5 ms·

It's a shame that this got down voted because there is a bit of truth to it. After my son had an issue similar to this in his sophomore year of high-school he

It's a shame that this got down voted because there is a bit of truth to it. After my son had an issue similar to this in his sophomore year of high-school he choose to simply drop out and get his GED. He wasn't invested in school activities, was a bit of a geek, and too bright for his own good. He also didn't need a scholarship in order to go to college. He got a six month break from school, passed the GED with perfect scores in three sections, scored high on his ACTs & immediately applied to the local university where he was accepted and carried a 3.8 GPA. For me this was a wake up call. I'd never taken school as seriously as my parents, my mom being a school teacher, but I did buy into this myth that high-school graduation was a necessary evil. It turns out that it really can be very optional for some. Once you have a semester or two under your belt at university no employer really cares about a high-school diploma, and for many employers, a non-traditional route can be attractive.

hluska 11y ago
Consider this statement (which the author used to conclude his article): That being said, I heartily do not recommend expulsion as a rite of passage for high school students. I’m fairly certain the extreme levels of stress and anxiety I experienced shaved a few years off my life. I'd argue that your son is lucky to have you - you sound like the kind of parent who not only weathered the storm, but turned it into the best possible experience. If I'm ever in your shoes, I hope that my child comes out the other side looking as good as your son did! Great work.
- patcheudor 11y ago
  That's one of the reasons I share this story as often as I can. I've run into too many parents, mine included who thought that dropping out of high-school is the beginning of a downward spiral. We choose to not look at it that way and instead viewed it as an opportunity for our son to get a jump start on college. Our daughter wanted out of high-school for other reasons and took as many online classes as she could to get out a year early. Our youngest just skipped third grade after switching from a private school to the public school system and we are already preparing for her to drop out and go to college at sixteen. Honestly, I didn't have a good time in high-school, my older two children didn't have a good time in high-school, so I'm more than willing to explore more creative options.
loup-vaillant 11y ago
> Once you have a semester or two under your belt at university no employer really cares about a high-school diploma This felt like a complete non-sequitur. You were talking about education, and suddenly you switch to employment? The purpose of an education is not to serve a boss. These days, in this capitalist world, most of us do have to subject themselves to the will of an employer or another. So we do have to look good to them. Education as I understand it is supposed to help us out of this servitude, so we can be emancipated citizens and responsible adults. Remember, an employee is not free. Better off than a slave or a serf, but still not independent.
- hueving 11y ago
  >Remember, an employee is not free. Free from what? I can choose to quit whenever I want. You are speaking from a pretty privileged background pretending that employees don't have freedom. Freedom doesn't mean you should be able to do whatever you want and have society be forced to support you in doing so.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - foota 11y ago
    I believe parent's point (which I am not agreeing with) was that employee's are not free because in a capitalist society you more or less need to work to survive
    - daniel-cussen 11y ago
      You used to have to hunt to survive. In general you (for like a quadrillion values of "you") have to do something to survive and thrive, and it generally involves depredation or parasitism...comensalism...etc.
    - gandarojin 11y ago
      Especially because employees have to work for someone who tells them what to do.

hluska 11y ago

Consider this statement (which the author used to conclude his article): That being said, I heartily do not recommend expulsion as a rite of passage for high school students. I’m fairly certain the extreme levels of stress and anxiety I experienced shaved a few years off my life. I'd argue that your son is lucky to have you - you sound like the kind of parent who not only weathered the storm, but turned it into the best possible experience. If I'm ever in your shoes, I hope that my child comes out the other side looking as good as your son did! Great work.

patcheudor 11y ago
That's one of the reasons I share this story as often as I can. I've run into too many parents, mine included who thought that dropping out of high-school is the beginning of a downward spiral. We choose to not look at it that way and instead viewed it as an opportunity for our son to get a jump start on college. Our daughter wanted out of high-school for other reasons and took as many online classes as she could to get out a year early. Our youngest just skipped third grade after switching from a private school to the public school system and we are already preparing for her to drop out and go to college at sixteen. Honestly, I didn't have a good time in high-school, my older two children didn't have a good time in high-school, so I'm more than willing to explore more creative options.

loup-vaillant 11y ago

> Once you have a semester or two under your belt at university no employer really cares about a high-school diploma This felt like a complete non-sequitur. You were talking about education, and suddenly you switch to employment? The purpose of an education is not to serve a boss. These days, in this capitalist world, most of us do have to subject themselves to the will of an employer or another. So we do have to look good to them. Education as I understand it is supposed to help us out of this servitude, so we can be emancipated citizens and responsible adults. Remember, an employee is not free. Better off than a slave or a serf, but still not independent.

hueving 11y ago
>Remember, an employee is not free. Free from what? I can choose to quit whenever I want. You are speaking from a pretty privileged background pretending that employees don't have freedom. Freedom doesn't mean you should be able to do whatever you want and have society be forced to support you in doing so.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- foota 11y ago
  I believe parent's point (which I am not agreeing with) was that employee's are not free because in a capitalist society you more or less need to work to survive
  - daniel-cussen 11y ago
    You used to have to hunt to survive. In general you (for like a quadrillion values of "you") have to do something to survive and thrive, and it generally involves depredation or parasitism...comensalism...etc.
  - gandarojin 11y ago
    Especially because employees have to work for someone who tells them what to do.