Actual Education

A child without education is like a bird without wings” - Tibetan proverb Recent shifts to online learning have exacerbated the pervasive, negative outcomes associated with an already strained education system. The “achievement gap” has only widened, leaving poverty-stricken students well behind their affluent counterparts. Coupled with a severe decline in physical and mental health, the need for additional programs to support adolescent students has never been more dire. Current, effective options to alleviate learning lags (e.g. private tutors, STEM camps) are often financially or pragmatically prohibitive to lower-income families. Fortunately, that which has held back many modern students may be the very things that lift them up. Technology platforms offer an unprecedented opportunity to reach previously inaccessible groups of at-risk students. Coupled with a not-for-profit approach, these tools can be leveraged to create equitable and accessible educational opportunities. It is at this junction of technology-enabled charity that Actual Education (AE) has positioned itself. AE recognizes the importance of meeting students on their own turf (e.g. video games, social media). In so doing, AE’s educators establish genuine connections over shared interests and dissolve preconceived notions about learning opportunities. Such an approach inherently leads with building trust, which is arguably the most important prerequisite for cultivating a positive educational relationship. Satisfying an often unmet social need, interested parties are invited to AE’s thriving Discord community. There, students are exposed to a gamified learning experience that promotes academic, physical, and mental excellence by offering participation rewards (e.g. gaming gear). Additionally, AE offers free, personalized “Office Hours” via daily live streams by charismatic educators. AE also produces free and hyper-relatable educational video content that regularly amasses viral viewership.