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Kind of random I know but I wanted opinions from people I don't know in RL.

 

Sorry as well I haven't been here in awhile, my mom stole my laptop a few months ago and I couldn't use the internet ony crappy phone. Anyway what's going on is I'm in another state now and it just doesn't seem worthwhile to get into a new school and get thrown in with new people and new teachers and all that, there's been other things I've had to deal with and it's really stressful for me to even think about honestly. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it was at the start of the year, but I don't want to be the new guy everyone is staring at.

 

That's not the only reason of course, I just think it would be more practical to skip the bullshit and and start saving money, and this way I could help with bills and help take care of my brother (he's autistic and does stupid things and gets himself hurt a lot). 

 

I don't think I'm going to ever go to college but I plan to get my GED as soon as I have the money. My grandmother says she doesn't care as long as I have a job and there's a Taco Bell and a McDonalds within walking distance and both are hiring so I don't think that will be a problem. 

 

Is there anything else I'm missing here or is this a bad idea for some reason I'm not thinking of? I can't see any downside but everyone is always like noooo stay in school kids and I'm just like, why?

 

I will try to be around more in the future btw and so reviews of some of the stories I read. I'd like to stay writing again too, but I'm not quite settled in here yet and it depends on how much time I have to spend at work.

I think a better question is: Is it ever a good idea to drop out of high school?

Probably no.

That's what everyone always says, but why though?

I can't see any reason to put off having money and being a contributing member of society. 

 

The thing is, life doesn't get easier, it gets harder. People just get better at handling what's on their plate. Right now, it might seem like it makes sense to just handle the important things more, such as supporting the people who need you.  It gets really easy to tell yourself that you'll take care of yourself when you have the time, when you have the money, but one of the easiest things to do is to overextend yourself for others. Life gets a lot less flexible when you have responsibilities. 

Getting this level of education is the standard. That's why they have the GED thing in the first place. Will you need it? I don't know. Neither do you.  I do know that bypassing this for now puts a restriction on you, though.  Many jobs require a high school diploma or equivalent, so don't let yourself get caught in a trap in which you are struggling to find the time or other resources to get a GED.

 

High school can suck, but it really is your best bet to make sure you set yourself up for a better future. Your odds are vastly better if you don't limit yourself when you can avoid it. 

Can you take college classes on the side in the evening? It only takes a few to skip a grade. Talk to the highschool counselor and he/she might have ideas.

Well…

While there’s been more than a few examples of people not completing high school and still rolling in money later on in life, though that’s more of the exception rather than the rule. That’s one of those cases where you’re pursuing an acting/music dream or perhaps starting your own business and you’ve got a good mind for that sort of thing.

Don’t know if that’s “you” though, chances are if you’re going to just work for Taco Bell with no other greater goal than to help out with bills then this is a bit short sighted.

Not to mention you can work at Taco Bell to save money and still go to school. That’s sort of a standard teenager thing to do (School and fast food job)

Honestly, it’s piss easy to finish high school and just get the shit out of the way. Not sure how much time you have left for high school, but you might as well finish it up and between work it isn’t like you’re going to be “missing out” on the high school hijinx considering you’re saying you’re new and don’t have friends there anyway. (Which you being “new” is going to change eventually in time)

Unless your school situation is SO dire (Like the other kids are kicking the shit out of you everyday) or your family situation is SO horrible, then stay in school.

As far as college goes, yeah don’t bother if you don’t have the money or the inclination. Just go to a trade school.

https://study.com/articles/A_High_School_Diploma_v_the_GED.html

One way to look at it is the value of the thing you're getting. No, not the education, but the piece of paper. There's so much more you can do in your life with the diploma, yes, even when compared to the GED. So don't focus on what you're learning, but on the end goal that will help you longer term.

I was in a similar situation and I did drop out of high school to sustain myself and my younger siblings. For 10 years i worked my ass in rather shoddy jobs for minimum wage. I did helped my sister's to finish they'r studies and then they went on to live their lifes. In the end, you will be burned out, poor and possibly without friends because working and taking care of a household takes way more time then you possibly think. Im doing great now, still with only basic education, yet i have alot of certificates for different positions in heavy industries. Still, it's 10 years down the drain. Unless you're literally starving, finish your damn school. I know they're probably teaching you worthless things from your POV, but as people stated, it's not about the learning, it's about the diploma you get, because without it, many possible gateways to better life will close to you. And i always feel like a fool whenever someone asks me how educated I am. Dont worry about being the new guy, you will be the new guy several times in your life, especially if you will work low wage jobs.

