Why tutoring (coaching) works so well: THE PERSONAL CONNECTION

By General Education Advice

“Doug no longer just moved up a whole grade level across the board.”

“Jenny finally understands Algebra II.”

“Maddie went up 220 points after working with you for 6 weeks and only 40 points after working on a Kaplan program for about 6 months.”

These are excerpts from some of this week’s e-mails.

Why does tutoring work so well?  Because of the personal connection that students have with their tutor-coaches.

I noticed this 20 years ago when I started The Learning Consultants but the effect has become far more pronounced in the last decade and then rapidly even more advanced in the last few years.

Students are alienated from almost all adults outside their parents.  They have minimal personal connections with teachers/community elders/aunts/uncles.  They are parented by their phones – seriously.

So when they meet a coach, they are influenced in ways that are far more significant than in the past.

What about teachers?  How can I say this delicately… I love those who are in the teaching profession and there are plenty of good teachers… but teacher-mentorship has plummeted.

Why?  I have a few theories: (1) teaching has become so demanding that taking that extra time to meet individually has become too grueling for most (2) many teachers are wary of creating anything more than a distanced professional relationship with students for fear of showing favoritism along with the possibilities of being accused of crossing boundaries and (3) teachers are burnt out/bitter and leaving the profession at a rapid rate.

What about other elders?  Who?  Clergy and Boy/Girl Scout leaders- not anymore (see unsavory accusations) Aunts/Uncles?  Live too far.  Coaches on travel teams – nope – they control playing time etc. and are paid to win games not mentor their players outside the sport.

Jesse Brockwell and Jean Card – to name a few of the outstanding tutor/coaches on our team – are mentors to dozens of youngsters who view them as part of their family.

This leads to the students caring and this leads to the students learning and this leads to the students doing well in school.