Good post Catty...

along the lines of what you mentioned... I wondered too if there is a vocational(???) school around there. I think in some places they are called trade schools. Ours used to be called the Skill Center. Forget what it is called now. They teach stuff hands on... there's book work too. VERY attentive teachers though. (I never went, but know plenty of people that did.) This was in addition to regular high school.

buttercup132 i know it can be really tough when teachers don't give any help. It doesn't mean that you are dumb... it means the teachers aren't doing their job. I got one of those and went from being an A student in math down to C's and D's. I am not a good self taught learner. Things take a while to sink in. I got stuck with that guy for two years. Very discouraging, and my moral dropped horribly as my GPA plummeted.

At least you have SOME idea what you want to do with your life. Be determined and head for the light. At least no matter how you go about getting your education you won't be wasting your time. (It wasn't until two years after i graduated that i had ANY direction to go in and that was because of an epiphany.)

It's a lot easier staying on the horse, than falling off and trying to get back on. (your arse may be sore and chapped, but at least you'll still have a horse.) (Yes, I speak of the horse as education.) I'm not telling you to stay in school, but i do think it would be wise if you did... at least in one form or another. ...even if it's just switching to a different school. (Find out what other students have to say about theirs.)

Quote Originally Posted by Catty1
Saw a program on the news the other night.

There was a counsellor talking about how about 40 - 60% of high school students are doing self-harm - cutting themselves, excessive piercings, etc.

One of the stress factors he mentioned was homework just getting piled on the kids.

There are many stories of bright people in the wrong kind of training - Einstein was a high-school dropout.

BC, first find out if the GED would cost you anything, or if you could do it through the school system where you are. I think you need to do this at your own pace - just make sure you KEEP the pace - and I hope you can have access to tutors that wouldn't cost you too much, or be covered for the cost somehow.

The GED books tell you what you need to know for the test. See your school counsellor - they aren't there just for emotional troubles, they help with school stuff as well. Maybe there is a way to do some courses online, as a compromise? Maybe you need to be at another school. Tell the counsellor what you told us - how impossible and overwhelming it is. See if there are other options you can work with.

ETA: How about working, and splitting your senior year over one year and one summer - or even two years?

It isn't always the student's fault. Some need a different way to learn what is needed to be learned. My mom was a teacher of all levels and kinds of kids for over 40 years, and she knows that.

Like the "Fame" school, or the ballet and music schools in old Russia, it would be great to have an educational place that included your grooming skills!

In any case, talk over this option with a professional at the school, and even maybe see if you can talk to some folks who did the GED and are doing fine a few years on.

Not everyone is an academic - and it can be sheer h*** to struggle being a square peg in a round hole for years.