Yikerinos! Let's unpack thiaUghgh, cough, sorry, something stuck in my throat there...

Reading this, it sounds like you've already made up your mind, or are at least really trying to convince yourself, so I'll just to say make sure it's what you REALLY want to do and make sure you've really done your research. (yeah it's wikihow I know but there's a good list of questions to ask yourself here. Ignore the comments obviously, it's a bunch of conflicting information and idiots talking out of their ass, like everything on the internet.)

For real though, you only get this one chance to be a kid in high school and you're going to have the rest of your life to look back at this, so don't base the decision on some dramatic personal reason that will pass. And don't do it because someone IRL may be pressuring you, if that's the situation...it bothers me a little that your grandmother 'doesn't care', I have to say.

I guess my major concern is that it does sound like the main reason is because you don't want to 'deal' with getting used to new people. Is this some social anxiety thing? People do suck, and I despise them, and I get that that kind of anxiety can be a real, physical thing if it's bad enough, but you're going to be dealing with people all your life. Whatever it was like at your old school, I'd think most students aren't going to be out to get the new guy...although that can sometimes be the situation when you start a new job. McDonalds or Taco Bell are going to involve a lot of people, for that matter. I don't think there should be any sort of stigma attached to a job like that and some of them do pay well (and I would assume you don't plan to stay there forever anyway...) but that kind of job is fast paced, many of your co workers will suck, and dealing with customers can be extremely stressful. So it's not a good fit for every personality type.

A candid look at what's pretty much the work environment at every McDonalds, 100% of the time:

Video embed was autoplaying for some people so just have a link until I can fix it lol

I'm not sure exactly what the situation with your brother is or how much care he may need, but you won't be able to use watching him as an excuse to miss work. And of course if the money is the real issue, it's possible to work and go to school at the same time, like End said. A lot of high schools will even help you out with work study programs. High school by itself though, you just have to show up and you can pretty much coast along till graduation. Regardless of your reasons for not wanting to do that, getting a GED will be tougher because it's something you have to actively pursue.

The age requirements vary by state but it's unlikely to be something you'll be able to immediately do. Are you going to still be focused and ready to go for it a year from now? Two years?

Keep in mind also that it's not possible to get a GED online, so don't fall for the various carefully worded scams out there that will take your money for what amounts to a prep course. Is there a testing center near enough that getting to it won't be a problem?

Chris already mentioned Job Corps, and you should look into any other programs available. The key thing if you do drop out is to avoid those years of meandering and flailing that go nowhere and are so common afterwards by having a plan in place. Don't just tell yourself you'll take care of this stuff 'later', treat it as if it's a reality right now. You should figure out all your options, do the research, make phone calls, fill out applications, before you actually pull the trigger on this.

Since it's only what, four months till summer vacation? Why not just go to the new school and see what it's like? If you hate it, don't go back after the break. It may go better than you expect. And in the meantime you could be taking an opportunity while you're there to talk to a school counselor about the availability of work study programs, or even summer or online classes that could speed you through graduation...or there might be other solutions, you just have to tell them what's going on. Whatever your situation, it's not going to be something they've never dealt with before. Most people in public education genuinely do care about kids and want to help. It's not like they're just in it for the shit pay.

(I'm assuming that you've got at least another full year to go after this and aren't meaning to bail with the finish line in site right there in July.)

Last link: http://neatoday.org/2015/06/08/why-students-drop-out-the-economic-pressures-that-make-leaving-school-unavoidable/

National Education Association site, with a list of related articles there with people sharing their own experiences. There's a whole category for 'Students and Social Issues' that may be of interest if you aren't bored by the first one. And although they may contain relatable information, as a person who uses a writing site you might find the lack of proofreading on these articles amusing to spot as a sort of meta game while reading them.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you choose. I don't want to read too much into things, but when you're talking about your mom stealing your shit and then mention you're living with your grandma in another state, it sounds like there may be more to the story there...so just hoping things work out for you in general and keep improving, whatever's going on.

I've been the new guy moving and transferring schools all my life, and I can tell you that it's not nearly as bad as it sounds.  I've also been the guy that decided he didn't need his senior year of high school, that he'd skip all that, get his diploma, and go straight into the workforce.  There's actually nothing I regret more in my life than not seeing high school out to the finish, enjoying my last year of being a kid before fully embracing everything being an adult has to offer.

