Tutoring may be one of the oldest traceable professions, but to become a tutor, there’s no standardized measures for qualification, no degree program, and no track to certification—at least not until recently.
Without a defined academic path, Dan Lerman (PhD, Cognitive Science in Education) had to carve out his own. Since doing so, he’s started and sold several tutoring companies, has worked as a private tutor for almost 20 years, and currently teaches in the Human Development department at TC. Now he wants to support other working and aspiring tutors in gaining the practical skills needed to build a private practice, join a tutoring company, or volunteer for an after school program. Led by Lerman, the Professional Tutoring Program, running online from October 1 to November 11 at TC, equips current and aspiring tutors with a curriculum that accelerates the learning curve that comes with being in a career where little scaffolding for professional success exists.
Dan Lerman may be considered one of the top private tutors in the world, but he started from humble and unsure beginnings. He took his first tutoring job at a popular tutoring company focused on standardized testing while he was working as a teacher. They gave him a binder with a script for how to talk kids through test prep and sent him on his way.
“There’s an untapped reserve of people who are teachers, or those who have spent years honing their mind and materials on a specific topic, that need something to do over the summer, or have a tough time making ends meet,” says Lerman. “Teachers often make excellent tutors, especially those who have a growth mindset and are committed to learning themselves.”
Fortunately for Lerman, he did have some experience as a teacher under his belt before becoming a tutor. Unfortunately for Lerman, the salary he was making at a private high school was not enough for him to feel comfortable in NYC. Working nights and summers as a tutor helped him fill in the gaps. At first, it was just meant to be a job that would pay for acting classes, but after a few months, it began to feel like his work was making a bigger impact, helping kids ace their tests while giving them the one-on-one attention they needed to accelerate from high school into higher education. It wasn’t until Lerman started working for a more elite tutoring company in Manhattan—where he was paid better and the company culture was more nurturing of their employees—that he began to see his job less as a meaningful side-hustle and more as a purposeful career path.
According to Lerman, tutoring is not simply lecturing or explaining a subject to students. Great tutoring is about connection, spending time with students and building rapport.
“Tutoring has the potential to solve the literacy crisis in America. Tutoring may be the first time in a kid’s academic life that they get one-on-one attention if it goes well. That attention and love, that personalized attention, all human beings need that. It’s nutritious for the soul.”
Teachers College, Columbia University currently holds the only tutoring program at a US university where tutors can enroll and, in approximately a month and a half program, obtain training under Lerman along with a certificate of completion. Current teachers, career switchers, and those who are already tutoring but wish to elevate their practice, are welcome to enroll. The program is the first of its kind. View more details and register for the Professional Tutoring Program here.