EAA/T for Youth At-Risk

For Youth At-Risk academic life can be exceptionally challenging. Many drop out of the educational system and are left vulnerable, unmotivated, and unable to find satisfactory employment, training, and advancement.

In response to this issue, I developed an active learning program for teenagers that offered a school matriculation course for Equine Studies with the possibility of maximum points. This course was divided into three parts and was considered an agricultural science exam through which the students studied the inside and out of a horse, their environment, and comparing their form and development to other farm animals and birds. The aim of the course was to raise their self- esteem and allow them to develop a critical consciousness so that they too would have that sense of ownership, accomplishment, feeling that they were on a par with others by studying for and passing a valuable high school matriculation exam. In this Zoom lecture, I will explain the elements of the course and its specific impact upon the students.