FYI: This particular part had to be one page, so hence some lack of detail!
The Heart of It All
For my project, I chose to use the Circulatory System in reference to my tutoring process and my tutoring persona. When I was first brainstorming, I had this really great idea to use the Digestive System. The body was the student, the tutor was the food and the knowledge was the nutrients the student absorbed from the food! I had all these great ideas but as I was getting further into the process, it became apparent that eventually, the student would expel the tutor via fecal matter. I then realized that it was a horrible analogy. So that is when I went with the circulatory system and hey, everything worked out perfectly. The Circulatory System is made up of the heart, blood, blood vessels, lungs, and any part of the body that needs oxygen. The heart pumps the blood throughout the vessels to the lungs, then back to the heart and through more vessels to the rest of the body and back again. The cycle is in constant motion.
As an analogy, the heart symbolized the tutor, and the blood with its contents is the knowledge or information that is being learned. Therefore, the body and its other systems is the student. As the tutor, the heart does not make blood (or information) but does know where the blood must go and what it must do. The heart is the pump to move the blood along the vessels. But the heart cannot do the pumping alone. Voluntary skeletal movements also help the blood move along, so although the heart helps a lot, it simply can’t do is by itself. Like this, the tutor cannot do all the work for the student. The student must help contribute to the learning process (voluntary skeletal movement).
In the lungs, the oxygen that is inhaled into the blood is the vital knowledge used for learning. The carbon dioxide (a natural occurring waste from the body) is exhaled into the air and is synonymous with bad habits, procrastination and confusion. The heart helps get the information there, but it is up to the student to decipher what is needed and what isn’t. An exchange occurs, but before the oxygen rich blood is sent to the rest of the body, it must first come back to the heart (tutor) for reassurance.
Once the oxygen-rich blood is back in the heart, I as the tutor give the student the confidence knowing that the information (blood) is correct. The final pump I give the information is so the student can be pushed to get out there and apply that knowledge or information learned to the rest of the body (or say, a test, homework assignment, etc.). For example, I have shown the blood reaching the arm. The blood breaks down like it did in the lungs and another exchange occurs. The oxygen is applied to the tissues (assignment) and any waste is then brought into circulation to be eventually exhaled through the recycled blood. A good student will use this process every time, but an excellent student will use their personal experiences as well. The personal experiences can be demonstrated by the bones in the body that create new blood cells. Bone marrow is constantly making new blood cells and adding them to the circulation process. A truly excellent, “A” student will not only use the recycled information, but contribute their own personal experiences to further their learning. Eventually, the blood comes back to the heart and the cycle continues again. The process is repetitive, but it works.
This class taught me a lot about invisible and visible forces that act against successful learning. I have a Learning Disability and understanding that has helped me with my students that may have one too. Anatomically speaking, I have a VSD (Ventricular Septal Defect) that allows for blood “confusion” in my heart. Particularly in math, I have information confusion, like that in my heart. Understanding that has helped me adapt to my students as a tutor. As the heart does, I can change my beat, pressure and force to accommodate the student’s needs. Also, like the body, a student will make up for the weakness. In the body, if a sense is lost, the other senses become stronger; similar to if a student has a weakness, they most likely have a very obvious strength.
In the future, I plan on tutoring for a very long time. It’s something I am passionate about. I am very enthusiastic about the human body and it’s functions and I try to convey that to my students. I believe that if a student can recognize their own passion or drive for something, whether it be anatomy or not, that the student becomes a better learner. I notice that a student who has not found their drive yet tends to be non-active and it is important that a tutor can help encourage that passion. This is what I try to do.
My career goal is to one day become a Nurse. Anatomy is a prerequisite for Nursing so it has opened up to me this whole new world for my passion. My faculty sponsor believes that I have an innate talent to teach and wishes me to become a teacher instead of a Nurse. For now, we’ll see where that goes, but tutoring is definitely something I greatly enjoy and plan on doing for some time. It’s really fascinating to convey information about what each human possesses. Each of you has this process going through your body as we speak and you may not even know it. Understanding this, I believe, can help a student understand themselves and their potential to learn.
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