16 years old and I want to drop out?

Question

I have a secure job, I'm going to drop out no matter what and get my ged or just uit going so save the whole youre going to be a bum thing and the biggest mistake of your life speech ive heard it before. I want my parents to unenroll me so I can go to adult school and take the ged test but my mom says she might not and i told her then im just gonna fail out then when im 18 drop out neways so it would be better this way i havent really tried in school for almost 4 years and i failed this year. So i really dont see the point of her keeping me in school where all i do is sleep and read my book and talk to my friends when i can do the same thing at my house and work more hours and i even said i would pay rent. So my question is why would she keep me in school when im not working and all i do is get myself into trouble?

its my life shouldnt I make the decision? and if i unenroll now i will defintiely get my ged if i wait til im 18 i might just quit and not get it and I SAID NO "DONT DROP OUT SPEECHES!!!"

Answer 1

Hello sweetheart. When I was 17 I dropped out. I was tired of school then found out I was pregnant. I went back to adult school at 19 and graduated 3 months later at 20. I felt so much better. At adult school it was like home schooling but in a class room. Everybody kept to their self and it was no drama like high school. I think that dropping out of high school is best for you. I mean I received my high school diploma from an adult school and they told me that a GED & Diploma are the same thing. So, shoot go ahead and drop out. Just because you drop out of high school does not mean you are a bum! I dropped out had my son and moved out, I'm still living on my own with a 2yr old. Good luck and I wish you the best in life. Hey you already have a job you sound like a smart guy and this is a very smart decision since you're only going to get into trouble at school. Start looking for a book so you can study for the GED test!!!

Answer 2

------i can do the same thing at my house and work more hours and i even said i would pay rent--------

Exactly! Ultimately, though it IS high risk, it is also your choice: you are not neglecting responsibility or doing anything else wrong.
I would suggest you get a GED early on though and take the community college route (which is very cheap)...if you are smart you will score well at community college regardless of going to high school. AFTER taking a semester's worth of community college with good grades I would say you are set.

Worst case scenario you job will fire you and/or never provide you with enough money to live the way you want...in that case the community college grades will get you into a real university (the same type a better-than-GED diploma would) & you could take out a student loan and get a degree that would get you "the real job".
Best case scenario
1) You'll find you niche on the job and get promoted without the college degree. It happens to great workers, they start low level but have great ideas and are hard workers and eventually become managers...I had a friend with ADD who got D's who now make $100,000/yr at Apple because, unlike school, he loves doing "real work".
2) You'll find yourself enjoying other things in life beside money. Many people have fulfilling lives living in cheap apartments with one or no kids, say, simply because they enjoy things like the people in their lives MUCH more than material wealth (IE the extra $10,000-15,000 a year from a college degree).

BEST LUCK!

Answer 3

you're probably a sophomore, so only 2 years to go. school sucks, i know how you feel, but your life will get a lot easier if you get your high school diploma. you're fine with your life right now, but things might change in the future. your keeps you in school because she wants you to have the widest range of options in your future. getting your ged is good, but why not go the whole haul and get your diploma? there are plenty of jobs that don't require schooling, not even a high school diploma, but i think it's just the best thing you can do with your future. if you ever decide you want college or a job that might require a high school diploma, then you're all set. stick with it till you've graduated, then work full time at your job and do whatever you want. i know how you feel and you're not going to become a bum, my cousin dropped out of school and he's a totally secure, happy person. but he wishes he had graduated. he feels kinda ashamed that he was so apathetic in school that he didn't even want to graduate. at least achieve this, come on. GEDs are really hard to get. school isn't for everyone and it doesn't benefit everyone, but in this world you need to finish it.

Answer 4

I won't give you 'THE SPEECH' but i want to ask you to think about whether you are having difficulty learning... for some of us (yes me too) it's very difficult to learn everything that's thrown at us....

Some kids have difficulty reading, because of learning disabilities.. this doesnt make us freaks or anything... and my son had a terrible time because he had a problem seeing letters and words as they were shown on the page...

If you think you have some sort of problem, you can get tutoring for this. I really do feel that a lot of us who are disinterested in finishing school, have some sort of problems learning... and its no one's fault, it's just life, and everyone's brain interprets things differently.

Meanwhile, if you are driven to quit school and get your GED, then do it i guess ? But while you are failing all your classes on purpose, maybe you can decide whether you might have some issues with reading, etc? You will NEED to be able to read and maybe even use math during the rest of your life....

just a suggestion and idea i had...

i wish you ALL THE BEST in everything you do!!!

