The Importance of Lifelong, Self Learning

At We Gotcha Tutoring, we believe that learning shouldn’t end when school does. In fact, we view school as a sort of tutorial. Once school ends the real game begins! 

Let’s compare life to your favorite RPG. Mine is Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. If you have ever played a game by FromSoftware, then you know they are extremely challenging. The tutorial taught me the basic mechanics of how to play, but upon completion, I was still getting smacked around constantly by grunt level enemies. The tutorial alone wasn’t enough to make me great; greatness required many hours of playing until I developed enough skills to not only beat grunts but also destroy bosses. 

School (especially grade school through high school) is a lot like a tutorial. It provides some guidance and understanding about how you best learn and manage yourself. However, it alone isn’t enough to get you to a master level of anything. If you want to obtain many skills and level yourself up to the best you that you can be, then you need to become a lifelong, self learner.

A lifelong, self learner is a person that loves to learn and craves to better themselves. They find learning both fun and freeing. These people become the masters we look up to.

The primary focus of We Gotcha Tutoring is to mold our students into lifelong, self learners.

The Benefits of Being Lifelong, Self Learning

To best explain the benefits, I believe it’s best to split the two momentarily. While lifelong learning emphasizes the joy and ongoing process of personal growth, self-learning focuses on developing the internal tools to take control of your education. Let’s dive into what makes each of them so important.

Lifelong Learning Benefits

If you have read any previous We Gotcha Tutoring blogs, then you will be familiar with how important I believe lifelong learning is and some of the benefits attached.

• Increased confidence

• Improved and sustained mental health

• Increased sense of fulfillment throughout life

• Career advancement and security

All of these are great perks, but they are not my motivation to continue to learn. I just love to learn. Learning is meant to be enjoyable. Just like a great video game – it should be fun, challenging, and meaningful. This is what I hope each of my students discovers from our time tutoring together.

Self Learning Benefits

About two years ago I started learning how to draw. This has been a transformative experience. I have learned a lot about drawing, but even more importantly, I have learned so much about myself. Learning to draw didn’t just improve my art—it taught me how to manage my time better, turn mistakes into learning moments, and understand my own growth process. These are skills anyone can gain through self-learning, but they are far from the only ones. Some other benefits that come with self learning are:

• More intrinsically motivated than those that learn traditionally (i.e. a classroom setting)

• Increased internal locus of control

  • This means that self learners are more likely to believe that they are capable of controlling their own destiny.

• Better information retention.

• Increased creativity.

• Better soft skills

  • Time management

  • Goal setting

  • Information analysis and synthesis

  • Critical thinking 

• Safer and cheaper environment

How We Gotcha Tutoring Develops Lifelong, Self Learners

First thing first, we have to make learning an enjoyable, fun experience. There are three pillars to achieve this. We must build a safe, personalized learning environment. Students need to feel secure enough to make mistakes, ask questions, and celebrate successes. The work must be challenging but not defeating. It should feel similar to playing a good video game, or completing a fun puzzle. The work must be meaningful in some way. Learning skills should be viewed as gaining tools or powers that can be used later in life. We Gotcha Tutoring establishes these pillars in a few ways.

The majority of our sessions are one-to-one, so we must ensure that the student-tutor relationship is a strong fit. We need our students and our tutors to get along and enjoy working together because it leads to that safe, personalized learning environment that is needed. We Gotcha Tutoring has the best tutors you can find. We are knowledgeable, friendly, and encouraging. The majority of time I believe our students will find our tutors as enjoyable as I do. However, there may be times where, for whatever reason, it’s not working out. This is why we reach out to the tutees, their family and our tutors after the first session and after the first month together to make sure things are running smoothly. After the initial check-ins we keep an open door for students or tutors to discuss issues regarding the student-tutor relationship if ever needed.

Our tutors know how to challenge students just enough. We aim to have them just past their comfort zone for the majority of the work. Every tutor at We Gotcha is an expert in their respective subjects. This means they know what level the student is at, but they also know where they’re going. If the material is getting too easy, then they know just how to kick it up a notch to find that sweet spot again.

We ensure that our students find their tutoring sessions meaningful because we focus on providing them with the tools to become efficient self learners. The skills we teach them can be applied to any class they take in the future and they can be applied to any skills they want to gain in the future. A portion of every session is devoted to the building of these skills. We teach our students important study habits, the psychology of learning, the art of self critiquing, and the setting and reviewing of goals. When we finish, our students will have a better understanding of what it truly means to know something and will be able to leverage their skills to learn anything they want in the future.

At We Gotcha Tutoring, we don’t just help students pass their classes—we equip them with the tools to succeed in the game of life. By fostering a love for lifelong, self-learning, we ensure that our students develop confidence, creativity, and the ability to tackle any challenge life throws at them.

Are you ready to level up? Whether you’re struggling with a specific subject or simply want to learn how to learn, We Gotcha Tutoring is here to guide you on your journey. Schedule a free consultation today, and let’s start building the skills you need to become the master of your own destiny.