Every student has experts around them. Teachers, tutors, Google, even ChatGPT.
Sep 10, 2025Every student has experts around them. Teachers, tutors, Google, even ChatGPT.
But do they have an Important Person?
Not someone with all the answers.
Someone who…
👉 sees them when they’re invisible to others
👉 believes in them when they doubt themselves
👉 stands by them, not above them
Growth doesn’t happen because of expertise alone.
It happens because someone makes you feel safe enough to try — and brave enough to fail.
In my 25 years in education, I’ve seen it again and again: the real breakthroughs don’t come from “the best” explanation. They come from the right person at the right moment.
So here’s the question to ask yourself this week:
Am I acting as an expert — or as someone’s Important Person?
