How To Barter For Education

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.

1. 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.)

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.