We beat your kids so you dont have to Written by Jordan Albert
I
t’s ten thirty on a Saturday
P
hillip Rogers takes in
G
oals is always helping
night, and I hadn’t left the
students regardless of so-
people work hard. Money
en hours. I’m at Goals catch-
devoted to bettering their
any of his staff (said by both
blank box like room for seving up as usual. Story of my
cioeconomic status that are grades by learning from
life. My phone blinks on, with unorthodox yet highly suca text from my parents statcessful teaching methods.
isn’t important to Phillip or Phillip and Lena). When he does take money, it rare-
ly even goes to Phillip. Most
ing that they didn’t want to
Before working with students, of the money often goes
anymore. This was the third
so to see if they actually
to getting better equipment
they hope to achieve. From
able chairs, larger and more
pay for lessons with Phillip day in a row I’d stayed so
long. A bit sullen, I went to
tell Phillip, with the thought that I’d simply be asked to leave. Phillip looked down
for a second, almost in deep thought. He’d seen me working throughout the week,
thus he stated that if they
wouldn’t pay, he’d just do it
for free, “If you’re willing to put in the work, I’m willing
to match it.” I thought he was joking. Who gives out their services for free? To him,
helping me was more important than the money. To anyone for that matter.
Phillip talks to them. He does right back into the company, want to be there, and what this, he decides if he will
work with the person. Goals currently has “about thirty
to forty students that come
in regularly, and fifty or so
that just drop by every once
in a while” with no standard student. By that I mean he
takes in all different kinds of students, such as those
that are failing, can’t pay for their lessons, students of all kinds of ethnicities or religions backgrounds, or even
“4.0 students who just want to see their friends once a
month.” All that matters is if the student shows that they are devoted to achieving theirgoal.
for the kids, more comfort-
whiteboards, better programs,
or staff to lead them and more. Phillip even com-
municates with students
to tell him what they need Phillip to do to help them
learn better. The other day “He comes into the room, and just asks the kids if
there’s anything he can buy or do to help them learn” (Lena). Goals thrives off
the equality of instructors and students, as well as
got into many colleges, yet
ter teach students, and
them.
and chose to go to a school
To work most efficient-
the communication between
A
Phillip wasn’t into prestige,
that more suited him. When
he’d call a place to share his nother concept Goals
stands proudly behind is catered learning to each student. Phillip’s stud-
ies of brain neurology
have helped him develop teaching methods which are highly effective, yet
rarely used in schools. He
findings, they’d simply hang
up, or put him on hold until he did so himself. He decid-
ed to then study at Stanford Medical School, and it was there that people began to
listen to him. When Phillip
bring joy into learning. ly, staff share data,
about what worked well with a certain student, what didn’t, or if the
student needed time to
work alone. Then during the next lesson, they’d
already have a new plan to put into action. This
began goals about a year and series would continue a half ago, it was based on using his findings to bet-
until they have the perfect system. Goals also uses unique methods
such a repetition, experiments as stated above, and allowing students to figure out what
works best from them.
I’ve had first hand with these methods, being a student there, and of-
ten times it wasn’t them even deciding what was best for you. This often would consist of a ten
minute feedback session at the beginning of my
next lesson saying what
their work. In a practi-
cal sense, he beats good
habits into people, whether that be having them learn how to study best, or
getting motivated. Phillip
does this all the time, yet he rarely addresses the
equally present humorous side to him. When I hear
we beat your kids so you
don’t have to, it’s, in many ways, symbolizing the
unseen work that goes on at Goals, such as sixteen
year olds being able to sit down and work for five
hours straight, but equally rare, seeing white board worked well, and what
teer work, such as building
goals thrives off com-
ing to second harvest food
didn’t. This is why I say munication between staff and students.
bank, and bringing Phillip along for some of these.
Above all, his grandfather put an emphasis on serv-
P
orphanages in Korea, go-
ing others, in the sense of hillip grew up in tough
conditions as a child. He
wasn’t the wealthiest, and wasn’t too interested in
school. When asked who
his hero would be, he said it had to be his grandpa.
helping people achieve what they thought they couldn’t. This is Phillips strong suit, as he makes it apparent that people know more
than they think they do.
lip interested in sciences leading to his study of
work. The same applies
tist himself, and got Philas well as math, probably neurology. His grandfather also did a lot of volun-
all over the place. The
saying stands for finding that happy medium between work and play.
