the bigger issues, so the peers can point out the little issues. Having multiple different people continuously point out the same wouldn't be helpful and it would cause frustration. With an emphasis on little fixes, students can relieve some pressure.