response to Professor Dolson's comment

Professor Dolson commented on my blog about the success story I had with my brother. She asked: As you look back, what do you remember as key moments? Do you think you can learn from your success with your brother in a way that you can apply to working with strangers and friends?

To answer her first question, there are a few moments when I remember thinking to myself: "he is starting to get it!" I taught him a revising revising tool that I use to make sure that my points flow from paragraph to paragraph and with the second paper I helped him with he said, "I did what you taught me to make sure it all flows and I really think this paper does." It sure did! This is a moment where I was helping him to help himself. I gave him this tool and now he is able to do it and check on his own. I also think that I was able to help his clear up some of his ideas. Ironically, just last week we both had a paper due on John Rawl's. I really enjoyed helping him with that paper because I was able to talk to him about the content. How crazy is that??? Talking to my brother about the Original Position and the Veil of ignorance?!

With regards to the second question I think the most important thing that I have learned from helping my brother is that your demeanor can make a big difference in the consultation. You can imagine that with my brother I could have easily acted like a goofball with him or told him that his 3rd paragraph was ridiculous, but instead I take a professional outlook with him. When I think about what it would be like to work with a stranger I think it is really important not to act too formally with them. I am someone who is very comfortable with strangers. I love chit chat and finding connections. I think by establishing with a stranger that we are peers and can act as friends is better than acting sternly. It is all about finding that middle ground!