4 ms·

Ask PG: An incubator to teach programming to street kids in Turkey

12 points by nyist 14y ago

I have in mind an incubator similar to Y Combinator but instead of taking applications from entrepreneurs we will teach programming and internet technology to street kids and give them money and advice to start their own company. These kids live in the street and survive by selling paper napkins, bottle water etc. There are many non-profits that help these kids, but they teach them music, sports, art or send them to school. No one is teaching them how to start a business by teaching them a skill. I am planning to teach Google App Engine with Python and separately also Arduino. I am inspired by Paul Graham's essays advocating less schooling and more doing. I strongly believe that school is evil. I believe that professional classes and schools inhibit general human progress by hiding knowledge and glamorizing book learning. In Turkey there is a general belief that without a university education a child cannot be successful in life. But some of world's most successful companies are founded by people with no formal education. I want to prove that a system based on learning by doing starting from earliest possible age is the right way to prepare a child to a happy and productive life. I am asking for your advice in any aspect of this project. Thank you.

arkitaip 14y ago
"I have in mind an incubator similar to Y Combinator " What you are describing is a charity not an incubator. "No one is teaching them how to start a business by teaching them a skill." How do you plan doing this if the kids cannot read or write? Why is this even an important skill for a child? "I am planning to teach Google App Engine with Python and separately also Arduino." These kids probably don't even have access to decent food, clean water, reliable electricity, etc, so how are they supposed to have access to computers and Internet? Will you provide these things? Will there be a facility where the kids can come to? "I strongly believe that school is evil." This is your privilege talking and frankly it's a slap in the face of those kids who cannot afford to go to a decent school.
- nyist 14y ago
  arkitaip: In fact, I don't want to do it as a charity but as a business. That's why I called it incubator. I assume that kids can read and write but do not have further education. Yes I hope to provide access to computer and internet. There are many organizations who help these kids. I may ask their cooperation or I can start a place myself or even start initially in an internet cafe. The details are still vague, that's why I posted here. "This is your privilege talking and frankly it's a slap in the face of those kids who cannot afford to go to a decent school." This is what I want to prove. You can be a successful entrepreneur without going to brand name school.
  - wallawe 14y ago
    Just curious, where does the business part come into play? How do you plan on making money?
    - nyist 14y ago
      The way Y Combinator makes money. If I understand correctly, they invest in the companies they sponsor.
      - mahmud 14y ago
        If you want to raise kids to make them into successful people so you can invest in them, why not also have some fun? Make babies! Get laid, get pregos, raise them then you will be a major stock-holder in their success.
        jamesjguthrie 14y ago
        Can't agree more!
neya 14y ago
I do not have enough experience or merits to advice you professionally. But, from the bottom of my heart I wish you good luck for this project and wish you success. This is a GREAT initiative. A small tip - If you wish to ask this to PG directly, edit your title to 'Ask PG' instead of 'Ask HN'. All the best.
- nyist 14y ago
  Thank you. I edited the title.
umrashrf 14y ago
One way to monetize this can be letting companies recruit for those kids beforehand. Companies pay you monthly, yearly or whatever which you can invest back in those kids and once they are something, they may get a job.
- nyist 14y ago
  But the idea is to build their own business, not to get a job.
mahmud 14y ago
This has "confused" written all over it. There are too many axes to this: there is the education part, the charity part and the business part. Pick one and think it through. Also, I think your take on education is misguided, at best. The successful people you describe are not entirely unschooled, or uneducated, as the popular confounding goes. You are underestimating the amount of resources they have at their disposal, both knowledge and material. But instead of getting bogged down by arm-chair philosophizing on education and child-rearing (how did that work out for Rousseau?) I suggest you grab one kid off the street and teach him or her first. If your objective is to educate, put your pupils first, that's what teachers do. Start with one and "iterate like hell".
- nyist 14y ago
  No, there is no education part. Everyone will learn on their own. There is StackOverflow, online manuals, tutorials... And there is no charity part. I don't like charity. The idea is to tell the kids that they can start their own company. That's why I call it incubator. And I think it is important to have more than one kid. Again like in Y Combinator.
  - mahmud 14y ago
    good luck!
ivan_ah 14y ago
I think there //is// a need for training people in the computer skills. In particular (1) system administration and (2) web development. These two skills happen to to be precisely the kind of things you need to learn hands on, and not in a formal education setting (University). I have put some thoughts into starting a similar program (think hacker space, but with daily lectures and access to a big bookcase of technical literature). Email me if you would like to discuss. Do you think you can get funding from the city or government to run this? I have some ideas for how such a peer-to-peer educational system could fund itself in the long run, but to get things started you would need some cash.
- nyist 14y ago
  Thanks Ivan, definitely I would like to discuss, I just sent you an email. I agree about hands on education and those are the two things I would like to teach (and Arduino eventually). Hacker space describes well what I have in mind. I will have some cash of my own but not much. In Turkey, it may be possible to get funding from local government. I need to do more research.
1123581321 14y ago
It's too bad you believe school is evil. Probably your best chance at helping is to attach yourself to one of the schools with an auxiliary program. I personally do not think you can build a profitable business out of this unless you have a lot of contacts and investors to help your students, similarly to how many YC companies would not succeed without the alumni network acting as a network of customers and referrers.
- nyist 14y ago
  "how many YC companies would not succeed without the alumni network acting as a network of customers and referrers." I agree but this happens in time. First I need to start and show that it is possible to build successful internet companies without going to school. All of the information is available online.
dworrad 14y ago
I think it sounds like an excellent idea. I would suggest creating a "crowd funding" project to try and raise some backing. Kickstarter is probably not an option as their TOS won't allow this. But there are many other options out there - http://www.quora.com/Where-is-the-kickstarter-to-help-launch-non-profits http://www.quora.com/Where-is-the-kickstarter-to-help-launch... Good luck

