I was hired by a couple in Manhattan to tutor their 14-year-old son and it was immediately apparent that he had a terrible temper. I quickly discovered that the reason for this was that his father also had a terrible temper and frequently shouted at his son. It was an explosive atmosphere.

I lived with the family and took all my meals with them. Without turning Edward against his father, I slowly showed Edward that his father's behaviour was not only entirely inappropriate, but also not the way that any man should under any circumstances behave to anyone. Edward came to trust me and agree with me about his father's behaviour. Apparently I had become his mentor. From then on he never said anything when his father exploded at him and his father's explosions became fewer and fewer. By the time that I left after three months, Edward was a changed boy; he took his work much more seriously and flourished at school. His temper had been cured.

I was very happy that his parents asked me to go back for three months the following year, as I wanted to make sure that the family relationships had not lapsed into what I had found when I first arrived. His father's temper tantrums at Edward had stopped altogether and became less and less frequent at his wife. Edward was still doing very well at school and he had no need of an academic tutor, but the family seemed to think that it was me who had created the peace that was starting to exist between them all and that I was a good influence to have around the house.

It seemed that I had tutored not only Edward, but his father had changed as well! His mother was very grateful for what I had achieved with the family. It appeared that I had become more than Edward's life-coach. I had a profound influence on the whole family! LP