Definitely One of the Top Five Pirate Supply Stores/Tutoring Centers I've Been to Recently

I've been inspired by 826Valencia in San Francisco for a long, long time now. They are the tutoring cog in the dynamic literary machine that is McSweeney's + The Believer. They are also a pirate supply store, selling eye patches, peglegs, and lard, amongst other piratey things.

Here is the story about how a Pirate Supply Store/Tutoring Center came to exist, told by Dave Eggers, author and founder of McSweeney's and 826Valencia, in his TED Prize One Wish speech:

How to (Completely) Write a Paragraph

I helped a student, Lulu, on a summary paragraph today, which lead to a discussion on paragraphs in general, which lead me to the whiteboard and outlining the pieces of a PIE (Point-Illustration-Explanation) paragraph in orange marker. Here is what I left behind on the board after Lulu departed and I went off to talk to a Student Success class about plagiarism and research:

Point: the idea of the paragraph
Illustration: evidence, details, examples (specifics)
Explanation: what you want your reader to see in those specifics

And here is the addendum I found below these three pieces of a paragraph when I returned from introducing brand new and nearly-brand new Pima students to quotes and paraphrases, a fourth step (not so much a piece of a paragraph, but a progression in controlling the idea of the paragraph):

Destroy: those who do not like your work!!
BWAHAHA!!!

Thank you, Adam. Thank you.

Argument Analysis: Join So I Can Take Your Loot

Sabrina, a student, and I, were working on arguments. She was writing one about government childcare benefits, and Adam, a Writing tutor, stopped by. Here is what happened:

Sabrina types her essay. Scott sits, waiting to answer her next question. Adam enters, sits down, and pulls up a website with some sort of virtual island on it.

Adam: You have to join this.

Scott: What is it?

Adam: You have to join it.

Scott: Again, what is it?

Adam: You have to get on here. Then I can take your loot.

Scott leans down to Sabrina, who is still typing

Scott: See, this is not a good argument. He's giving me no information about what I'm supposed to join, and the only information I have tells me that he will steal from me when I do join. That benefits him, not me.

Sabrina laughs a little, looks at Adam, and keeps typing.
Scene.

You should tell people basic information like what you want them to join pretty early in your argument. Also, you should tell the person you are trying to convince why joining will benefit them not you (especially if you plan on stealing from them once they do what you ask).

In Adam's defense, he was very excited because of the online pirate game he discovered (who wouldn't be excited about commanding tiny, virtual ships on virtual seas, firing virtual cannons and destroying other virtual pirates?). When he calmed down, he explained. Maybe that should is something you should do, too: calm down before you argue.

We're So Very Proud

Vija, one of our tutors, was chosen as the speaker for this year's graduation convocation. She was very nervous during the week or so leading up to the ceremony: even though she applied for the opportunity, she still realized that it involved speaking in front of many, many people.

As if that didn't make her nervous enough, she received a call here at the Learning Center from The Aztec Press asking if she would mind if they did a little piece on her. They also asked if she would mind if they sent a photographer down to Desert Vista to catch her in her natural tutoring habitat. Vija wrangled a student/friend into sitting down with her in a manufactured (but still very real and helpful) tutoring session. They discussed the finer points of an essay while the photographer snapped pictures from across the table.

The resulting story-plus-photo can be found in the newest edition of the Aztec Press (or right here). Pick up a print copy and bring it by for Vija to sign for you. She'll love that.