Week #13: Case Study - Sallie

             N’s first meeting with me in the Writing Center this Spring also happened to be her second week of school – she had transferred in second semester after dealing with some personal issues back home in Bangladesh. She arrived in an anxious flurry, papers and pens spilling out of her backpack, and furiously apologizing for being late (it was 2:31, the appointment was set for 2:30). I would soon learn that this anxiety was typical for N. She told me immediately that she is a terrible student, a hopeless writer, and that despite the semester just beginning, she was sure she would fail. I tried to assure her that she has all the tools she needs to succeed, and that she has people like me here to help make sure this semester runs smoothly for her. She seemed skeptical but appreciative.

            There has yet to be a session where N arrives without something to work on. She usually has a Rhetoric assignment she has already been stressing about considerably, even if it is just a short reading log. The thing is, N is a strong writer. She develops nuanced arguments and demonstrates them effectively. Sometimes her grammar falters (English is not her first language), but not in any catastrophic way. Her issue has been less with her writing and more with her confidence. It is rare that she stands behind an assignment without first getting clear verbal approval from me. Sometimes she will have a fully formed argument, and when I give a bit of direction on how to improve it, I have to stop her from deleting the entire document and writing out what I’m saying word-for-word.

            Since we began working together, she has gotten positive feedback from her Rhetoric instructor which has caused her confidence to build. However, getting a 9.5 and not a 10 will cause her to spiral. With N, it is clear that a large part of the work we needed to do was not only the writing itself, but the confidence that allows putting pen to paper.

            N has not been shy about giving me information about her background. She tells me often about her educational experiences in Bangladesh: it was mostly rote learning in her school and there was little to no emphasis on personal narrative or individual opinion. She also had recently lost her mother and was experiencing a number of personal, social and familial problems since arriving in Iowa. Her father puts extreme emphasis on her grades, often reminding her of all he had to sacrifice to send her here. The combination of difference in academic background, the stress of being in Iowa, and pressure from back home all seem to clearly inform her relationship to writing and schoolwork in general.

            I have found that positive reinforcement is hugely helpful with N. Of course, I encourage all my students, but with N I need to be very explicit. I am continuously reminding her that she “has it” – that the tools she needs are within her and I’m just here to provide some support and direction. I have also found that letting her speak about her anxieties outside of schoolwork has been helpful in building a rapport that allows her to open up and trust both me and herself. Sometimes this poses a problem, as N is quick to push boundaries on the amount of information she gives me about her personal life. This can put me in an awkward position and cuts into the time we could be using on her writing. Many of us in the writing center have spoken to this issue, but I have yet to figure a balanced solution (have you?) I also worry that sometimes I am enabling a relationship in which N seeks my approval first and attributes her success to my contribution in her work. This issue seems built into the structure of the Writing Center, and I think is an ever-present danger in providing assistance to anxious students. Do others have ideas on how to combat this? Have others found themselves in similar situations?