Having been a private tutor for several years, I have to admit that I am horrified at the level of education in America today. The problem stems from the decreased involvement of working parents in their children's academics, non-challenging coursework taught by teachers to make sure everyone 'gets it,' and the easiness with which a student can memorize answers to redundant test questions. These factors become a noticeable detriment in the course of a students' academic career when they are faced with SATs, challenging courses, and higher education coursework.

What most tutoring service providers miss is the significance of the fundamental principles, concepts, and guidelines that are essential to the mastery of any subject. They concentrate on preparing the student to pass the next test by focusing on current and relevant materials, or on strategies and techniques to use on standardized tests – consequently, the student becomes dependent on the tutor and never learns how to study independently. The true value of a tutor is the ability to teach a student how to teach themselves – this follows along the saying "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; Teach him how to fish, feed him for a lifetime."

Another noteworthy deficit in the 'conventional' tutoring approach is the absence of lessons in logic, common sense, applicability, and complementary material. A simple analogy should suffice in illustrating what I mean: When an individual has been unsuccessful in improving their personal fitness by themselves they will most likely go to the gym and consult a personal trainer – a good personal trainer will lead him/her through exercises and keep track of their progress, however, an excellent trainer, besides adhering to the standard prescribed duties, will explain the reasons for doing the exercises, the logic behind the order, as well as the concepts behind muscles and how they work. For example, if you wanted to have bigger biceps, you would need to not only do exercise that concentrate on biceps but also spend a proportional amount of time building the surrounding muscles such as triceps, as they are the support for the biceps.

Point being – in today’s ever changing world, a conventional tutoring approach is no longer effective and as an educated society, we need to move toward an unconventional approach that stimulates, challenges, and engages students to excel academically and to retain the tools needed to succeed in school, work, and life.