Shooting and scoring in problem subjects

“I’m no good at history.”

“I can’t do English.”

It’s a phrase Steve Udvari hears often, and it usually indicates his students have come for the right reasons.

The founder of StudySpot Educational Services says poor studying and time management skills are often the reason students don’t do well.

In other words, it’s not because they don’t understand the subject matter.

“Most problems in high school aren’t content driven,” he says.

Udvari and co-owner John Williams, gearing up for their first summer in their new Leaside location, help students learn skills they say are essential to learning and academic success. Many involve planning and organization.

Sessions often begin with a series of questions and answers addressing steps involved in a project or task the student is working on in school, says Williams.

“The big thing is what’s your plan?”, he says. “What’s your strategy?”

It’s a mode of learning, he adds, that’s active as opposed to passive.

But there’s a second and equally important part of the process, Udvari says: developing relationships with students.

And that relationship is inspired by sports Udvari’s sports background.

A former junior hockey player who played with Williams while they attended university, Udvari says sports are all about improvement.

It’s a model Udvari, who has a Master’s degree in school and child clinical psychology, found appealing.

The relationship with students also comes from hiring the right team, he says.

“Students are more receptive to a 25-year old grad student,” he says.

Generally students who come to them are bright, Udvari and Williams say. But their marks are dropping in all subjects, or they are just getting by.

Or they’re like Lisa Shiff’s son, Alex, who was a StudySpot student for several years during high school.

“He would have an 80 in one course and a 50 in others,” she says. “It just wasn’t reflective of his intelligence.”

Alex’s marks steadily increased over time, she says, to 80s and 90s. Now he’s a first-year student at St. Andrew’s College in Scotland.

Williams agrees the results can be life-changing.

“We can help you with your ability to learn for the rest of your life,” he says.