new and 14 yr old questions
keelyjeangrimes
Hi all,I have a 14 yr old son who has been unschooled all his life.Recently some relatives have suggested that he go to tech school to learn a trade. We looked up the schools, and he is interested in the classes in computers and environmental science, but not the 90 days of acedemics or the school uniforms or the school experience.
He says that he really just wants to get a job now and earn some cash,but he would also like to study those fields.
What jobs are available to 14 year olds? Does anybody have any ideas of how he can study those subjects outside of tech school? We do not have any college savings, so without scholarships and loans it is not likely we will be able to take that route.
-K
He says that he really just wants to get a job now and earn some cash,but he would also like to study those fields.
What jobs are available to 14 year olds? Does anybody have any ideas of how he can study those subjects outside of tech school? We do not have any college savings, so without scholarships and loans it is not likely we will be able to take that route.
-K
lylaw
community college classes are often open to teens and should cost much less than university. financial aid should also be available....
From: keelyjeangrimes
Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 4:42 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] new and 14 yr old questions
Hi all,I have a 14 yr old son who has been unschooled all his life.Recently some relatives have suggested that he go to tech school to learn a trade. We looked up the schools, and he is interested in the classes in computers and environmental science, but not the 90 days of acedemics or the school uniforms or the school experience.
He says that he really just wants to get a job now and earn some cash,but he would also like to study those fields.
What jobs are available to 14 year olds? Does anybody have any ideas of how he can study those subjects outside of tech school? We do not have any college savings, so without scholarships and loans it is not likely we will be able to take that route.
-K
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
From: keelyjeangrimes
Sent: Monday, August 08, 2011 4:42 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [unschoolingbasics] new and 14 yr old questions
Hi all,I have a 14 yr old son who has been unschooled all his life.Recently some relatives have suggested that he go to tech school to learn a trade. We looked up the schools, and he is interested in the classes in computers and environmental science, but not the 90 days of acedemics or the school uniforms or the school experience.
He says that he really just wants to get a job now and earn some cash,but he would also like to study those fields.
What jobs are available to 14 year olds? Does anybody have any ideas of how he can study those subjects outside of tech school? We do not have any college savings, so without scholarships and loans it is not likely we will be able to take that route.
-K
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
plaidpanties666
"lylaw" <lylaw@...> wrote:
Look for college "extension" classes, too - those tend to cost less than regular community college courses and some of them are more like clubs than classes.
Ray had some good luck with work exchange deals with various local craftspeople where he would do a certain amount of "grunt work" for them in exchange for learning some skills - so for instance he'd trade sanding to a woodworker for learning some new techniques. He traded domestic work to a local metal worker for learning about working with silver. Look for people who are self-employed or who have micro-businesses, since those folks often know a lot, like to share with eager youngsters, and can't afford to pay anything for extra help.
---Meredith
>**********
> community college classes are often open to teens and should cost much less than university. financial aid should also be available....
Look for college "extension" classes, too - those tend to cost less than regular community college courses and some of them are more like clubs than classes.
Ray had some good luck with work exchange deals with various local craftspeople where he would do a certain amount of "grunt work" for them in exchange for learning some skills - so for instance he'd trade sanding to a woodworker for learning some new techniques. He traded domestic work to a local metal worker for learning about working with silver. Look for people who are self-employed or who have micro-businesses, since those folks often know a lot, like to share with eager youngsters, and can't afford to pay anything for extra help.
---Meredith
BRIAN POLIKOWSKY
what does he like to do? Computer software? hardware? Environment ? What about environment he likes?
At 14 I worked with dogs. I helped in a kennel, I trained dogs and showed dogs .
But what I really wanted was to learn about showing dogs so the jobs just happened and were a way of learning what I wanted.
So it is really important to know what he likes to do and try to find a way for him to work, even if for free, so he can learn what he wants.
Maybe he can work for a few hours with someone who fixes computers doing something.
Alex Polikowsky
________________________________
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At 14 I worked with dogs. I helped in a kennel, I trained dogs and showed dogs .
But what I really wanted was to learn about showing dogs so the jobs just happened and were a way of learning what I wanted.
So it is really important to know what he likes to do and try to find a way for him to work, even if for free, so he can learn what he wants.
Maybe he can work for a few hours with someone who fixes computers doing something.
Alex Polikowsky
________________________________
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Valerie Thorp
Find out what local environmental issues your area has. For example, are air or water quality issues? Do you have superfund sites nearby? Are natural resources, like forests or mining issues? Are there factory farms near you? Do endangered or threatened species live near you? Are there public land use issues, eg, Forest Service, BLM or National and State Parks? Everywhere has several environmental "issues" that can be independently studied from a scientific viewpoint.
Once he finds out what local issues there are, he can narrow down which issues interest him. Then he can call whatever agency or community group deals with that issue and visit their offices or field sites and conduct "interviews" where he asks the professionals about what he is interested in. Most agencies are more than happy to do this. It also shows that employer that he is interested and curious. Many employers can use a teen to do field/grunt work, so it can lead to a paying job. I work in air pollution and have studied wildlife biology and environmental science in grad school. If you have more specific questions I'd be happy to try to help.
Valerie Thorp Virgin
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Once he finds out what local issues there are, he can narrow down which issues interest him. Then he can call whatever agency or community group deals with that issue and visit their offices or field sites and conduct "interviews" where he asks the professionals about what he is interested in. Most agencies are more than happy to do this. It also shows that employer that he is interested and curious. Many employers can use a teen to do field/grunt work, so it can lead to a paying job. I work in air pollution and have studied wildlife biology and environmental science in grad school. If you have more specific questions I'd be happy to try to help.
Valerie Thorp Virgin
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