My project, “The Art of Tutoring,” is an extension of my professional experience as a tutor. In these newsletters, I’ll explain how experienced tutors see American education, how they think about the learning process, and what it is they do to help their students achieve results. I am eager to explore what lies behind the rise of tutoring over the past three decades—in New York City, in America, and in the rest of the world.
Especially liked your point about tutoring as a means of enrichment. While it certainly can serve as a means of grade level support, the individual connection can also offer an opportunity to nurture interests and skills in a way that classroom settings sometimes can not. And so it can open new doors.
Thanks, Mike. I'm glad you -- and your decades of classroom experience -- agree. It's also a good point that working one-on-one is incredibly satisfying for teachers, too.
This is such a rich topic. I completely agree that the rise of the tutoring 'industry' and the emergence of this as a career path is fundamentally linked to the growing problems with the American education system. And, given the increasingly competitive nature of the college admissions process and the volatile state of the economy, private school parents are increasingly anxious about how to give their children the best possible advantage. This is where we come in. I'm grateful to have this opportunity to share our perspectives on what it really means to be a teacher. I've long felt that in the end, the academic subject matter that we happen to be covering is secondary to what's really being taught. For years this quote hung over my desk when I was a University Professor:
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a spark to be kindled". Attributed to Yates (though this is contested), it contains what I feel is the essence of the job: to be that spark. How to make that happen is a marvelous topic. Looking forward to this discussion.
Very insightful - you break down the choices that parents can think about, and illuminate not only the options available
So proud of you Jesse. You’re one of the kindest and wisest people I know!
Especially liked your point about tutoring as a means of enrichment. While it certainly can serve as a means of grade level support, the individual connection can also offer an opportunity to nurture interests and skills in a way that classroom settings sometimes can not. And so it can open new doors.
Thanks, Mike. I'm glad you -- and your decades of classroom experience -- agree. It's also a good point that working one-on-one is incredibly satisfying for teachers, too.
This is such a rich topic. I completely agree that the rise of the tutoring 'industry' and the emergence of this as a career path is fundamentally linked to the growing problems with the American education system. And, given the increasingly competitive nature of the college admissions process and the volatile state of the economy, private school parents are increasingly anxious about how to give their children the best possible advantage. This is where we come in. I'm grateful to have this opportunity to share our perspectives on what it really means to be a teacher. I've long felt that in the end, the academic subject matter that we happen to be covering is secondary to what's really being taught. For years this quote hung over my desk when I was a University Professor:
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a spark to be kindled". Attributed to Yates (though this is contested), it contains what I feel is the essence of the job: to be that spark. How to make that happen is a marvelous topic. Looking forward to this discussion.