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Effective Tutors

A natural helper is a person who cares about other people and talks with them about their thoughts and feelings. Through training in communication skills, decision-making, self-assessment and resources for help, natural helpers promote personal growth, development and decision-making through their tutoring relationship. (Adapted from Myrick, Caring and Sharing)

An effective tutor does

• Facilitate trust, openness, comfort, empathy
• Accept people as they are
• Listen, clarify, help people see alternative for decision-making
• Give support and encouragement to take positive action
• Validate people without being phony
• Respect confidentiality
• Realize that not all problems can be solved and not all people want to be helped
• Work with people who have normal developmental problems
• Refer troubled students to a professional person: counselor, nurse, community agency

An effective tutor does not

• Dominate, preach, tell people what to do
• Judge people or try to change them
• Give advice and offer solutions
• “Rescue”—do for a person what he/she should do independently
• Put people down
• Gossip about what was said in working with another person
• Expect all problems to be resolved quickly and easily
• Work with seriously disabled people
• Attempt to provide services beyond what he/she is qualified to provide

For more information about the Occupational Development Program, contact the Program Coordinator, at (219) 980-6832 in Hawthorn Hall 244.