Let's face it: Traditional school from 8-3 is not for everyone. For a variety of reasons, some students cannot or do not benefit from a traditional form of education. Reading things out of a textbook, or even looking information up on-line is not for them. There must be alternatives for them.

I teach in a small program in Northern California. I have taught in a regular classroom.
Many of these kids have failed at other schools, both traditional or non-traditional. I have kids who haven't gone to school for as much as three years. Where were their parents when they weren't going to school?

Our program is small, generally around 22 students enrolled at any one time. About 13-15 students show up at any one time. If I get any more than that, it is a plus. We are trying to preparing them to earn their GED, an alternative to a high school diploma, accepted by many colleges throughout the nation. Some of the kids have skills so low, that we have to start from virtually first grade type work. (The GED test has been estimated to measure the skills at the 9th or 10th grade level.)

We offer these kids the opportunity to learn skills that are going to help them, though many of them see it as just another school that they have to go to. (In some cases they do have to be here, otherwise they will be incarcerated in juvenile Hall.)

We offer them guidance, hoping they will take it, but we can only go so far. We can't force them to take the help that we try to give them.

This is our alternative.

Learn more about this author, Tom Ontis.
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