Straight As, straight to your home

I started seeing ads today for a new service from Sylvan Learning Centers: eTutors. Instead of schlepping your kids across town to get learning assistance, you can just plop him or her in front of the computer and go on with your life, while a live person somewhere or other works online to get those grades going. It makes a lot of sense from a convenience standpoint, and maybe, for some kids, from an educational one, too -- say, if your child is more comfortable with a computer than a live person, or can concentrate better in your living room than in a room full of people, both of which are probably causes for concern all by their ownselves. For sure this additional Sylvan feature indicates that people are demanding that the kind of services we once went out for be brought in. Hey, we order books online, we go to Weight Watchers meetings online, we rent videos online, why should we drive somewhere just to help our kids learn better? The fact that the Sylvan office was right next door to a Dunkin' Donuts store was always reason enough for me, but maybe they'll find a way to deliver virtual donuts, too.