I was extremely bored in high school. What did I do? I negotiated agreements with teachers to let me go to the library or gym instead of class, as long as I still aced tests and didn't cause trouble. I took calculus my freshman year. I substituted in a couple classes at a community college.
I was lucky to have parental support, and top-class school administration, but working out this sort of arrangement seems less extreme and more practical than dropping out.
Not all school districts will allow such arrangements. Unfortunately some districts are hostile to anything that smells of treating students in an unequal way.
But also, if you consider taking classes in test only form ok, why not simply drop out and take the GED?
My hometown had a program where you could get a district diploma with a GED and a few key credits (which you could take at community or state college easily enough if you preferred).
> But also, if you consider taking classes in test only form ok, why not simply drop out and take the GED?
I enjoyed playing sports. I had really outstanding English, Civics, and History teachers. I had a lot of (not always positive, but useful still) social contact with my peers. High school is full of good things, just not all the time. Take the good, find a way around the bad. I don't think I'd be a better person today if I didn't experience high school.
I think the most important advice they could get at this stage is to take control of their environment, and if something isn't the way they like it they should fight until it is.
It's easy to think that school is like a railroad, that the course is set and cannot be changed, but really it is just that there's only a few paved roads, and people will complain that they are stuck in traffic. If you have the inclination, you can go off-roading and have a blast. It just takes a little effort to get started.
Comments
I was extremely bored in high school. What did I do? I negotiated agreements with teachers to let me go to the library or gym instead of class, as long as I still aced tests and didn't cause trouble. I took calculus my freshman year. I substituted in a couple classes at a community college.
I was lucky to have parental support, and top-class school administration, but working out this sort of arrangement seems less extreme and more practical than dropping out.
Not all school districts will allow such arrangements. Unfortunately some districts are hostile to anything that smells of treating students in an unequal way.
But also, if you consider taking classes in test only form ok, why not simply drop out and take the GED?
My hometown had a program where you could get a district diploma with a GED and a few key credits (which you could take at community or state college easily enough if you preferred).
> But also, if you consider taking classes in test only form ok, why not simply drop out and take the GED?
I enjoyed playing sports. I had really outstanding English, Civics, and History teachers. I had a lot of (not always positive, but useful still) social contact with my peers. High school is full of good things, just not all the time. Take the good, find a way around the bad. I don't think I'd be a better person today if I didn't experience high school.
I think the most important advice they could get at this stage is to take control of their environment, and if something isn't the way they like it they should fight until it is.
It's easy to think that school is like a railroad, that the course is set and cannot be changed, but really it is just that there's only a few paved roads, and people will complain that they are stuck in traffic. If you have the inclination, you can go off-roading and have a blast. It just takes a little effort to get started.