I recently decided to tutor a newbie with his writing. Bad decision.

There’s people who refuse criticism, like Macabre said, and then there’s this guy. He eagerly accepted my help at first, but from there on he’s done nothing but be uncooperative [i]while trying to convince me that he’s cooperating[/i]. Like, I gave him some very specific tips on how to improve his writing, and advised him to practice with those tips. A while later, I asked him if he’d been practicing. He said something like “yes, and it helped a bit”, but when I asked him to demonstrate, it was [i]very[/i] obvious that he didn’t read my advice at all. Like, dude, this isn’t high school homework. If you don’t feel like doing something, don’t lie and say that you did it.

I’ve tried to talk to him, to find out why he didn’t do it or what exactly he wants to learn, but he just talks circles around me and avoids telling me anything constructive, all the while maintaining that he wants to be taught. I feel like I’m talking to a cat, or maybe an alien who dropped out of the how-to-be-human academy. I’m done chasing him. If he wants my help, he can come and get it.