attempt to challenge the value of your work or demean the value of your service?
Everything I have said and done in this thread would contradict that! In this thread, I have discussed the different nature of prep companies. I have invited you, Pete, Mark, Mike, as well as a few others to discuss and critique what I wrote, and make this thread more balanced. I did not invite professional tutors because I thought they would necessarily agree with me! I invited them because I trusted their judgment and integrity, and because I knew how passionate they are about finding the best way to help others.
However, allow me to comment on one issue: I have had the opportunity to become familiar with their work. I have read their book, courses, or posts in the forums. Because of your participation in the forum, I did ask you to participate -not I am a gatekeeper, anyway! I have accepted ALL your claims at face value, and this despite that your courses are not published, that your company does not have a working web presence, that your students do not participate in the forums, and most importantly, that your solutions, strategies, or direct tips have not been very visible in the SAT forum. I believe that the number of questions posed on CC would have given you plenty of opportunities to show how good your strategies are. Again, I do not question that you are great tutor or instructor, but there in the absence of tangible proof, we will have to take your word for it. While I am happy to continue to accept your claims at face value, it makes it a bit harder to read your continuing yet subtle hints that my "theories" have not been validated.
In the past two years, I have done a bit more than advancing idle theories. I have posted countless direct answers and examples, including two approaches in this precise thread. For instance, while the problem of average rates appears with great regularity on CC, I do not believe that you have ever attempted to offer a solution. I welcome you to formulate a better answer than mine for that type of problem.
It is also important to correct your mischaracterization of what self-preparing is and is not. It is not about a student working in a solitary vacuum. It is about using and MAXIMIZING existing resources that are widely available. I believe that I was pretty clear that my approach involved acquiring as many "source books" as possible. For your information, my shopping list has been as wide as it was deep. Not only did I buy about every "typical" SAT offering, but I also bought online courses and many professional books on education subjects not directly related to the SAT. In the end, I believe that my library of information related to TAKING the SAT is as complete as any tutor or prep company. Doing this at a mere fraction of the cost of a bad prep program would not be challenging.
There is, however, an additional point, and that is how does one assimilate the information. In reading about everything that was available on the subject, I have tried to "borrow" what seems to be helpful and "set aside" what seems to be redundant or irrelevant. I am sure that you have done something similar before hanging your sign up in Buffalo. While this does not work for everyone, it is a real possibility for many students. I was happy to recognize that there are cases where professional help is needed and justified, why would you not have the courtesy to recognize that there are alternatives that work as well and, in some cases, better than in the "classical" format. In this instance, it may worth nothing that the NATURAL format to prepare for the SAT should not be the coach-pupil method, but should be a method of self-help. While it is undeniable that someone can prepare for the SAT, it is an obvious fallacy that only outside "help" can deliver positive results.
In the end, Godot, it all boils down to a very simple conclusion. You believe that professional help yields faster, easier, and better results. I believe that it is not always true. We will never be able to settle this difference of opinion. I have my own experience, and you have your own. Since I know nothing about your methods, or about the scope and length of classes, I would not be able to say if it would have been better for me to sit in one of your classes. However, I can emphatically say that it would have to be unique and far-reaching for me to learn something about the test that I did not learn through my solitary efforts.
Oh well, you could always surprise me by posting a few strategies in the SAT forum!
Peace!
PS I took a break from posting the "series". The next installments will come soon.