How to motivate school leavers "tell them you don't care"

[MaryBS]

School hires "motivational" speaker to tell school leavers that he just doesn't care about them. I sort of see where he's coming from, but aren't there enough pressures on these poor kids as it is? Won't it make them feel worse?

www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_home/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=481318

shit! i missed my calling. i always knew i was destined for something and THIS IS IT telling teenagers that 'i don't care' is my forte

I have been heard to say things not totally dissimilar (obviously not the exact words "I don't care about you" to DS1........and he's only 9.

'tis a tough old world out there - no ones going to molly coddle 'em once they get out there

I just told my 6yo to dilly-dally all he wanted and I didn't care if he's late for school. Do I get 800 pounds!? (Actually I don't want 800 pounds. Eight hours sleep might be nice though.) >

At my school we were constantly being told that nobody cared where we ended up. A lot of pupils ended up on drugs and in prison so I'm not sure that it really works.

Sounds like a basic rhetorical trick- engaging their attention by telling the opposite to what they are expecting. It will work the first few times, he will become so pleased with himself that he repeats it wherever he goes, it becomes stale and loses its force, and he will have to think of something else. Maybe telling them that he does care... Just rhetoric.

Erm my df said he didn't care what I did after a-levels - made me more determined to get to uni - of course he cared but he's an expert in reverse psychology that one.

Is that what they are getting at?

"There?s a lot of pressure for them, so we wanted to get some outside support."

I had to at that. Sounds very supportive I'm sure.