Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Lindsey Wander. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Lindsey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?

Early in my career as an educator, I realized that the majority of student struggles resulted from a lack of soft skills, not a lack of ability. This is a fault of the education system, not the students. The recent disruption in the school system during the COVID-19 pandemic made it even more evident the need to shift from adult-led traditional learning to student-centered learning founded on metacognition. Students need more opportunities to develop personalized, essential skills such as time management, self-assessment, accountability, and the like, along with the freedom to explore personal interests, think critically, creatively problem-solve, and innovate.

My goal as an educator has always been to help students with the underlying learning and life skills. My instruction pushes students to excel, as well as to advocate for themselves, take initiative in their lives, enjoy and seek out new learning opportunities, and constantly question and self-reflect. By teaching the soft skills of time management, self-assessment, mindfulness, creative problem-solving, and the like, my students have excelled beyond their peers by becoming agents of change in their own lives, communities, and the world.

Specifically, I focus on:
– teaching students how to learn by providing them with personalized strategies they can use to excel in the classroom and beyond
– individualized and engaging instruction that allows students to think beyond the curriculum
– developing connections between academic content and the real world
– giving students the opportunity to explore personal interests, think critically, innovate, and problem-solve
– inspiring students to find their unique voice and take action
– learning the evergreen skills to navigate our dynamic society

I believe the education system should also focus on these goals, which would thereby prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career. The aim of education should not be to force students to memorize facts and equations, but to inspire them to learn, grow, and change the world for the better.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Valedictorian of my high school, I originally enrolled at Cal State Fresno to study Biomedical Engineering. In just four years, I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Biology, a Bachelor’s in Chemistry, and a Minor in Mathematics. Several domestic and international internships later, I discovered my passion for teaching and re-enrolled in college to earn my teaching credentials.

For several years, I taught STEM in the low-income neighborhoods of California, making it my mission to create a learning environment that was so engaging that it motivated my students to come to school. They explored, questioned, innovated, learned, laughed, and loved – all within my classroom walls. However, time and financial restraints, added to endless bureaucratic red tape, prevented me from being able to dedicate the 1-on-1 time to my students who needed it. Thus, many of my “kids” fell through the cracks – and there was nothing I could do about it.

So, when I Lindsey moved to Chicago at the age of 29, I decided to start my own tutoring business, which later became WorldWise Tutoring. My mission was to help students of all abilities to not only improve their grades and scores, but also to learn the skills to become confident and independent lifelong learners, and grow into competent and conscious leaders. I sought to empower our youth with the tools to succeed in school, work, and life – so that they were in the powerful position to be agents of change in their own lives and in the lives of those around them.

My methodologies were so effective that my business quickly grew beyond what I could handle alone. So I started to “teach the teachers,” guiding tutors dedicated to my mission of empowerment through education with my best practices. Now, years later, my business has nearly 100 tutors providing online services worldwide and in-person services in Illinois and Texas to students of ALL ages and ALL abilities in ALL subjects. I have seen our students grow into accomplished, self-sufficient adults who are still eager to learn more.

With the widening achievement gap due to COVID-19 school closures, I combined my passion for serving underprivileged students with my expertise as a tutoring business owner to form the nonprofit 501(c)(3) charity Educate. Radiate. Elevate. This organization provides high-quality 1-on-1 instruction in academics, enrichment, test prep, and learning and life skills to underserved students. The goal is to strengthen the educational achievement of our most vulnerable youth in order to provide economic, social, and mental stability for the youth served, their families, and their communities.

I found a career that I love and that makes the world a better place. My goal is to inspire my students to do the same.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I own a tutoring company dedicated to teaching beyond the classroom. With school closures during COVID-19, I became increasingly concerned with students’ lack of motivation and quality instruction, especially amongst low-income and minority students. So I created two new programs. One was an affordable Online Enrichment program, offering 20+ courses ranging from Chess to Coding for students ages 4-19. The goals were to get students excited about learning again, allow them to explore their personal interests in a structured way, and teach them valuable learning and life lessons while having fun. The second was a Student Sponsorship program, in which individuals, families, and organizations can sponsor a semester of tutoring for underprivileged students. The goal was to help close the widening achievement gap by providing promising students with direct academic assistance and coaching during that unprecedented time. At the end of 2020, I expanded on this by starting a not-for-profit organization, Educate. Radiate. Elevate., where individuals and organizations can make tax-deductible donations to provide high-quality tutoring to underserved students. While these new programs resulted from the problems associated with the pandemic, they have continued to be offered to students even after COVID-19 was eradicated.

2020 taught me that challenge and struggle are inherent to learning and growth. Without the difficulties my small business faced in the spring, I would never have been pushed to re-evaluate and re-imagine. The creative solutions I devised in response to these problems helped my business grow exponentially. The key is to face challenges head-on, evaluate the situation and potential solutions thoroughly, and then follow your intuition on which path to take. It requires a blend of courage, logic, and instinct – a blend I mixed well in 2020! As a result, I have grown tremendously in several ways. I have grown as a business leader as I am now more in touch with the concerns and motivations of my clients and staff. I purposefully created opportunities in which I could truly hear what they had to say. I have also grown as an educator, expanding my range to also teaching members of society, such as parents and educators. I sought out ways to share meaningful advice and resources to help make everyone’s lives a little easier. I have grown as a human by being vulnerable and exploring my own difficulties and flaws, and I have grown as a student by openly seeking advice and support in my weak areas. While 2020 was challenging, and oftentimes tragic and devastating, I am thankful for the lessons I have learned.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I have a great reputation in the market for several reasons. First, I deliver an amazing service that starts with recruiting and training the best tutors. Over the past decade, I have perfected the system to vet, assess, and train the top educators, empowering them with the tools to optimize their tutoring sessions for long-term impacts. The hundreds of testimonials about our services (published on our website) are proof that my approach is extremely effective. Second, I have established myself as a thought leader in the education field. My unconventional yet practical approaches to teaching students in a way that is student-centered, soft skill focused, and goal-oriented have attracted the attention of students, parents, schools, partner organizations, and the like. When I am invited to speak about these approaches, the resounding feedback is that it makes so much sense and is much easier for anyone to implement with the suggestions I offer. Third, I have intentionally grown into a competent and conscious leader. I have sought out opportunities for learning and growth to acquire the soft skills of critical thinking and creative problem-solving, to devise strategies for overcoming challenges by evaluating the situation and available options, and to examine the advantages and disadvantages of each possible solution, utilizing all possible resources to arrive at a well-informed decision. I am willing and able to think beyond the traditional process to challenge ideas, explore skepticism, and ask tough questions. I am always motivated to find the most effective solution to a problem, even if it is atypical.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.EducateRadiateElevate.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/educateradiateelevate/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EducateRadiateElevate
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/educate-radiate-elevate/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJJYFKSMQ8Uxvj7irE1QrHQ
• Other: TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@EducateRadiateElevate
  Culturally Responsive and Trauma-Informed Teaching course: https://www.udemy.com/course/culturally-responsive-and-trauma-informed-teaching/