I
t’s an average after-
noon, and a student of
Phillip’s, sits in the long
cubicle, separated by four
thick whiteboard walls, yet just thin enough that you can hear whispers of his activity. He, like myself,
has been in every day for
P
His grandpa was a scien-
walls peppered with jokes
hillip Rogers is a bat-
tle hardened soldier mid combat when it comes to when it comes to having others be motivated in
the past two weeks, just
to slip by with Bs in our classes. However, after a
week of being disobeyed,
ditching his work by procrastinating and bother-
ing others, and asking for Phillip’s help only to discard it ten seconds later, Phillip had enough. This day, Johnny had a new nicety: eating crunchy food, something he probably
knew Phillip hated, as crunchy food breaks his concentration. Phillip stepped in the cubicle, and asked with minor irritation, “ Seriously? I’m leaving in twenty minutes, can’t you wait until then to eat your fucking chips?” The student quickly threw in a sorry, but it
wasn’t the first time this happened. This time with a bit more ferocity, “Don’t say sorry to
me, just stop doing it.” He was just being a nuisance as usual. Phillip went back to his office to do his work, just a thin wall and two feet separated the two of them. Deciding he couldn’t wait the
next twenty minutes, he went
difference. Phil-
lip stormed in the room, but
be here? If you’re
not going to work, just
back to eating his still kept sane
leave. Makes no he insisted that
be able to if he’d a parking lot,
a mile. It wasn’t
Phillip believes in
health work habits. was “slave work”.
a single lap, which lips office saying owes, as more of refused to help
until he started
get accomplished.
“W
chips, slowly as if it made a
asking, “Do you even want to difference to me.” However,
he’d start, but was told he’d
run a mere five laps around equalling maybe a fifth of
some sort of punishment, but
exercise, and that it promotes The student claimed that it
He refused to run more than
is why there is a sign in Philhow many laps the kid still
a joke than anything. Phillip him for quite some time,
working to what he aspired to
ant to hear a sales pitch?” He said with a smirk. “John, tell him it.” “We beat
your kids so you don’t have to.” They both laugh, as I stare blankly at Phillip. “I know,
we’re weird” he says as if reading my mind. The more time I spent at Goals, the more this saying meant sense. For example, when I asked if I could take photos of him, he smiled, and said “Okay, but focus on my right cheek. It’s the better one.” When I told Phillip this would be the title, he laughed gleefully and said, “Please do that”. There are so many reasons that the easily misinterpreted sales pitch describes the place so well. When I
started this project, I hadn’t seen Phillip in over four months, after he helped me save my grades and my social life from certain demise. When he saw me, he greeted me as if I’d
been there yesterday, and we’d hung out all day. As we sit on a couch, he asks, “What can I do for you?” I hand him a slip of paper saying that all he needed to do was sign it,
and I’d be on my way, meeting with him the following week. With an almost mischievous grin, he says, “
So I ditched my girlfriend just to sign a fucking paper? Why didn’t you fax it to me?
Oh shit. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.
lip into a tough situation.
Now you’re just trying to make me feel bad.
company, now standing
Come on man. I was making breakfast for us. I’m kidding, lighten up. It’s fine”
He says with a big smile. That was Phillip for you. He’s the kind of guy who becomes poker-faced when met
with preparing kids for finals, deadlines, report cards
and such, but at the end of the day he can lay back in
his big black chair, dress shoes posted on his desk, dog Sophie in his lap, and still make you smile after a long
day of work with his quirky humor. With that said, I can safely say Phillip Rogers is a kid beater.
Goals is a relatively new
at a year and a half, and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. It will be interesting to
see if Goals expands past the two offices it already
has. Currently Goals hope to fulfill a more do-
able goal, one that may be in place soon, which
is to become a certified
W
sch0ool. If this were to
occur, students could go hen I asked Phillip what his goal for Goals was, he
said he wanted more money, which came as a shock due
to his lack of self interest in it. However, he then smiled,
and said not for himself, but to expand his business. This would give the ability to write more books and with it
look into more research for even better teaching methods, adding new programs and staff to his curriculum,
and expanding facilities. There is a slight problem however. For what Phillip charges Goals might not go past
the hundred or so students it has now, which puts Phil-
to Goals in lieu of other
public or private schools. As it stands now, Goals
can merely help students
with online courses. If the Goals team succeeds, they will also fulfill Phillips
main goal in expanding
his business to help more
people, and bring joy into learing.
“Phillips many things. He’s the best boss I’ve ever had, my business associate, a motivator: but at the same time, he’s my friend.” -Lena