You've got plenty of good reasons to drop out, of course, but sometimes it doesn't hurt to be a little selfish.  McDonald's, Taco Bell, your brother and grandmother aren't going anywhere.  

Everyone has said what I would, except to bring up the possibility of joining one of the armed services. Both of my sisters did this and made solid careers out of doing so.

This does mean you'll have to get your GED or finish school; finishing school is what I would recommend for all the many reasons give above but then you can start to support your family in a better way than working at McDonalds or Taco Bell.

Also, you can earn college credits through the military, the GI Bill and training you receive directly transferes over sometimes.

You mentioned your writing -- staying in school can provide great material for you to use in your writing too... the people at school, you can use for characters in your stories and their "drama" can often be cribbed to create your own as well.

It is more about avoiding the daily bullshit one more year ... you're going to have decades of the daily type... why not enjoy the less serious bullshit of school for one more year.

This is my take on it.

There's a pretty similar situation going on with a family I know through my old job right now and I'm so tempted to send them this thread, lots of good advice in here.

This is way more of a response than I expected, thank you all so much. I'm really overwhelmed with big gay feelings here.

It seems like most of you are telling me not to be in a rush on this so I promise I'll do more research before making any decision. I'm going ahead and just starting at the new school for now since I can drop out any time if it looks like that's the best thing, and I'll be sure to talk to a counselor. Graduating early would be the best thing but I may have a lot to do just to catch up when I'm coming in to classes right in the middle of the year, and I still intend to be working too. Summer classes might be expensive but I'll have to find out more.

Without going into it too much the problem right now is that my brother and I were just suddenly dumped on my grandmother, my mom is completely out of the picture and my brother is being unreasonable and not handling the situation well no matter how many times I explain it, so I'm just trying to do everything I can to help and not be a burden.  

This sounds like a good approach. Don't be in a rush to burn bridges. 

This sort of thing can be overwhelming for anyone, just keep that in mind. 

ye

no you dumb bastard, you literally can't do anything without a diploma 

I said I'd be getting a GED if I did it. But good to know that for you getting a diploma was so easy it didn't require you learn to read.

Man, Coins must just radiate beta-ness for a noob to just instinctively go after him like that.

Personally, I don't believe you should drop out of school, as it'll provide a temporary solution; however in the long-run, it won't be efficient, and also, the way that I was brought up (in an Asian environment where education and studying was expected), our views will differ., However, I believe that it's not the greatest idea, as you should attempt to go to college to achieve a higher education (in a field which you love, mind you), so that you'll have a higher chance of obtaining a job which pays well, and which you love doing. 

Obviously, sometimes life doesn't go out to what you want it to be, and it can all backfire, but I truly believe that you should pursue higher education, as it'll be more beneficial in the end, and you'll also make wonderful friends, memories; and you'll be doing the things you want to pursue in the future. 

Wow, this is an interesting one... I am glad the forums have had such lively discussion.

To answer the part about school, it depends on what you want to do with your life. I think there is benefit to staying in school personally, but if you have something else your time would be better spent on, then go for it. Also, people who know you "in RL" usually are better sources of advice. Unless we are talking about writing, you have no idea what anyone here is actually like. Why listen to the voices on the internet over people who know you?

I won't tell you to do one or the other. Allow me to offer a few things you might want to think about before you make the decision though:

• How much will you be able to save if you drop out? If the point is to drop out because you can start "saving money," then you should know how much more you can make/save dropping out vs. getting a part-time job while in school. Knowing the benefit is key to making big decisions.
• Long term how will this impact you? Are there things, other than the immediate difference of X$ per month in savings, that you could be missing out on from not going to school? If you want to work a career eventually, does that career require a high school diploma? Some do, some don't. The GED might also open the door to whatever career you want but check before deciding.
• Have you considered going to school to meet people in this new state? Sounds like you assume they will all treat you poorly or judge you as the new kid. That might not be true, and you could have dozens of potential friends waiting for you. It is possible to go to school and check before making a decision as well. Most stress is caused by fears that are worse than the situation itself. If you go and it is stressful to deal with a bunch of mean kids, then you could drop out at that point.

You are the one that has to live with your choices, but I don't recommend doing anything you haven't thought about a bit.