Shouldn’t School Be About More Than Just Finishing?

by Shelley Burgess

Recently our 16-year-old kid, Fin (formerly known as Ash), approached Dave and me about leaving high school and getting their GED instead. They have done all of the research and are insistent that a GED is perfectly fine for what they want to do. Fin’s future plans include being a scuba diving instructor and a wedding photographer. With those goals in mind, they are finding no connection between school and their future, and so they honestly just don’t see the point anymore.  Outside of school, they have actively taken (and continue to take) the necessary steps and courses to pursue a diving career, and they even plan to do an internship on a dive boat this summer. They know that to have a photography career, they may need to attend a photographic arts institute and start an internship in that field as well. And these learning opportunities make sense to them. High school does not.

We have had several conversations with Fin about school. Honestly, some go better than others because while Fin does not see the point in finishing school, Dave and I continue to try and make school a priority and have been pretty insistent that they need to finish high school, especially since Fin has a 4.0 GPA and is only a semester and a half away from graduating. They actually could finish high school before their 17th birthday.

What is interesting, though, is that our primary argument for why Fin needs to finish high school is just that… because they need to finish.  Finishing is important. Dave actually shared a personal story to them about a coaching job he received. It was down to two candidates, both equally strong, both interviewed well, but ultimately Dave got the job. He later learned that the deciding factor was that Dave had finished college while the other candidate had taken two years of college and dropped out. The job did not require a college degree, but the fact that he finished and the other candidate did not won him the job.

We further shared with Fin that whether we agree with it or not, the reality is that in our society graduating from high school, whether you decide to go to college or not, matters. It communicates that you were able to finish. Even if you didn’t like it, thought it was difficult or boring, you had the “stick-withitness” to make it through.  There are definitely very real circumstances where students need to leave high school, but in Fin’s case, they have all of the resources and support to be able to finish, and we want them to do so. 

What saddens me about this, though, is that finishing is our best argument.  We were not able to make a case for finishing high school based on the learning experiences being offered to Fin. The fact that they do not see a connection between school and what they want to do in the future is grounded in truth, and it is a very real experience for many of the students sitting in our classrooms. I know we are not the only parents out there working hard to try and keep their kids in school even though they feel disconnected, uninspired, and believe school to be irrelevant.

So what do we do about it? How do we get to that place where when parents are having battles with their kids about why they need to go to school, they have better answers than “because it’s important to finish”.  Or better yet, how do we create schools that are so meaningful that fewer and fewer parents have to have these battles at all? 

I know there are many teachers, principals and school systems that are working really hard trying to change what school looks like for kids. They are doing things differently, mixing things up,  innovating and creating relevance for their students. I am guessing YOU might be one of them. To all of you, I say “Thank you!” Keep fighting the good fight to make schools amazing places for our kids. And please share with us on #LeadLAP some of the things YOU are doing to keep kids connected, interested, inspired and wanting more. We are #BetterTogether. -ShelleyPS Have you checked out this incredible podcast interview of Amy Illingworth, author of The Coach ADVenture, by the @WiredEducator with @kellycroy? If not, do so right HERE! You won’t be disappointed.In fact, Croy states, “In this episode of The Wired Educator Podcast, I interview Amy Illingworth, the author of an awesome book from Dave Burgess Consulting, titled The Coach Adventure: Building Powerful Instructional Leadership Skills that Impact Learning. You’re going to need two brains to take in and absorb all of the awesomeness that Amy shares with us in this interview.”Give it a listen right HERE!!