by Drew Price

Created on: February 14, 2008

Today I had quite an interesting conversation with one of my under achieving students. He was quite discouraged because he was failing a few courses, including mine. He expressed to me how much he disliked school, and how he thought everything was pointless. He admitted to me that he thinks people should be educated, but he doesn't think he is one of those people. To him, high school is a threatening place where he gets made fun of constantly, and is griped at by his teachers for not doing his work. His lack of effort in class is undoubtedly tied to his self esteem issues.

I spent some time explaining to him that I can see his potential and that I know for a fact he has the ability to graduate high school, but he didn't seem to be interested. He began asking about other options like getting his GED, going to an alternative school, or simply dropping out. Of course, I did my best to explain to him how important a diploma would be for his future, and after giving it a little thought he decided that an education would not be much help for his career as a professional skateboarder. He said he wouldn't mind working dead end jobs, because he would eventually be sponsored and become rich.

However unlikely this may be, is there a better way to address this situation. Will making this student suffer through three or four more years of school (assuming he passes) really benefit him? Will forcing him to stay in school against his will cause problems within the school? How old does one need to be to decide for themselves? I don't have the answers, but I do think there are programs designed specifically for these students; the problem is we are not placing them into these programs soon enough.

The programs I am talking about removes students from the traditional school environment and places them on a fast track to graduation. The sad thing about these programs is that these students are receiving a very watered down education. However, when compared to the alternative which is no education at all, I think these programs may be a possible solution. Not every person desires to obtain that free education our country so graciously offers them. Who are we to force them to? I realize that requiring an education for the purpose of creating responsible, law abiding citizens is important. But, allowing so many kids to drop out due to lack of alternatives is doing just the opposite.

After discussing his future goals, explaining to him how confident I was he could make it if he tired, I knew there was nothing else I could say to him to make him feel the way I feel about education. As much as I would love to see this student walk across the stage on graduation day, I would also hate to see him literally suffer in the hall ways for three more years continuing the damage to his self esteem. I spoke to a counselor who will determine if an alternative placement would be beneficial for him.

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