During more than three years of tutoring experience, as well as four years in the classroom, I have learned how to employ humor and frank communication to bring the best out of my students. A lively attitude and a little humility from the instructor allows students to engage with the content unburdened by the self-doubt that most people experience in an unfamiliar social setting. As a working relationship develops, I can help to build intrinsic motivation by helping information to fit into conceptual frameworks that are viewed as empowering, inviting the student into a worldview in which education is a superpower not a senseless hazing ritual imposed by uncaring institutions.