Educational justice for all!

More equal opportunities through mentoring

Sometimes it doesn't take much to set out on a new path. Just someone who is there to listen. We make sure that disadvantaged young people have such a "someone" by their side. Because the background should not be allowed to determine the future! Like Bogdan, who was rather problematic at school. With a bit of luck, he might have gotten into vocational training, but he didn't have much desire for it. That changed when he got a ROCK YOUR LIFE! mentor. Student Katharina helps Bogdan with everyday problems as well as with his schoolwork. But above all, she gives him one thing: a perspective for the future. She encourages him to look into his talents and researches possible educational opportunities with him. Now Bogdan wants to graduate from high school, because his goal is to become a civil engineer. A dream he would never have tackled without the support of his mentor. Future prospects are not simply there, but they can be created together!

Background

Even in industrialised countries like Germany, the family background still has a decisive impact on children’s opportunities in life. According to calculations by the OECD (2018), it can take up to six generations for the descendants of a low-income family to reach the national average income. This situation is problematic in several ways: (1) It is unjust because it happens through no fault of one’s own by virtue of birth. You cannot choose the circumstances into which you are born. ROCK YOUR LIFE! works to ensure that all people have the same opportunities, regardless of their background. (2) The situation is also problematic because abandoned school and vocational training careers mean a waste of individual talents and collective creative potential. Disadvantaged young people rarely get the chance to develop their strengths and actively contribute to society. As a result, everyone misses out. (3) Finally, the current situation is also economically disadvantageous. Across the country, companies are desperately looking for trainees and skilled workers, while young people from disadvantaged families often end up in the system of transitional education and often rely on support for a long time after that.

The good deed

With today's good deed, you can give children and young people from disadvantaged families 5 minutes of support on their way into the future. ROCK YOUR LIFE! provides mentors for the children and young people and accompanies the process with seminars, events and further training. The mentors support the children and young people in developing self-confidence and self-efficacy, help with problems and develop future plans with the young people that match their strengths and talents. This support helps the children and young people to discover and develop their potential. Not only the children and young people themselves benefit from this, but also we as a society. The effectiveness of the ROCK YOUR LIFE! mentoring programme is continuously evaluated and was recently confirmed scientifically by the ifo Institute: The children and young people in our programme improve their school grades, increase their social skills and later fare better in the labour market. We create a meaningful win-win-win situation: for the individual, for social interaction and for society as a whole.