How To Barter For Education
By
James Harvey Stout (deceased). This material is now in the public
domain. The complete collection of Mr. Stout's writing is now at
http://stout.mybravenet.com/public_html/h/
>
Jump to the following topics:
- We
can pay for our education through a barter organization.
- We
can make a direct exchange of our goods and services.
- We can barter for
tutoring.
We
can pay for our education through a barter organization. Some schools
are members of barter clubs, so we can pay for our classes with the
club's units. In the directory of one barter organization, there are
listings for a technical school, a pre-school, a dance studio, a
center for remedial reading, a law school, a gymnastics academy, and
a school of broadcasting.
We
can make a direct exchange of our goods and services.
- We might be able to pay for tuition by trading our skills as a
landscaper, carpenter, maintenance person, secretary, teacher's
assistant, or another type of worker. (During the early years of
Harvard University, students' tuition and expenses could be paid
in the form of livestock, lumber, foodstuffs, stones for
construction, etc.)
- We might receive an education as a job benefit. (Job benefits
are barter deals; we are trading some of our labor for goods and
services rather than a cash salary.) All companies give free
training to their employees; some of this education occurs as a
part of our daily routine, but some companies will pay for our
tuition at colleges and workshops so that we can gain additional
instruction. Many colleges allow their teachers and other
employees to attend classes for free.
- In the United States, we can join programs such as ROTC (the
Reserve Officer's Training Corp); we would get a free education in
exchange for serving in the military after graduation. Or, we can
join the military before college; the government will pay
for our education after we complete a few years of military
service.
- We might make a deal through a barter brokerage -- which,
unlike a barter club, does not deal in units but instead in a
direct exchange of goods and services. For example, Atwood
Richards has offered military-academy tuition in exchange for
various items.
We can barter for
tutoring. Tutoring is a common skill in barter clubs. Many of the
possible topics are listed in chapter two; for example, we might
teach arts and crafts, cooking, construction, crocheting, electronics
repair, food gathering and preparation, kayaking, organic gardening,
job skills, computer skills, etc.