Ex-Hopeless Advice

Spring 2024

Occasionally, teens can drive their parents to despair. No matter what they try, the penny just won't drop. 

When kids don't even understand themselves 
they sure don't think their parents will "get it".
But they may listen to someone who once was ​a
"hopeless case" too. Someone who's been there.

The Bad Students Society can help - with ex-hopeless peer credibility.

See how it works!

---

So you're a 14-year-old, clever young lad
​who hates school. 

You think your parents are basically alright. But clearly their way of thinking goes way back into the last century.
In school, your teachers can't relate to your sense of humour.
​Nobody gets it - you're just not interested. 

Your little sisters get on your nerves.
​Fact is, you'd rather be on the football
​pitch anyway. Learning is dull. Life is dull.​

Now, your dad tells you that if you don't
​pass class, you'll be in real trouble.
Apart from that, you have no idea what you
really want to do or be. Life sucks.

The offer of an Eye-Opener?
​Very weird. Not interested.

But then there is Gary. You haven't met him in person, and probably you never will, he lives in Alaska. He's just turned 20 and knows how you feel. At 16, he ran away from home to work on a fishing boat. His folks had no idea where he was until he broke his leg three months later and was sent home. Even then, he didn't want to go back to school. Ever.

However, Gary also has two younger sisters. They really do want to go to school. 
In fact, they're dedicated students and keen to see the world.
Which is why the family joined Global Natives.

​Gary's sisters - annoying little busybodies in his opinion at the time - came up with what they considered just the thing for him:
They had befriended a girl on the coast whose dad, Brandon, ran a cattle farm
​and worked as a certified sports coach.

Brandon had just read about the Eye-Opener concept and found it thrilling, he decided straight away to see what he could do for Gary. So the family went on a weekend trip and ended up at Brandon's place, where Gary was offered a job on the farm.

​Soon Gary was hooked.
​Work on the farm was hard but enjoyable and being allowed to assist Brandon in his work as a coach was great.
​He loved the way Brandon interacted with kids from all age groups.
​Within a year, he had developed a clear idea of what he wanted to do with his life, and Brandon encouraged him. 

He wanted to be a sports teacher and a coach too. He had found a goal and developed a passion. 
At 19, he was finally ready to thank his sisters for giving so much thought to his troubles and to his future.
Gary now appreciated that they had done him a tremendous service. The girls felt he could best show his appreciation
​by becoming an "ex-hopeless peer", something he found hilariously funny at first. And then brilliant.

Now Gary has dropped you a couple of lines, later you spoke via FaceTime quite
a few times.
He convinced you that trying to play it cool is not always the best way to handle things. Sometimes it makes sense to accept the hand that's offered. 

So, after giving it quite a bit of thought, you've just told your parents that you will give the Eye-Opener a serious go. ​

Because Gary is probably right:
​It can only get better.

The Eye-Opener programme helps teenagers to see wider horizons.

​More options, new faces and perhaps even a new start ... ​the idea seems more and more appealing.  In fact, you might even consider going abroad and see what schools are like elsewhere; after all - your French lessons were about the only classes you actually liked. 
​

Possibly because of Madame Lucienne.
​Anyway: Let fate take its course!

Teenagers are usually reluctant to talk about their troubles.
All too easily they feel misunderstood, patronized and judged.
Not so with a peer who has been there himself/herself.

​Ex-Hopeless Peers.
Advice from young men and women who know what it's like.
Who once were labelled "hopeless cases" too. 
We match them with teenagers who struggle -
​in school, in the family, with themselves.
When nothing else seems to make that penny drop. 

Thousands of young people are willing to give a youngster a hand. 
​It is confidential advice that can be accepted without losing face.

​

The Bad Students Society

The Eye Opener

Temporary Misfits

... on to the next story