While I have had my share of good and bad clients, luckily the good have far outweighed the bad. Most of my clients come in willing and ready to work, and usually bring their book and class notes. So, for the stories…
One client who came to me was trying to prepare for a quiz. She brought in some poorly-made notecards, but did not have her book or notes. After visiting the class website, racking my brain (I have not actually taken this particular course, so I was going off of my knowledge from a course that covers similar material), and trying to encourage her to remember what had been said in class, I tried to help her strengthen her notecards. However, she resisted all of my attempts. I thought of VARK and asked her how she usually learns best, thinking that she might be better off if we discussed the material instead of making notecards. She did not respond very well to any of this. I was confused by what she expecting coming to TJ’s. I left the session feeling very frustrated.
Another client I had was completely different (thank goodness!). She came to the session willing to work and hear my suggestions about how to improve her study skills. She had her book and notes, and we worked together to assemble materials that would prepare her for the quiz. She actually came in twice before the quiz, and the second time she brought in what she had worked on since the previous session. I was so incredibly proud of her when she told me that she had gotten an A on the quiz.
It was really interesting to see the difference in attitudes and outcomes. The two clients I mentioned were preparing for the exact same quiz, but their performances on them were vastly different. My other clients have fallen somewhere in-between the two examples I gave, luckily much closer to the “good.”
