School

[Brittany]

I've asked this before, searched the web for answers, but haven't found the answer I'm looking for.

I live in California, I'm 17 and will be 18 in January. I took the CHSPE passed the English, failed the math. I plan on taking it again, but I need to find someone, like a tutor, to teach me math. I do plan on going to college, after I take a few months off of school.

However I attend a Charter school (if that makes any difference). And I would like to opt out of it, I am afraid to speak to them about it. I know they'll probably try to get me to stay, I'm afraid I'll bend to their will.

Has anyone on here opted out of high school? what do I need to do? do I need to sign papers? My parents are behind me in this.

I'm having conflicting feelings about this though, which I shouldn't. I already have an idea of what I want to be career wise, and what I need to do to get there. But will I be able to do it? I don't want to be lazy, =[ should I just stay in school? ugh.

For the record I was held back in 1st grade, so instead of being in 12th grade I'll be in 11th.

Help Please.

[Louise Gibson]

Hi there,
a great book for you read would be Weapons of Mass Instruction, by John Taylor Gatto, he talks a lot about kids who have 'dropped out', it may really inspire you.
Also have a look at the story of the girl about your age in Michigan who started Whateverlife, and is now a millionairess, she dropped out too.

I'd love to hear if you did drop out, and what you are now doing etc.

Best of luck.

[Patty Rede]

Hi there,

We also live in California. In October there is an "Unschooling Your Teen Conference" and from what I've read they will be dealing with exactly these types of issues. My son is 12 and we are looking forward to getting some input so I will be attending.

Hope this helps. Here's the link: http://www.homefires.com/seminars/teen.asp

[Scott]

I dropped out of high school in California.

I was a straight A student who got sick of the drugs, the gangs and the stupidity.

I started writing well researched essays and doing presentations critical the system and that created a lot of problems.

At the time, you could do it if you were 16 and had a parent's permission. I told my parents I wasn't going back to school and they agreed with my decision. There was no attempt from my high school to get me to stay, only after I had left did a district counselor take a look at my record and test results and say "holy shit!" He actually came out to the house to talk and was a good guy who offered some alternatives but my decision had already been made and the paperwork filed. I'm afraid I don't know what paperwork was involved. I do know that it helped to say that I was scheduled to take the GED and was planning to enroll in college, and both of these I did do. The GED was the easiest test I ever took, it was outrageous to me that it is designed so 50% of high school graduates fail it. That proves the system has failed. Any homeschooled 10 year old could pass that GED.

The first year out of school I worked fast food to save money. The second year I sailed across the pacific ocean on a 27 ft sailboat. The third year I enrolled in college and managed to graduate from a top school Summa Cum Laude with an engineering degree.

For a bright kid who has been through the system, the absolute best thing you can do is drop out of school and the sooner the better. The system is there to indoctrinate and oppress you.

From what I've read here and there, nowadays the system does not like the fact that many of the drop outs are the ones who were smart enough to realize the system is not there to help them or educate them. As a result some states are instituting rules like you can't get a drivers license until age 21 if you are a drop out. Also they are tightening up restrictions on the ability to enroll in college. This is all BS of course. The answer is to go sailing until you are 18, start your own at-home internet business, or move to another state that lets you enroll, assuming college is your goal at this point.

College is way better than high school. However, realize college has become something of a racket lately too. Don't go into any debt over it, by which I mean don't accept any student loans. Pay as you go. Do the first two years at a community college and work through it. Be selective in choosing your university to transfer to. Don't go to a rip off for profit school like Phoenix or ITT, and don't go to a foo foo prestigious place like Harvard. There are lots of great small colleges that have teachers there who are really into knowledge.

This is just my perspective of course and should be taken lightly at best.

If I had it to do over again, I would have skipped college and started working for myself 6 years earlier. Or possibly I would have majored in something less practical like classical studies; it would have been a better use of my time than engineering, which I already was expert in.

[eintob]

My eldest (18 in 4 weeks) was home educated from 1st grade on. Two years ago he enrolled in a charter high school for the spring semester of his sophomore year. He wanted to know what high school was like. He stuck it through the semester and retook two of the classes that he chose to fail over summer. When the fall semester came he chose not to return. The AZ law may be different, but all that was required was for me to go into the school office and fill out a form saying he was leaving. We didn't say he was "dropping out"...we marked that he was going "back" to homeschooling. They preferred that as well so he wasn't contributing to the drop-out rate stats that way.

His home-ed-antagonistic grandparents are fond of speaking disparagingly of him as a drop out but really he was just a homeschooled kid experimenting with school for a semester.

With regards to getting a tutor- do you feel that you can't learn more math on your own? I'm finishing my AA and pretty much only need to deal with my math requirements. I'm going to try to test out of as much algebra as I can. To prep myself I'm going through the videos on the Khan Academy website. Might something like that work for you?

[Brittany]

Thanks everyone. As it is now, I am still attending high school, for the Geometry class, so it'll better my chances of pacing the CHSPE. My plan is/was to eventually attend community college, but not until I feel ready, get my feet wet, or just get out in the world. I am entertained by the thought of getting a job and saving up money. First step is I need to pass the CHSPE. And just feel confident in what I want, and my abilities. Thanks once again.