Hello. I’m a 11th grade student. I have a problem that needs to be addressed: I’ve tolerated school up to about the second semester of last year and then now I just don’t tolerate it. Feels like I’m stuck in the building.
To get to the point: I’m nearly failing 3 of my classes, but I don’t care much anymore
I’m just not going to apply myself until I know for sure that my work actually matters because right now all of high school seems like a waste of time. I just want to take online classes for semester two online and then transfer the credits before semester two starts in the school so that I won’t have to go to school for the rest of the semester. I wouldn’t have to see all the annoying people again, it’s an easy A, there’s no teacher telling me what to do , and the classes are be flexible - I could do that and be productive at the same time.
What do you think?
What I really want to apply myself to is my pressure washing business - my passion that I’ve been dead set on for the past 1 year or so. If I was out of school already, that’s exactly what I would be doing. I want to dual enroll into UNG for business management (yes, my gpa is almost high enough).
Everyone’s telling me I’m deluded. I hate it. There’s no way.
How are you going to run a business if you only put in effort when it suits you? Customers will be happy to tell you what to do and they’ll take their business elsewhere if you give them an attitude about it.
What do you find so annoying about the other students?
That’s tough, but think of it this way. Just block them out and prove them out by dedicating yourself to working harder, and you only have another year and half to endure before you’ll never see them again.
If you are in 11th grade you are almost done with high school. Make the best of it. Focus on the positive. If there are no positives focus on the end of the day when you can leave the building and go home.
Your business sounds great. Keep working on it and go for it! But, you have to get through high school.
Do some research before you switch to online. Some high school online courses aren’t as flexible you might think. Some are very rigorous, and most have a teacher on the other end. You also have to figure out who will administer final exams. Sometimes you have to jump through hoops to get to the next point in life. Know what you might ge getting into.
You’re choosing a non traditional path, so you’re going to face some resistance. That doesn’t make your idea stupid or unworkable, but others are going to see “non-traditional” as"'wrong." And “Other students” tend to be like some of the kids here-- 16 or 17 year old kids with no more life experience than you, who somehow see themselves as experts.
Question: Is the sub context here about bullying? About not fitting in? Or is this about coursework in pursuit of your dream? I think it makes a difference in my answer.
You may regret not applying ourself and may not realize it until the damage is done. Life is about learning to do things we may not enjoy immediately, but keeping options open for the future. If there is bullying, talk to your parents and to the administration. If you enjoy your pressure washing business, keep it up. As we enter fall/winter, that may drop down and it seems to be a bit of a seasonal industry. Great time to focus on academics!
I would put effort into your classes because it will help you in the long run. I agree that if there’s bullying then it needs to be addressed. Is homeschooling a possibility? What state are you in?
OK, you’re questioning that your work really matters and that high school is a waste of time, but also saying that your GPA is “almost” high enough to get into the school you want to go to. So clearly, high school grades matter to what you want to achieve. If it helps you, think of high school and the grades as a means to an end, the end being the mgmt degree and your own business.
What are people telling you that you are deluded about? Running your own business? It’s a great goal and congrats for starting it up already.
There are teachers in online school and it’s not necessarily and easy A. Can you talk to a guidance counselor at school? Not necessarily about “talk me into staying here” but “here are my goals, here are the obstacles I see, can you help me work out a solution?”
I am not sure what strangers on the internet are going to tell you that I’m guessing your parents, teachers, and GC haven’t already tried tell you. But gotta ask — do you plan to still be running your power washing business when you are 55? Do you expect to be able to support a family with it? It is a field with low barriers to entry — anyone can buy some equipment and get into it. Hard to build it into something substantial.
I own a small business, and over the years have gotten a lot of mileage out of basic business classes I took in college. Knowing something about accounting, finance, marketing, business operations, information technology, business law, etc has proved useful time and again. My advice if you want to own a business is to graduate from high school, and at least get an associates degree from a CC with some business classes.
And if you only work hard in life when it suits you - life is going to kick you in the teeth a lot of times. Developing a stronger work ethic will really pay off.
@bjkmom
Good point. My parents are already telling me “no” about the online courses. What do I say?
@intparent
You are the first person besides me that said it’s ok to go for a 2 year degree for my situation. What makes you say that? My parents are going to “make” me get a 4 year degree. And even if I do need a four year degree when I expand, I could just go back to college.
Guidance counselor and parents seemed like they were thinking more of some kind of “Plan B” plan where I get a four year degree and a job. Sounds more like a “plan A” plan to me though. It makes me think that my parents don’t think I’m serious about this pressure washing business.
I’ve been doing those clep exams with much success - I’m very pleased.
Well, you don’t seem very inclined to get a 4 year degree. And an associates degree is better than no degree at all. It is a LOT easier to get a degree now than later when you have a family and responsibilities. You give yourself a lot more options in life if you get the degree. But… again, I’m guessing everyone is telling you that, but you think you’ve got it figured out. I personally don’t think you have it figured out, and will be sorry later. But no one can make you work at academics. You have to decide that you will be better off in the longer term.
If this makes any difference, the US Dept of Labor released these statistics for 2017:
“Median weekly earnings for workers without a high-school diploma were $488, compared with $668 for those with a high-school diploma. Workers with some college or a two-year associate degree earned $761 and workers with bachelor’s degrees or advanced degrees earned $1,193 – about two-and-a-half times the weekly earnings of workers without a high-school diploma and roughly twice the earnings of high-school graduates.”
Get evaluated for depression. Something is going on…make sure you are making these decisions, not depression.
Get a HS diploma. No matter what. Talk to you guidance counselor about options for this. Maybe you stick with the normal path and do power washing in summer/weekends. Maybe you have an alternative HS. Maybe you have a vocational program. Maybe there is some kind of online system. Maybe there is night classes for GED. But get that diploma…it will give you many more options in the future.
Check into dual enrollment…you can get out of your HS and it’s people, and take some businessy courses
Are you good at doing an online class without the structure of a class? I know I am terrible at that…but will you be more focused?
@bopper
Hello. I can do an online class without the structure of a class and I even completed geometry over the summer. I’m in the process of doing gov/econ class.
My mom even says I’m a self-starter, however there’s a problem: My mom isn’t going to let me take these online classes for the second semester “no matter what” because she thinks that having a social life is important. I even offered to pay for all the classes myself. I said “easy A” and my dad gave a sardonic “haha”. Nothing’s working.
Maybe there is some kind of compromise or deal to be made here. You commit to staying in school next semester, applying yourself and bringing those grades up, and developing your social life. If you meet some sort of definable goals (grades, etc), your parents’ end of the bargain is to seriously consider your wish to complete your schooling online for senior year or you get to dual enroll for business management like you want to.
I have to say, the fact that you are failing three classes right now is taking away any leverage that you have. Your parents are probably looking at it like “he cant even get As now in a structured class there’s no way we’re letting him switch to online classes and give up his college education” and don’t see your perspective of “I’m miserable and don’t want to apply myself here, so I’m not.”
There are several kids in our suburb who started landscaping businesses in high school, continued in college and summers, and the oldest one has built a very successful company. They did it while in school, high school and college.