12 points by nyist 14y ago

arkitaip 14y ago

"I have in mind an incubator similar to Y Combinator " What you are describing is a charity not an incubator. "No one is teaching them how to start a business by teaching them a skill." How do you plan doing this if the kids cannot read or write? Why is this even an important skill for a child? "I am planning to teach Google App Engine with Python and separately also Arduino." These kids probably don't even have access to decent food, clean water, reliable electricity, etc, so how are they supposed to have access to computers and Internet? Will you provide these things? Will there be a facility where the kids can come to? "I strongly believe that school is evil." This is your privilege talking and frankly it's a slap in the face of those kids who cannot afford to go to a decent school.

nyist 14y ago
arkitaip: In fact, I don't want to do it as a charity but as a business. That's why I called it incubator. I assume that kids can read and write but do not have further education. Yes I hope to provide access to computer and internet. There are many organizations who help these kids. I may ask their cooperation or I can start a place myself or even start initially in an internet cafe. The details are still vague, that's why I posted here. "This is your privilege talking and frankly it's a slap in the face of those kids who cannot afford to go to a decent school." This is what I want to prove. You can be a successful entrepreneur without going to brand name school.
- wallawe 14y ago
  Just curious, where does the business part come into play? How do you plan on making money?
  - nyist 14y ago
    The way Y Combinator makes money. If I understand correctly, they invest in the companies they sponsor.
    - mahmud 14y ago
      If you want to raise kids to make them into successful people so you can invest in them, why not also have some fun? Make babies! Get laid, get pregos, raise them then you will be a major stock-holder in their success.
      - jamesjguthrie 14y ago
        Can't agree more!

neya 14y ago

I do not have enough experience or merits to advice you professionally. But, from the bottom of my heart I wish you good luck for this project and wish you success. This is a GREAT initiative. A small tip - If you wish to ask this to PG directly, edit your title to 'Ask PG' instead of 'Ask HN'. All the best.

nyist 14y ago
Thank you. I edited the title.

umrashrf 14y ago

One way to monetize this can be letting companies recruit for those kids beforehand. Companies pay you monthly, yearly or whatever which you can invest back in those kids and once they are something, they may get a job.

nyist 14y ago
But the idea is to build their own business, not to get a job.

mahmud 14y ago

This has "confused" written all over it. There are too many axes to this: there is the education part, the charity part and the business part. Pick one and think it through. Also, I think your take on education is misguided, at best. The successful people you describe are not entirely unschooled, or uneducated, as the popular confounding goes. You are underestimating the amount of resources they have at their disposal, both knowledge and material. But instead of getting bogged down by arm-chair philosophizing on education and child-rearing (how did that work out for Rousseau?) I suggest you grab one kid off the street and teach him or her first. If your objective is to educate, put your pupils first, that's what teachers do. Start with one and "iterate like hell".

nyist 14y ago
No, there is no education part. Everyone will learn on their own. There is StackOverflow, online manuals, tutorials... And there is no charity part. I don't like charity. The idea is to tell the kids that they can start their own company. That's why I call it incubator. And I think it is important to have more than one kid. Again like in Y Combinator.
- mahmud 14y ago
  good luck!

ivan_ah 14y ago

I think there //is// a need for training people in the computer skills. In particular (1) system administration and (2) web development. These two skills happen to to be precisely the kind of things you need to learn hands on, and not in a formal education setting (University). I have put some thoughts into starting a similar program (think hacker space, but with daily lectures and access to a big bookcase of technical literature). Email me if you would like to discuss. Do you think you can get funding from the city or government to run this? I have some ideas for how such a peer-to-peer educational system could fund itself in the long run, but to get things started you would need some cash.

nyist 14y ago
Thanks Ivan, definitely I would like to discuss, I just sent you an email. I agree about hands on education and those are the two things I would like to teach (and Arduino eventually). Hacker space describes well what I have in mind. I will have some cash of my own but not much. In Turkey, it may be possible to get funding from local government. I need to do more research.

1123581321 14y ago

It's too bad you believe school is evil. Probably your best chance at helping is to attach yourself to one of the schools with an auxiliary program. I personally do not think you can build a profitable business out of this unless you have a lot of contacts and investors to help your students, similarly to how many YC companies would not succeed without the alumni network acting as a network of customers and referrers.

nyist 14y ago
"how many YC companies would not succeed without the alumni network acting as a network of customers and referrers." I agree but this happens in time. First I need to start and show that it is possible to build successful internet companies without going to school. All of the information is available online.

dworrad 14y ago

I think it sounds like an excellent idea. I would suggest creating a "crowd funding" project to try and raise some backing. Kickstarter is probably not an option as their TOS won't allow this. But there are many other options out there - http://www.quora.com/Where-is-the-kickstarter-to-help-launch-non-profits http://www.quora.com/Where-is-the-kickstarter-to-help-launch... Good luck