This summer, Julia Gooding of One Sky Education interviewed me in order to introduce me to her clients.
We had a much more powerful conversation than I expected! Find it here.
In particular, there’s a lot of valuable but hard-to-find advice here for parents who want to help but don’t want to helicopter, as well as parents of AMC competitors.
(It’s 26 minutes in all, so check the top comment to skip to the part that’s most interesting to you.)
Transcript
Also, here’s a paraphrased transcript of the 21st-minute question that inspired this post today:
Julia Gooding:
What guidance can you offer to parents who may feel uncertain about their child’s academic progress and how to support them effectively? Are there ways for parents to assess their child’s situation and determine how best to address any specific challenges they may be facing?
Wes Carroll:
So, I want to start by emphasizing that a moderated conversation, especially in the initial session, can be exceptionally impactful. It’s challenging to make broad generalizations about every family because each conversation is unique. One of the main reasons for this, and perhaps some general advice I can offer, is that parents often face two, maybe even three, distinct challenges.
Firstly, they’re not just trying to support the student who lives in their household; they are also the parents of a nearly adult child. This dual role can sometimes lead to conflicts between the parent-child relationship and the student-helper dynamic. I’ve encountered situations where parents are fully qualified to assist with math, for instance, but due to their parental role, they can’t have the necessary conversations to foster academic growth effectively.
Secondly, parents often understand this intellectually, but deep down, they might lose sight of how much their child has evolved, even in just six months. Evolution happens in fits and starts, making it challenging to track in a linear fashion.
Another factor is that, generally, the parents of my students tend to be successful themselves. Much like their children, they’ve achieved success by leveraging their own unique strengths and working around their weaknesses. The issue arises when the parent’s strength and weakness profile differs significantly from the student’s. This can lead to frustration and the belief that “if you’d just listen to me, you’d succeed.” However, success depends on profile compatibility, which doesn’t always align.
Dealing with a child who has a vastly different profile can feel strange, especially since it’s your own son or daughter. Yet, it can and does happen. Additionally, we must remember that our success as parents with our specific profiles doesn’t make us masters of all possible profiles.
There’s no easy fix, but recognizing the complexity of the situation is a significant first step. In my experience, families that have succeeded in this dynamic share a common blend of patience, competence, and humility. Patience is crucial because when the student is ready, seizing that moment can lead to great success. Until then, we must lay the groundwork.
Competence is essential too, as we all have different strengths to offer the student, and we should be ready to assist as soon as they are ready to accept help. However, humility plays a critical role because, when done correctly, students will often pleasantly surprise us with their capabilities, even in areas we didn’t think they were prepared for.
This creates a harmonious dynamic where we all look toward the future while appreciating the present and the rapid progress being made. It’s a truly beautiful thing.
Other Key Takeaways from the Interview
These are mostly facts for our audience to get to know Wes Carroll Tutoring and Coaching:
Wes Carroll runs a small team specializing in tutoring high-achieving students in math and sciences, primarily high school level, with a STEM focus. We also help students develop essential skills beyond subject matter expertise.
We work with high-achieving, serious, and gifted students, often those who struggle to connect with traditional teaching methods. Our focus is on middle school through undergraduate education and we specialize in math and science subjects.
We assist students not only with subject matter but also with various skills like time management, motivation, and emotional engagement with the material.
I initially started tutoring because I personally experienced challenges in traditional education and wanted to help students overcome similar obstacles.
We also prepare students for competitions like the AMC (American Mathematics Competitions) but emphasize the importance of developing problem-solving and analytical skills beyond memorization.
Ready to unlock your full potential in math and science?
Whether you’re a high school student aiming for the stars or an undergrad seeking mastery, we’re here to guide you. We understand that you’re capable of high-level work, but you’re not getting the guidance or developing the specific skills you need to perform at that level. Reach out to us.
At first glance, the two might seem interchangeable. We certainly use them that way. After all, both relate to gaining knowledge and skills, don’t they?
What’s the first thing on your mind when you hear ‘Education’? You think classrooms, textbooks, strict curriculums. Learning, on the other hand, provokes a broader, more organic sense of discovery.
Learning vs. education isn’t a debate about which is superior but understanding their unique roles in our society instead. It’s about recognizing that while they overlap, they serve different core purposes and can impact our lives in varied ways.
Today Seth Godin posted:
Education is the hustle for a credential. It exchanges compliance for certification. An institution can educate you.
Learning can’t be done to you. It is a choice and it requires active participation, not simple adherence to metrics.
Learning is the only place to find resilience, possibility and contribution, because learning is a lifelong skill that isn’t domain dependent.
Most of the learning moments in our lives are accidental or random. A situation presents itself and if we’re lucky, we learn something from it.
But You Can Learn and Be Educated at The Same Time…
I agree that learning is where it’s at. While education undeniably provides a foundation, it’s the continuous journey of learning that you should aspire to. That is why we’re introducing a few new offerings in the coming weeks, designed, as always, to address diverse learning needs. If you’re on our mailing list, you’ll be among the first to get a glimpse of these offerings. If not, just let me know, and I’ll be happy to add you.
