Alex Mallory | Competitive Edge Tutoring | New York, NY

Alex Mallory is the Founder and President of Competitive Edge Tutoring in New York, New York, where he helps students hone their academic skills and prepare for the college application process.

During his own academic career, Alex was no stranger to the stress that accompanies the intense workload and high standards demanded by the education system. An ambitious and hard-working student, like many others Alex knew the pressure of performing at his peak constantly or else potentially hindering his college applications.

As he progressed throughout his education, Alex attempted several times to work with tutors; however — on top of the exorbitant hourly fees — he felt that doing so only increased the amount of work on his plate and didn’t serve to provide any structure or relief from the pressure he was experiencing. As a result, when he was in the place to do so himself, Alex began offering tutoring lessons specifically for the SAT and ACT while attending Williams College for his degree.

After graduating from Williams College, Alex briefly worked for a national tutoring company as an SAT tutor, but quickly grew dissatisfied with the large and corporate approach to the activity. He knew tutoring was something he cared about, but the current system wasn’t working the way he needed. So, Alex left his job and decided to found Competitive Edge Tutoring as an answer to the need that so many students have.

The tutoring sphere is an incredibly saturated industry, but his approach and philosophy behind Competitive Edge Tutoring quickly helped Alex distinguish himself and his business. Where other companies apply a cookie-cutter approach to teaching that is often impersonal and leaves students wanting more, Alex implemented a more individualized approach to help students achieve their goals. Alongside tutoring students in subjects like mathematics, language, science, and the social sciences, Alex also created a unique and time-tested approach to the standardized reasoning tests most students must take, including the SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, and SHSAT.

Looking forward to the future of academia, Alex Mallory is excited about the possibilities that “distance learning” has to offer when it comes to not only tutoring but education in general. To spur this along and contribute a driving effort towards this growth, Alex has teamed up with a software startup out of San Francisco to extend the same kinds of high-quality, cutting-edge standardized test preparation services he offers his students in New York with students living in rural or otherwise remote areas around the country.

For more about Alex Mallory, check out his blog!

The One Drill that Tiger Woods Uses During Every Practice Session

After a stunning win at the Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Club earlier this year, Tiger Woods appears to have revitalized his career in an unprecedented manner.

And his renewed commitment to personal success did not come easy: Battling a number of personal shortcomings stemming from relationship and substance abuse issues that are said to have taken hold early in his career, Woods had to rely on his remarkable dedication to the game to pull himself back from the abyss and once again find his stride as one of the world’s top golfers.

Indeed, in golfing history, Woods undoubtedly ranks alongside Jack Nicklaus as one of the greatest players of all time. Even as he overcomes a serious back injury, Woods remains committed and self-disciplined when it comes to his golfing practice regime. And in a recent video tutorial for Golf Digest, the pro also revealed that there is one particular drill that he emphasizes above all others when spending time honing his craft.

Based around a short-distance putting exercise, Woods first uses his right hand to tap shots over short distances on the green; he then switches back and forth between hands and also uses traditional grips on the putter to give his shots a laser-like focus and accuracy. According to Woods, the objective in completing such exercises lies in creating a natural swing that always hits the ball with the center of the club face. If everything goes well, in other words, the drill will reinforce a player’s muscle memory until perfectly-centered shots become almost second-nature.

As Woods will happily point out to skeptics, most golfers tend to focus on centering their shots only when they’re using a driver or an iron; too often, time spent learning to center shots on the green is neglected. For Tiger, it’s clear that true power in golfing doesn’t just exist in a player’s approach to their long game; to really improve as players, most individuals will need to regularly put the kind of effort that they put into our drives into their putting exercises.

Whatever a person’s view on Tiger’s approach to the great game of golf, it is clear that most players will stand to improve spending time centering putting shots on the practice green. It may initially feel awkward to put principles related to long-distance shots into short-distance puts, but it is clear that the method has paid off remarkably well for Tiger Woods. And his is the kind of record that certainly speaks for itself.

How to Reduce the Stress Associated with Teacher Evaluations

Teacher evaluations are a necessary component of the educational system. Although these evaluations are valuable, they can cause a lot of stress. Many teachers view evaluations as a potential danger to their career and future. Below are helpful tips to reduce the amount of angst that everyone involved might experience.

Ask About the Rubric

It’s helpful if teachers know the rubric that will be used for the evaluation because it enables you to understand the basis for the outcome. Instead of being surprised on the back end, you should know the focus of administrators, such as the specific skills they will gauge.

Inform the Students

Students should be well aware of the evaluation process. They should understand what’s happening and when it will occur. You should also encourage students to be on their best behavior. It wouldn’t hurt if you practiced an evaluation because it can help them relax when the actual evaluation occurs.

Prepare the Classroom

Distractions in the classroom are not just caused by people, they can also be the result of the surroundings. A great way to minimize this issue is by cleaning the room and removing any clutter. There shouldn’t be anything around to distract the administrators or anyone else.

Maintain Flexibility

As the evaluation process progresses, expect that things may change. If the evaluation date is rescheduled, maintain flexibility instead of getting frustrated with the process. This will ensure you maintain the right mindset for success. If you have prepared a lesson for the evaluation, simply reschedule it to align with the new evaluation date.

Receive Feedback Openly

Hopefully the feedback that you receive is constructive criticism. Keep in mind that the goal isn’t for you to have a negative outcome, but to grow in the areas needed. Everyone has room for improvement and we must all be open to personal and professional development. After you receive feedback on the evaluation, a simple thank you can go a long way, especially if the feedback is useful.

These tips can help to make teacher evaluations less stressful. It’s also important to keep in mind that you are part of a noble profession that can literally shape the world. When you win, everyone wins.