Do you have a son or daughter who is struggling in high school and wants to quit smoking?
Anyway, what problems do high school dropouts face?
When guiding your young adult, you may want to keep the following in mind.
– Labor challenges
Most people understand the difficulties of finding a job that can provide a living wage. Add to that basic challenge the lack of a good education and high school dropouts just pile up against themselves.
Without a high school diploma or its equivalent, many alumni find themselves looking for jobs rather than keeping them. Especially in today’s uncertain economic times, a high school dropout can find themselves competing for jobs alongside graduate applicants.
The fundamental qualities of a good education cannot be underestimated. However, communicating this profound truth to your son or daughter can be extremely difficult.
Consider browsing a career website or classified jobs section of your local newspaper with your teenager. Ask him what careers interest him and why. Then talk about the qualifications that those positions require, and why! For example, does your teenager want a high school dropout dental hygienist to fix his teeth? Why not?
– Poverty
Not surprisingly, without a competent education, many high school dropouts face the problem and pain of poverty. The real issue here is not your lack of funds, as many college students and recent graduates also face a financial life as they settle into their new positions.
The real problem here is that a high school dropout may well be contemplating a life of poverty. There are exceptions, of course. As an example, the former student who recognizes the difficulties before her, can take a 180 degree turn and enter the world of entrepreneurship without much formal education.
This scenario can and does occur, but it is rare. In most cases, it is much easier to lay a solid educational foundation first and then build on it to exclusively attend hard knocks school. However, both ways work!
– Added frustrations
Young adults who drop out of high school face more than financial and career hurdles in the real world. Your lack of education can manifest itself in other ways as well.
For example, these young adults often hamper their own judgment and perspective when they severely limit their education. A good education is not just about academics; a large part is about learning about yourself and the world around you. About how we can reasonably take our place and contribute.
Some alumni have the perception that “the world” is standing in their way. They get angry and frustrated at their apparent lack of options. Sometimes this can lead to depression or even alcohol or drug abuse. Teens who reach this point often find it increasingly difficult to muster the courage, tenacity, and discipline necessary to turn such a downward cycle.
– The rest of the image
Fortunately, there are alternatives to these bleak scenarios. The alumnus who can honestly see herself and consider the following can make the changes necessary to change her life.
* Why did you drop out of high school? The real reason and not the socially acceptable one that he has been telling his friends.
* Do you have an untapped drive or ambition (almost always the case) that just wasn’t developing in a traditional school setting?
* Have you taken an honest look at the way the real world works? Not the fleeting, flashy, image-based world of the media, but the real, everyday world of history, faith, and community?
The problems for many high school dropouts are real and potentially serious. However, these challenges do not have to limit life. One of the best parts of being an adult is that you can choose a new path.
A new way of doing things.
Starting today.
Consider introducing the young adult in your life a new way of looking at your future.
