Education solutions for people that don’t like school

They want to be wanted and feel like they belong somewhere. Find a way to figure out what makes them feel wanted and appreciated and you will be able to teach them.

They want to learn skills that are practical, that they can use, that make sense for today and tomorrow. Education often seems impossible because of time, money, shelter, safety, and pure survival. They will respond to something they can touch, feel, and taste now, today.

What is next? Who will take the little that is good away? When? Who can be trusted? Is it going to be worth it? Is there enough time? How? Who cares? Lots of fear for these kids in many ways for lots of different reasons. Find ways to lesson the fear. One way that comes to mind is by somehow lessoning the amount of time it takes to succeed. Small successes, one by one, add up to an objective that's tangible and will make a difference for them. They need less fear to move forward.

Mostly, these kids need hope. If what you are asking them to do helps them understand they can survive, belong, live without fear, and change their situation, it will give them hope. That hope can change things, lots of things. That hope can change their lives.

Then, find out what interests them. Provide experiences so they can figure it out. Not what they like to do but what interests them, really, in their gut. You can see it in their eyes, on their face and hear it in their words. Not what they like to do but what makes them feel? What, in the rose-colored world that they always wish they lived in, would they be doing: teaching, art, working with their hands, helping kids, getting their hands dirty, building things, making things, writing, etc. How can those things be achieved without formal education? How can they be done in smaller, more hands-on and immediate ways?

I believe there is something for everyone where they can be a part of the greater good, earn a living, pay taxes, and contribute to the betterment of their own lives and, at the same time, the lives of others. Short time periods of learning, training, mentorship spent teaching them things that the world needs. Things that make them feel part of something bigger than themselves where they make a difference in a positive way and feel that difference could change their world. It could change our world too .