I think the writer is so completely wrong in his characterization of the internet and all of its free information not even producing "some sort of bump." How could you fail to recognize the massive change and pace of technological innovation in the past 2 decades? I don't know what sort of obtuse measurement they're using, but it doesn't seem to correspond well to reality.
However, I think I essentially agree with the importance of tutoring and 1-on-1 attention for nurturing potential 'genius'. John von Neumann is a fantastic example, but perhaps more obviously illustrative is Susan Polgar and her father's explicit attempt (and success) in creating a chess genius. Susan Polgar is the greatest female chess player of all time by a gigantic margin, and it would be hard to deny it's the result of Laszlo Polgar's efforts from her young age to make her so, especially given the success of her siblings.
His teaching wasn't mind blowing. It stressed cultivating passion, presenting progressively more difficult problems to the student, but with everyday consistency for over a decade.
However he was an excellent teacher (that being his main profession), and skilled at chess himself (although not as good as his daughters would be), something most parents aren't likely to be for a given field they wish to inculcate greatness for their child in. Accessibility of this simple yet difficult program is unlikely to be accessible to most people then.
Perhaps we could structure education systems to offer as much of this tutorship exposure as possible? We already know the lecture format and inactive learning is quite ineffective, so perhaps refocusing resources as much as possible on a more effective method, even with mediocre implementation, would produce better results, especially for those with aptitude.