Hi. My name is Theresa. The worst years of my life were in high school. I was never one of the popular kids in school. I was actually probably one of the least popular. I hated almost every minute of it. I hated physical education, English, math, science, and everything else. The only class that I liked was Army JROTC.
By Florida state law, the youngest I could drop out of school without parental consent was sixteen. But I hated school so much that I was ready to dropout by the time I was fifteen. Even the best days were driving me out of my mind. I couldn’t even try to make myself want to go to school. I would wake up wishing that I could just pull the pillow over my head and forget everything, that I could close my eyes and disappear.
Finally, in what should have been my junior year, I turned sixteen. With all the problems I had between being bullied and dealing with teachers that did not want to deal with teenagers, I had failed three classes in my sophomore year. This caused me to fall behind, and I would not be able to graduate with my classmates. I went to speak with my counselor; I needed to find out how to make dropping out of school a reality.
I went to the counselor’s office and sat waiting for my turn. Once my turn came, I knew that I was not going to have it easy.
My counselor couldn’t understand how someone as smart as me made the grades I did. She couldn’t believe I would be stupid enough to want to quit school. Then she asked me question after question about my plans.
I told her that I wanted to get a job and move to my own place.
She said that, at my age, the only places that would hire me were fast food joints. She also said that most people would not rent a room or an apartment to someone under eighteen.
I couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t just give me the paperwork! Why was she stalling?
Truth was that she wanted to talk to me about the dropout prevention program. A local program housed twenty kids each for two shifts. The program was known as “Storefront School”. Kids that went to it also had to hold a part time job and maintain passing grades. My counselor told me that the students learned on a computer and could work at their own pace.
Once the counselor found the information on the program, she called my parents to set up a conference with all of us. We sat in her office as she explained that, as a dropout, I would be losing out on many opportunities. I would not be able to go to college, get into the military, or fulfill any of my other life goals.
As a way to keep me in school, my counselor told me that I should go to Storefront School to see what they could offer me at least.
But I decided to go for it.
One of the criteria to get into the program was to drop out of high school. I quit school, and then took the “Test of Adult Basic Education”. When I took the test, I passed with such a high grade that the site said I could actually get my GED. The thing was, though, that I looked forward to walking in a graduation ceremony. So, Storefront it was.
When I went to the school, I about had a heart attack. It was a very small store converted into a classroom The place barely fit into its own tiny office that. The students there all had one thing in common: if it was not for Storefront, they would have either quit or been expelled from school.
I was skeptical. What could I learn in only four hours? How would this help me get the education required to graduate?
My first day, I spoke with their counselor for an hour. I found out that this would happen weekly. I only felt comfortable talking to him about generic issues; that was as far as I trusted him. Plus, every day I had to write two pages in a journal about both school related and home related information. The school required their students to write in the journal to ensure that there weren’t hidden reasons that their studies suffered.
When it came to learning, they sat me down at a computer while two teachers walked around the room to assist students with questions about their assignments. During math classes, I was split to two classes at one time, instead of just one. I suffered with geometry so much that they wanted me to work on it only when the volunteer math tutor was there. He was an older gentleman, a college professor.
Dr. B, the math tutor, knew that he and I had two loves in common. We both loved tennis and chess. He was willing to talk math to me in terms that I understood: he would convert math into one of those topics depending on the lesson, and I was instantly able to understand what he was talking about.
During the next four months, I went to school for four hours, and then walked across the road to work. I learned more in those four months than I had learned in my entire high school career.
I also learned so many things about myself. I learned that I have a photographic memory and speed reading capabilities, which made the traditional classroom lessons boring to me. Because I was able to work at my own pace, I went through two-and-a-half years worth of credits in only four months. Not only was I able to graduate high school, but I would do so a year early.
No matter how close I got to giving up and walking away, a little perseverance and hard work was able to get me through successfully. I succeeded at making one of my goals come true.
About a year after I graduated, I accomplished another goal by enlisting in the US Army. Even though health problems kept me from staying in the military, I wouldn’t have even had the chance to try if I had not finished school.
Because of Storefront School, I am now able to fulfill another goal that I would have never thought possible: I am working on a Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Phoenix. I have also been able to write and publish three poetry e-books and work as a freelance writer, which was another goal I’d had in high school. If I had not finished school, many of these goals and dreams would have been forever barred for me.
One of my best friends, Anthony, is now a teacher in a dropout prevention program, where he has helped many students finish school. For teens that cannot finish school in a traditional classroom, Anthony helps opens them to the same life opportunities as those who do and offers an alternative to dropping out. The work of Anthony and others like him is a blessing to people like me who were ready to walk away from it all.
With dropout prevention programs, the one key factor is to find a way to compete with whatever issue hold a student back. This is done by having a teacher willing to listen without judgment. There are very few teachers able to be that kind of a teacher, but Dr. B was a great one. For teens today, those like Anthony offer the same great personality and love for students in need.
Since I was there, many students have used Storefront School and similar dropout prevention programs to keep their lives on track. These programs are available and offer a better alternative than walking away from an education. When the issues associated with public schooling are too much for a student, these programs allow young people the chance to lead a successful life. I’m living proof that there is another way.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Theresa Johnson is a college student, writer, and mother. She loves all written works. Her favorite jobs are ones that she can do with her six-year-old daughter, Destiny. Theresa was last spotted hiding in the woods in North Carolina, where she gains many inspirations for future poems and stories.