But while I push this, we must also recognize the benefits that formal education and credentials offer. Educational qualifications make the corporate world go round, and they serve as a benchmark of competence and expertise. Without them, you’ll find fewer doors to opportunities in your career of choice.
Thus, if you can get the educational credentials that lend you legitimacy in the adult world as part of the learning process, don’t miss out on it.
In Line With This…
We also continue to support students who are preparing for various academic challenges, whether standardized tests, math competitions, or regular class work. Our aim is to make sure that while students discover and nurture the joy of learning, they also equip themselves with the tools and credentials to succeed and be relevant in the traditional education system and their future careers.
It’s a balance, really, one we’ve perfected with thousands of students over several years of coaching. On the one hand, we want to foster a genuine love of learning, curiosity, and the ability to adapt in this ever-changing world. On the other, we understand the importance of formal education and the doors it can open.
In the end, we’re not about choosing between learning and education. We integrate both to create a comprehensive approach to personal and professional development.
So in the Case of Learning vs. Education, What’s the Verdict?
The ideal scenario is where learning and education converge.
Imagine a system where the pursuit of credentials merges with genuine, passion-driven learning. Where students are not just chasing grades but have an actual investment in understanding and applying their knowledge. That is the vision that we’re working towards, and we’ve seen great success so far.
If you decide to join us because you want the awesome STEM grades and test scores we can help you achieve, that’s great! But let me tell you, once you’re here, it’s the learning that’ll really blow your doors off!
While grades are a tangible measure, the real magic happens when passion meets knowledge.
We are all being called on to do more than we are used to.
Schools are suddenly closed, and they are scrambling to figure out distance learning.
Parents are figuring out how to juggle their own work and their kids’ education (to say nothing of their own self-care).
Some students are trying to keep up with the new work. Some are struggling to make meaning from the new assignments. Almost no one yet knows how much they are learning.
For tutors, the job has always been understanding the student, and clearing away barriers to learning. It’s just that now, the barriers come in many more varieties besides just misunderstanding the material. Now students have more challenges:
Teachers struggling with new tools
Students’ need to manage their time more than they feel ready for
Students trouble owning their own learning in the face of reduced testing and other checkins
For all of us, the challenge is figuring things out fast, and changing things fast as we figure out what works.
That’s how tutors can step up, because: the fastest learning team is a motivated student and an expert.
COVID-19 has undeniably reshaped the way we live, work, and interact. As countries grappled with rising case numbers and healthcare challenges, individuals and communities were thrust into a whirlwind of change. From remote work and online education to social distancing and mask mandates, the very fabric of our daily routines have changed.
It’s Had a Tremendous Impact on Education
For countless students worldwide, this pandemic has led to one significant consequence: schools are closing. The initial closures, which many hoped would be temporary, are now stretching into months. This unforeseen extension has thrust both educational institutions and their students into the deep end, forcing the shift to distance learning. The transition is happening in real-time, regardless of whether schools and students are prepared for it.
Distance Learning is More Than Just Video Calls
Effective online tutoring is not as straightforward as you might think. It’s not just about hopping onto a video chat or spending a few hours getting the hang of Google Classroom or Zoom. It’s about creating an environment where learning can thrive, even in the absence of physical presence.
We began virtual education well before the pandemic. For several years now, we’ve been teaching most of our students via face-to-face video sessions, improving our approach over time to provide an enriching and interactive learning experience. Our online classes connect students from all over the world, including those living in the same country as us.
Some of our students live very close to our office but still choose our online classes. They prefer the smooth and user-friendly experience we provide with our online tutoring platform, which often feels as good as, if not better than, regular classroom lessons. No kidding: the experience can be so seamless that even a five-minute walk seems wasteful.
This didn’t happen overnight. Our success results from relentless practice, year in and year out. We’ve honed our skills, adapted to various challenges, and refined our methods to provide top-notch education remotely.
How Do You Take the Most Advantage of Video Tutoring?
Online video classes are becoming more common. However, not all teachers are familiar with this method. For newcomers to online teaching, it can be challenging.
To help, here are some ideas for getting the most out of an educator unaccustomed to working over video, based on our real-world experience. We’ve tried different methods, talked with other educators, and learned from our mistakes to offer practical advice.
If you have questions, please schedule a chat. We’re here to help with no hidden fees. Just set up a chat, and we can discuss online education together.
Well, yes and no. Dr. Loh is a great coach, educator, and evangelist, and I admire and respect him. If he says he was “dumbfounded,” then there’s something there.
The thing is, though, that the press is making a big thing about the “new formula he’s discovered”. That’s just plain incorrect: the interesting part here isn’t the formula. That formula is just shoehorning a simple idea into the language of math, and in this instance the language is almost as cumbersome as with the original, better-known formula. So, not an improvement.
No, the key idea here is in putting together two facts:
that the roots of a quadratic are equidistant from the centerline of its graph
that that allows one to systematically work out the roots of a quadratic without either guessing or an explicit formula
Taught well, this new method will relieve students of the need to memorize any formula per se. Instead, students who understand this will follow the method intuitively, and will wonder why quadratics get so much careful attention in math texts: instead, they’ll just be obvious.
