Tiffany Sorya never imagined herself as a teacher. Yet somehow the Portland-born, California-based beauty has managed to turn an unexpected passion for teaching into a pioneering force for education. Sorya’s teaching style instantly separated her from traditional schooling. After picking up her first student for private tutoring, referrals led to more students and before she knew it Sorya was a full-time private teacher. This was the start of big things to come. Sorya had several successful partnerships with California schools before she decided to start her own company. Her budding business Novel Education Group led to a life-changing role home-schooling the two most influential teens in America, if not the world. That’s right, Tiffany Sorya landed the opportunity of a lifetime as the personal educator of Kylie and Kendall Jenner.
Sorya was referred to Kris Jenner for her open and flexible teaching methods. “I encourage my students to pursue their creative hobbies. Education doesn’t have to be separate from that, they are one in the same,” Sorya explains. This philosophy resonated with Kris Jenner, who thought it was of great importance for her kids to finish school despite their already promising futures. Under Sorya’s home schooling schedule students could be taught for around 15 hours a week. Unlike traditional schooling that “keeps kid for seven hours a day and then sends them home with three hours of homework,” Sorya’s schedule could take only three hours of that day, allowing kids to spend more time exploring their passions. This also rang true for Dr.Dre who hired Sorya to homeschool his son and daughter. “It was important to them to let their kids have time to pursue their respective interests in painting and the entertainment industry. Traditional school doesn’t make time for those things, it leaves kids with no time to foster their amazing interests which need to be ignited.”
The tutor extraordinaire has been able to use her roster of high-end clientele to further her true goal to make education cool again. “You always hear stories about that one kid who dropped out of high school and became a billionaire, but for 95% of people that just isn’t a reality,” explains Sorya. As we live in an increasingly entrepreneurial society that shuns the traditional “school, job, marriage” formula we are also furthering ourselves from education. And while entertainment industries and creative fields are extremely important, “it is education that will further our existence,” Sorya states. Working the Kylie and Kendall has helped re-ignite the minds of many who now look to take their education seriously, and Sorya intends to start this movement in less privileged areas right in California. Sorya believes that “school can be a student’s currency or ticket to a better life.” An idea that many have abandoned with the idealization of being an entrepreneur.
The next step for this wonder woman will be to find teachers who have and can execute the same vision. We can all learn a lot from Sorya’s modern education philosophies. Teaching doesn’t have to be about communicating a certain set of ideas, but rather letting students form their own and giving them the knowledge to back those ideas up. If there’s one thing we know for now, being smart is sexy and cool.
Here are five takeaway tips from the world’s most famous private tutor:
1. Time Management: One of the biggest differences I see between struggling and high achieving students is efficiency. The ability to plan out your day and week stems directly from the skills you learned as a student. From essay deadlines to afters school sports, encourage your child to plan out their week in order to fit everything in, including down time! They’ll thank you when they grow up to be efficient adults.
