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He continued to fail in school, despite being tutored by Hackett. Kevin saw the lessons he was being taught in school as completely irrelevant. They had no relation to his lived experience. They were remote and distant, did not appeal to his interests, and were presented in ways that failed to engage and motivate him in the least. The lessons did not consider his strengths and weaknesses as a leaner. The school's ditto sheets, textbooks, and workbooks were meaningless to him, so he tossed them aside. Something that was particularly noticeable to me was that Kevin attended a school that stressed remembering over thinking and acceptance over inquiry. Faced with the prospect of being turned into an object that memorizes and repeats irrelevant information, he chose to rebel. Hackett's tutoring sessions helped Kevin grow intellectually and emotionally, unlike school. To me, as a reader, this article demonstrates the power of personal relevance for learning. At school, If Kevin was the focus -the star of the activity-his level of concentration and determination devoted would have been enormously high. I am now a firm believer in making sure that my students are the "star" of every educational experience I provide for them. This article helped me understand what separates meaningful, effective learning environments from ineffective, frivolous ones.