Answer 5

Dropping out of school is more than you think it is. You need to learn the things that they teach you. Your mother is suppose to raise you to be a productive citizen and to do what is right for you. Letting a 16 year old make life altering decisions is not what is best for you. Stop trying to quilt her into it. You will need a good work ethic to make it out there. From your school habits I think you need to work on that. If you have not tried or you have not learned in school how do you know you can even pass the GED test? What is a secure job? Can you support yourself completely on it if you had to? I would think long and hard about what you are doing.

Answer 6

She's a mom she is just trying to look out for what she thinks is best for you! it is a natural instinct! I left school and went to adult Ed and got my GED too! it was a way better choice for me! Some kids are better independent learners! And a lot of parents don't relize that! There are kids that do really well with a teacher lecturing you,there are some kids that do better when they can actually get there hands on and do it! and then there are kids that are independent learners that do better when they can read the material themselves and gather the information for themselves without someone trying to teach it to you! thats the way I'am and from what I can tell thats the way you are! I studied the material and passed my GED no problem. If it's better for you that way than go for it!

Answer 7

Take the high school profiency test if you can....its the same as a ged but you can take it before you are 18.....I say go for it....you can go back later if you feel like it,and a ged is no different really than a diploma (and really most jobs dont check that stuff out....its either college needed, or they dont care)

Answer 8

You're getting so close to the finish line. It is foolish to drop out now. GEDs just don't carry as much weight as a regular diploma. Do as you will though. I don't know the real figures. But you should expect $2000-8000 a year less in earnings for the rest of your life as a result of your dropout decision.
If I were your father, we would definitely have a fight on this. And if I was wealthy enough, you would find yourself in a military academy by Christmas. There you would have virtually no choice. Even mentioning a desire to drop out would result in endless pushups, running the track or riding the cassion all night. And more if necessary.

Answer 9

your parents care about you and your future, what if that secure job goes out? there are alot of people who think like you and those people probably want to take the job before others do, so waiting 2-3 more years is better than doing it now. your parents want you to stay in school since the world continually move, the gas prices goes up, sooner or later the house rent and 'what not' rises, all of that and your salary might not be enough, you would have to work harder. but if you do stay in school, you work hard, get a good paying job then and there, and you'll have less pain and less stress, a better life, and you dont have to take it again.

Answer 10

And do you intend to spend the rest of your life flipping burgers at Mickey D's, or delivering pizzas? You ARE MAKING THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF YOUR LIFE- and you are going to really regret it later, when you finally have to live on your own and support yourself ( your parents won't live forever, and they aren't getting any younger, you know) and try to pay bills and maybe support a family on a minimum wage salary. Why HAVEN'T YOU TRIED IN SCHOOL, pal? Is it because you have a problem with learning and study, or is it that you are just LAZY as hell and think the world owes you a living? You have admitted to sleeping in school- that tells me that you are too lazy and selfish to even care about your own future and life. MAN, are YOU ever IMMATURE !! School is for people who want to have a decent life and career- it's your meal ticket and a ticket out of the area you live in now, if you want that. Knowledge is power, pal- and ignorance is not only not bliss, it's also EXPENSIVE.

As for why your mom is keeping you in school, the answer is obvious to me, as it would be to any professional who is looking at your situation. You are a spoiled brat who needs to grow up and take a serious reality check. Life does not owe you a living, and the world doesn't revolve around you. You need to have someone around who can make you do the things which are necessary to keep you from winding up on welfare or in prison before you are 21 years old. Schools are good that way- at least they keep you off the streets and away from a world that can be dammed ugly at times. Not finishing school is stupid, plain and simple. At your age, you should be thinking about college and a career, not how to drop out of school. A college degree is a necessity in today's labor market- no one I have ever heard of ever gets far without one. Your mom undoubtedly knows all of this, and I am sure she's very worried about what you will do if you do drop out- there are a lot of kids your age who wind up in jail because they have way too much time on their hands with nothing to do. And you ARE A KID, pal- you are still a minor in the eyes of the law, and that means your mom is responsible for both your welfare and your behavior. There's another side to this as well- your mom wants you to have a chance at a better life than she had at your age, did you ever consider or think of that? The only way that will ever happen is if you get an education. Do you really want to be 40 years old someday and still flipping burgers or delivering pizzas for a living? Wouldn't you want to work in an office, out of the weather, and drive a nice car? Don't you want to have a house of your own someday? What about getting married and having a family- I presume that you will want to do that at some point, most people do. None of these things will ever be possible for you if you don't stay in school and get enough education to qualify for college. There's more to life than high school, pal- much more. High school is fleeting, but the rest of your life is forever. Don't waste it or throw it away. Enough said.