Tutor: The Substack??
Welcome to the new home of an established newsletter
In July 2022, I wrote the first issue of Tutor: The Newsletter with the title All Good Things Start With a Dream. My rationale was simple:
Tutoring may be one of the most common yet least understood professions on the planet. No student completes his or her education without working with–and possibly as–some kind of tutor. Free or paid, formal or informal, tutors are everywhere.
Why, then, do we know so little about tutoring as a profession? According to public US Government data aggregated by Data USA, only 190,000 individuals worked as tutors in the United States in 2019, although other sources suggest far larger numbers. Nearly two-thirds of tutors were female, and the average age was 31. Surprisingly (or not) the average tutor earned $11,763, which is just 21%–little more than one-fifth–of the average national salary.
How much of this sounds like what you know about tutors?
How much of this sounds like you?
After nearly 30 years as a professional private educator, I’ve seen all kinds of tutors making all kinds of money helping all kinds of students with all kinds of subjects. One of the guiding purposes of Tutor: The Newsletter will be to highlight the wide diversity of backgrounds, philosophies, and practices of tutors today. We’ll also focus on sharing the tools, tips, and thoughts that make tutoring more effective, enjoyable, and profitable. I invite you to join us as we explore the intricacies of individual education and to let me know what aspects of tutoring matter most to you.
After the first year of publishing Tutor: The Newsletter, the dream lives on, stronger than ever. Moving the newsletter to Substack offers the potential of connection with even more educators as we all explore every aspect of being a tutor.
Have We Met?
In case you don’t know me, I’m Mike Bergin, an education industry expert who has designed, developed, or delivered instruction to countless students over the last 28 years. I started as a test prep teacher for Kaplan Test Prep, eventually rising to the title of Center Director overseeing seven New York counties. Huntington Learning Center recruited me to revise that company’s test prep curriculum and systems; as Director of Exam Prep for nearly a decade, I oversaw the development and national deployment of every aspect of Huntington’s SAT, ACT, SSAT, and ISEE programs. In 2009, I founded Chariot Learning, which delivers expert, individualized SAT & ACT prep from Rochester, NY to everywhere else.
I’m also the founding President of the National Test Prep Association, co-host of the Tests and the Rest podcast, publisher of Tutor: The Newsletter and The Influential Counselor newsletter, licensor of the SAT/ACT TestBright Curriculum System, founder of Roots2Words, creator of the SAT/ACT TestFlip self-prep program, and a consulting trainer for ACT, Inc. Lastly, I am the co-author of the Amazon bestseller Crash and Learn: Lessons in Business.
Like What You See So Far?
If you like what you’ve read so far, please be sure to subscribe and visit the Tutor: The Newsletter homepage for our full archives. Be sure to drop me a line and let me know what you think!
