Kate,
You make an interesting point, but that is assu ming that the student is telling the truth. And Ms. Jonsey alleges that this has been a problem in the past here. 
She writes, "There have been multiple complaints about this tutor on behalf of his/her students. The most recent example has been brought to my attention in the past couple days. It is the most extreme yet!"

 Why has she not addressed this so called problem? Why are you and others tassuming that the student is right and the tutor is wrong?
Remember that there are allways two sides of a story. Ithink there is a problem of leadership and management and it was not taken care of at the lowest level.
Joe Ramos

----- Original Message ----
From: Kate <Kate at guadalupe.k12.ut.us>
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 12:28:26 PM
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2646] Re: Problem Tutor How to Handle It

I have been in this situation several times in the past, and it is very
uncomfortable.  You need to "fire" the tutor.  I can offer a few
suggestions to make it go more smoothly, but there is no escaping the
fact that you will have an unpleasant time of it.  

1.  Arrange a one-on-one conversation with the tutor when there is no
chance that you will have interruptions.  I would start off by saying
that you are sensing that the present match-up is not going 100%
smoothly.  Then I would just sit back and listen.  The tutor will
probably either go on at some length about how it is indeed not going
well; or will go on at come length about how everything is great.
During this time, listen carefully for the tutor to allude to some of
the problems you know exist.

2. When the tutor is finished telling you everything on her mind, return
to any points she made that illustrate your point.  For example, "Yes, I
agree it can be so frustrating working with a student who isn't
progressing as quickly as we'd hope."  This offers you the segue to say
something like, "I am beginning to see a pattern, here.  I have had some
feedback over the time you've been with us that this is a real challenge
for you."

3.  Now for the tough part.  You then tell her that when you see a
pattern of barriers or frustration with a tutor over a period of time
and with a variety of students, it helps you realize that a volunteer
may not be cut out for tutoring this population.  This is an opportunity
for damage control.  You can apologize for hurting her feelings; let her
know you are the bad cop.  Also, you can say things to make it clear
that you are not acting based on the complaint of the present student.
You can emphasize that this decision comes after a long period of
observation.

4.  Let the student know what you've done. If the tutor says anything to
the student, the student should just express regret and say s/he is so
sorry it turned out like that, etc...

Good luck!

Kate Diggins
Director of Adult Education

Guadalupe Schools
340 S. Goshen St.
Salt Lake City, UT
84104

work:  801.531.6100 (ext.1107)
cell:  801.440.7519

www.guadalupe-schools.org
-----Original Message-----
From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Project CARE
Sent: Saturday, June 14, 2008 2:52 PM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: Problem Tutor How to Handle It


I have a tutor who is a former high school teacher. She is retired now.
She has been with our tutoring program for three years.

There have been multiple complaints about this tutor on behalf of
his/her students. The most recent example has been brought to my
attention in the past couple days. It is the most extreme yet!

According to the student, this tutor uses negative reinforcement..ie do
you really want to learn? Uses inappropriate materials...ie not related
to everyday life (she was a biology teacher, so she teachers biology to
students), or material too hard for the student. She makes the student
feel bad about his/her level of English knowledge, making them feel
frustrated and ineffectual. Luckily the student told me about this. I am
going to talk to the student more about the situation. Obviously the
student doesn't want to continue.

Do I formally  dismiss this tutor? Or, do I just say that I dont' have
any students for the tutor at this point and that his/her current
student is too busy now with his/her new schedule, With the intention of
never giving this tutor another student in the future? I am leaning
toward the latter right now.

Which course of action do I take and what is most effective for everyone
involved. I don't want to make the student feel bad or have the tutor
call him/her asking what happened? The tutor is very two-faced. Plus,
they live in the same community, so I don't want them to run into each
other again and have a bad experience. I want to protect my student, who
I will try to find another tutor.

Thanks in advance! Any techniques for how to handle this inappropriate
tutor and/or breaking up the tutor/student pair will be very helpful.

Karin Johnsey

Project CARE
Morton College
Cicero, IL 
708-656-8000 x383

-----Original Message-----
From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Jlbogdan
Sent: Thu 6/12/2008 4:15 PM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2627] Re: Best Listening, Bilingual, Online
Test,& Video Site

Hi Kate,
If you are at school and that comes up it means that your network IT is
blocking you from reaching the site.  You could request from IT that
they allow access to the site.  They should check it out and get back to
you with a yes--and allow the site to come in or no--and usually explain
why they won't.
If you can't get then you can try from home.  
Hope it helps.
Joyce


----- Original Message ----
From: Kate <Kate at guadalupe.k12.ut.us>
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
<englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 1:57:15 PM
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2626] Re: Best Listening, Bilingual, Online
Test, & Video Site


Hi, Steph-

If I tried to go on the Internet using the wireless access, but I got
the "Page cannot be displayed" page, does that mean there's something
wrong?  Or is it just that I was in a place where I could not get a
signal?

Kate Diggins
Director of Adult Education

GuadalupeSchools
340 S. Goshen St.
Salt Lake City, UT
84104

work:  801.531.6100 (ext.1107)
cell:  801.440.7519

www.guadalupe-schools.org

________________________________

From:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of
LaFerlazzo at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 5:49 AM
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 2602] Re: Best Listening, Bilingual, Online
Test,& Video Site

  
Hi, Everybody,

Here are a few more "The Best..." lists:

The Best Online Video Sites For Learning English
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/06/03/the-best-online-video-sites
-for-learning-english/

The Best Listening Sites For English Language Learners
(http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/05/28/the-best-listening-sites-f
or-english-language-learners/)

The Best Multilingual & Bilingual Sites For Learning English
(http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/05/25/the-best-multilingual-bili
ngual-sites-for-learning-english/)

The Best Ways To Create Online Tests
(http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/05/22/the-best-ways-to-create-on
line-tests/)

Part Seventeen Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily &
Quickly
(http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2008/05/26/part-seventeen-of-the-best
-ways-to-create-online-content-easily-quickly/)

Larry Ferlazzo
LutherBurbank High School
Sacramento, CA





________________________________

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