Ok, I know that there are some people who think that the center should be clinical and lab-like but hear me out. When you study, where do you go? When you have trouble with your homework, what part of your house do you go to? Isn't relaxation and comfort important? For me, I know that I need to be comfortable within my surroundings in order to get anything done.
When students come to the Center, I think they should feel welcomed, not only by our greeting, but also by the room. I think of Starbucks when I think of what the center should/could be similar to. I'm not saying we should dim the lights and put on soothing music, but I think a warmer atmosphere will be more welcoming to our peers.
So, who's up for making some changes? I think the Center should decorate for seasons (not excessive but funn!) and I also think that our door needs to say Writing Center on it and that it should have like poster paper on it to draw some stuff. Our blog picture with all the words meshed together is pretty cool and if we could put that on our door, in bigger letters, that would be awesome. By doing that, our room will be known as "The Writing Center" and not a place where the baseball players hangout. I'm not saying to go overboard but this could be a collaborative activity and a chance for us to get to know each other some more. Face it, we all have some free time when in the center...why not do something with the time?
No one has to agree with me, but I am just putting it out there--thoughts?
Remember this--the tutees are our peers. Why should we be in a real "classroom setting" with our peers.
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Love it! I totally agree. I'd be down for some decorating. And I like your last point about the students being our peers. so true.
ReplyDeleteI love this, Amanda! Let's discuss this at the meeting and maybe we can even set a re-decorating night on one of the evenings we're closed.
ReplyDeleteI agree with some signage on the doors, if only to diferentiate ourselves from the rest of the hall. Most students walking around can't tell that this is the writing center and not their chem lab study group.
ReplyDeleteThis would be fun! I agree with the suggestion to set a re-decorating night and to put signs on the doors to differentiate the Writing Center from the AEC.
ReplyDeleteI hate being Johnny Raincloud (Jane Raincloud?), but too many decorations could definitely be distracting. I like the idea of making the WC more distinct and "homey," but it still is an academic setting. If we really want to go all dorm, we should just move our sessions TO the dorms.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we could make the decorations themed around each of our interests? That way we could get to know each other but still liven up the room.
I love the idea of a re-decorating night! We could also incorporate Jessica's idea of decorations themed around our interest's on that night.
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