Last Academy Prep Visit

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with Academy Prep today as I always have in years past. The middle schoolers are always so eager to learn and love hearing what the tutors have to say. I have loved making personal connections with the students and getting to know them over the years of tutorials. It always hard to say goodbye in the end, but knowing I made a difference by helping them with their writing means so much to me.
This week has been full of exciting tutorials, bursting with conversation and helpful words from the tutors. Thank you to all the tutors who gave up class time and lunch to participate in this wonderful event!
-Emily

Kelsey Serraneau Presentation

Kelsey Serraneau presents during the poster session at this weekend's IWCA/NCPTW conference! 

The students in the pink shirts are our friends from Edison High.

Words From Sabrina Saeed

Presenting was an incredible experience. Perhaps the most meaningful aspect of presenting was the support we received from the schools we have Skyped with. The support we received from Edison and Minnetonka especially, I think, was really indicative of how strong the relationships we are forming with these schools are, and shows that what we do is truly meaningful. It was also amazing to see how much support we received in general. I was very pleasantly surprised to see how many people were interested in what we had to say and were truly engaged in the topic (especially considering that our session was so early in the morning). Not only did our presentation spark questions from the audience, but it also sparked conversation among the audience as well. And I think that really shows that our work has broader implications. Five years ago when my sister was a part of the Self-Study group, Berkeley was one of two high schools (or the only high school) represented at the conference. This year, there were four high school writing centers represented in our presentation room alone. I really feel like the increased representation of high school writing centers has a lot to do with us reaching out and engaging them. I truly feel like the network we are building will help change writing centers around the country.

Fun Facts Since August 2013

Since the BPS Writing Center began collecting tutorial data electronically  we have amassed a few interesting facts from this data such as...

...Tutorials by Genre

...and tutorials by Grade Level

203 Tutorials

Congratulations Writing Center for Reaching 200 Tutorials for the School Year

 

Edison Skype Session

I really liked the Skype session because we got to see how other students our age run a writing center. I really liked it because they gave us some really good ideas even though they've only had their writing center for 5 years. They were really passionate about their writing center, and I think that is why they had more students going to them for help. For example, I really liked the idea of having a Youtube and Soundcloud account because these are the apps that students use on a daily basis, and it would therefore be easier to reach them that way by entertaining them with funny videos and such. I also liked how they tutored on speeches and public speaking. I myself am not that strong of a public speaker, and even though there is a Rhetoric class at Berkeley, I still think that it would be something for the writing center to consider. Also, I really like how they were experts on their writing center. I think that the Berkeley tutors should be more informed on the writing center because they may have forgotten some stuff from the test (for example I didn't know the answers to some of their questions). Overall, I really liked Skyping them and I hope that we will be able to see them or even establish a connection with them in the near future.

 

Edison Skype Session

The Skype session went so well today! We shared many different ideas that were beneficial to both schools!

I feel that today's Skype session with Edison High School is a perfect example of how the Berkeley Writing Center can reach out to become a part of the broad network of writing centers across the country and to learn how it can expand its projects. As was mentioned in the session, the Berkeley Writing Center has been around longer than most other centers and yet--as more high school centers begin to pop up--we have so many potential projects that we could pursue that we haven't yet. Some examples of this (from the session and Edison's blog) are the presentation classes, the "Rent A Tutor" program, and a broader social media presence and various events (like the "Lunch Launch") to further increase popularity. By connecting to other centers, both through Skype and through the conference, the writing center could possible expand its focus so that it is not only an excellent resource for students to come to for help, but also a stronger on-campus entity to assist students with writing and communication.