School and quitting

by shera 34 Replies latest jw experiences

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  shera

  What would you say to a teen who hates school and wants to quit? Please be serious and I would like caring replys please.Thanks!
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  shera

  Now I'm embaressed..I spelled school wrong in the topic!
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  calamityjane

  I don't know, but maybe the mom should go back to school
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  zen nudist

  I made the mistake of not valuing higher education... I saw nothing but partying and it appeared from TV and movies that everyone went to college and so it was no big deal... I went instead to a trade school but dropped out as the end was so near and it was not as I expected things to be.

  now I find out, many years later, that only 1 out of 4 attending college ever graduates and only about 1 out of ten going to high school ever makes it to college and so it is a very valuable thing to show potential employers...even if it is only to show that you can stick with something for four years.

  the time spent is well worth it financially later...but if your child wants to be a prostitute or a parasite on society, or has talent that requires no employment, sure why not drop out.
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  neverthere

  When I was a 16 year old I wanted to quit school my mother let me stay home from school. The requirement to stay home was to look for a job. After 2 weeks I went back to school. I still hated it but having to look for work made me realize that school was important. Perhaps night school would be a better option if day school isn't working out.

  Getting a good paying job without some sort of education is not fun, or easy.Even most of the trades require a minimum of a high school diploma.

  My advice, stay in school, tough it out, it is worth it in the end.

  Diana
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  LittleToe

  I ended up going back as a mature student, and it was tougher the second time around.

  I hated school, when I first went, but wished I'd taken the opportunities it presented.

  These days it's difficult to get a well paid job without a degree.
  It might seem like an easy out, from something that isn't particularly palatable, but later (and likely not all that much later) it will come in useful.

  If I were going to make an equation of it, I'd say:
  Good qualifications = a chance at a good job = a chance at better pay = the chance to travel and meet really cool people!
  
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  NewYork44M

  Now I'm embaressed..I spelled school wrong in the topic!

  hate to bring it up, but you also spelled embarrassed wrong. That is why I always try to spell check before sending.

  In regards to education. I am very passionate. This is in part because of my background of belonging to a group that discourages education. Any success I have had in life can be attributed to my passion of education.

  Your teen needs to understand that to survive in this world, let alone to get ahead, education is crucial. The greatest skill he or she can learn at a young age is the ability to learn. This is the hard part, but once you can get beyond those basic skills that hopefully are taught in high school, a student can begin to think about what productive activity he or she can learn. That is when education can be interesting and perhaps even fun. It is never good to use the argument, "Trust Me," but it applies.
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  xenawarrior

  Shera: It's hard to get a teenager to look beyond today or this weekend. For the most part they don't have the sense of the future like we do. Maybe if you can find a way to express to him/her that their future really does depend on the completion of their education and even further education beyond that- it might help. I don't really know how to go about getting a teen to actually be able to visualize the whole future thing though.

  I work in the employment field and even the lowest paying jobs we have available require a high school diploma or equivalent.

  Maybe if this teen understands that quitting school then puts them into the adult world with adult responsibilities it may change their outlook on things. Does he/she understand economics to the extent of the cost of basic living such as paying rent, utilities, food, clothing and transportation and what all of that requires he/she be earning each week? It's an eye opener for kids to understand that. Once they are in a position of having to fend for themselves in that manner things change in their minds very quickly.

  Does he/she think that it's going to be no school and basically hanging out instead? The realities of having to do "something" whether it's staying in school or going to work may be all that it takes.

  Good luck with this !!

  XW

  Edited to add:

  Have you delved into the "why" of hating school? Is he/she bored? Many bright kids are not challenged enough in school and it becomes very boring to them. Is he/she struggling with making the grade and needs extra help to feel good about the learning that is going on? Getting to the bottom of why he/she wants to quit school may be the first big step. It could be something very resolvable.
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  JH

  I would say NO. You HAVE to finish atleast your secondary schooling to find a job. You'll thank me later...
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  Snow Shoe

  A friend of mine had a similar problem with his son. He took him on a tour around Toronto .. showing him all the jobs that a person without an education would qualify for: burger flipper, Tim Horton's .. etc.. Then showed him the realities of the lifestyle that a minumum wage job brought.

  The hard dose of reality brought his grades up and a university application for next year.

  Something to consider.

  S