Dr Walli's Tutoring Blog

"What did you wish you knew how to do and what did you wish you had already done a few times before you went off to college?" I asked a group of 500 very successful college seniors from all across the US in 2007.

The answers were amazing!

Then I posed the same question to a group of college drop-outs and to a group of men and women in the Department of Corrections who were 25-30 years old at the time of their incarceration.

The answers and the difference between the answers of these three groups were very important. So important that I wrote the book, "LAUNCH" which will come out next...

When we tutor a student they are able to get through the work at hand, and that's good.

When we academically coach a student they can tutor themselves both through the current cadre of assignments, test preparation and projects and also through all other future studies, and that is far, far better!

Academic coaching is economical; often in 4-5 sessions I can take a student to the point of being an independent learner, and it's empowering. Too many students whose families engage a tutor see themselves as "broken" or abnormal because they need a tutor. They envision all the other kids in...

The US Department of Education reported in 2010 that less than 50% of all American college students who enter as freshmen graduate within the next six years and at some colleges this rate is <10percent!>

Yet almost 90% who drop out without a degree do so with more than $10,000 in student loan debt.

Then in 2011 Secretary Duncan announced a statistic that restores hope; "Students who graduate from a 4 year college in 4 years or less are 85% more likely to actually complete a degree than their peers who prolong their educational pursuits."

The message: Plan well, prepare vigorously and do not dawdle...

Each year thousands of high school graduates enter college and five years later only 50% of those who go to a 4 year school will graduate.

Students who start in community college fare much worse; with less than 27% either graduating with an Associates degree or transferring to a 4 year college.

Since a bachelors degree is associated with not only $1M more income than any other post secondary choice it should never be thrown away and there are 5 things parents can, should and I dare say must do; for their children to have good chance of completing their studies and LAUNCHing into adult life...

Colorado High School Seniors.....Prepare for College.....Then Go Back to the 3R's

This week the US Department of Education released more troubling news about Colorado Schools. In 2010 more students manged to graduate on time from high school but fewer that ever were actually ready for college.

We need to define successful completion of high school by the only criteria that really matters; being prepared for successful completion of real, credit-bearing college courses. This is what your high school diploma should tell the world and if it doesn't you have been cheated of your right to an...