There Are No Shortcuts by Rafe Esquith

Rafe Esquith has a tremendous passion for teaching. He works harder at teaching and nurturing his students, than any two teachers, including the exceptional ones that I have had the honor to meet in my life.

Rafe puts in 12 hour days of a day teaching, in the class room teaching, not just punching the clock.  Far more hours than he is required to teach.  He provides any of his students who want it many additional hours of class, in addition to the 12 hour days, he also holds class on Saturdays and holidays.  These additional hours are purely voluntary, the students are not required to attend.  It is voluntary for Rafe as well, since he is not paid for all this extra time he puts in for his students.


In There Are No Shortcuts Rafe shares his tremendous passion passion for teaching.  He shows us the joys and sorrows of the path he has chosen.  He is also sharing more than a few lesson about life that he learned the hard painful way.

Personally, I think Rafe is more than a little obsessive, he obsesses over his students, sacrificing his time, energy, and money to give his students every opportunity to succeed that he can.  He wants them to have as good a chance to succeed in life as anyone else.

He doesn't just teach academic skills.  He also teaches real life skills, he teaches his students personal finance.  His students have to "pay" for their desks! 

Rafe is a real hero in my opinion.  Sir Ian Mckellen, whom you may know as Gandalf, Magneto, or as some other character from one of his many other roles in Cinema and Theatre, shares my opinion about Rafe Esquith.  Sir Ian Mckellen has said,  "Rafe Esquith is my only hero."

I recommend There Are No Shortcuts to everyone, but it is especially valuable to parents, teachers, students, athletes, parents that Home School, or anyone else that is striving for excellence.