Yasmin founded Educate Me as a space for underprivileged children to take control of their own learning. In contrast to a public school system that focuses on memorization and standardized tests, Educate Me utilizes a learner-focused approach in which children are asked what they want to learn and are given the support needed for them to realize their educational goals. By encouraging students to take responsibility for their own achievement, including activities such as research, course planning, and fundraising, children learn to be more independent, resourceful, creative, and ambitious. Educate-Me calls their approach ’democratic learning’, through which children enjoy the learning process more and emerge from it better prepared for the world of work than is possible with traditional educational methods.
Yasmin’s aim is for Educate Me to achieve financial sustainability in addition to positive social impact. Thus the organization works with both private school students on a paid basis and in marginalized communities offering free services. By connecting these two spheres, Educate Me exposes students to the diversity of their communities, creating a more integrated, tolerant, and equitable society.
