Here’s what you need to think about
What is the minimum schooling that the law in your area requires?Have you reached that stage yet?
Have you achieved your educational goals? What are the goals that you want your education to help you achieve? Not sure? You need to know! Otherwise, you’re like a train passenger who has no idea where he wants to go. So sit down with your parents, and discuss the section below titled “
My Educational Goals.”
If you leave before you reach the educational goals that you and your parents decide upon, you are quitting.
If you leave before you reach the educational goals that you and your parents decide upon, you are quitting.
Quitting school is like jumping off a train before you reach your destination
Why do you feel like dropping out? A couple of possibilities might be to help support your family financially or to engage in volunteer work. Selfish reasons might be to avoid tests or to escape homework. The challenge is to discern which is your primary motivation—and if it is honorable or selfish. If you drop out just to escape problems, you are likely in for a shock.
Quitting school is like jumping off a train before you reach your destination. The train may be uncomfortable, and the passengers unfriendly, but if you leap from the train, you obviously will not reach your destination and will likely cause yourself serious injury. Similarly, if you quit school, you will likely find it more difficult to get a job. And if you do get one, it will probably be lower paying than one you might have obtained if you had completed your schooling.
Rather than quit, patiently work through the problems you face at school. By doing so, you will develop endurance and will be better prepared to face similar challenges in the working world.
My Educational Goals
A primary function of education is to prepare you to find a job that will help you support yourself and provide for any family you may eventually have. Have you decided what kind of job you want and how your time at school can help you prepare for it? To assist you to see if your education is leading you in the right direction, answer the following questions:
- What are my strengths? (For instance, do you interact well with people? Do you enjoy working with your hands or creating or fixing things? Are you good at analyzing and solving problems?)
- What jobs would allow me to use my strengths?
- What employment opportunities are available where I live?
- What classes am I now taking that prepare me for the job market?
- What educational options do I currently have that would help me reach my goals more efficiently?
Remember, your goal is to graduate with an education that you can use. So don’t go to the other extreme and be a perennial student—one who stays “on the train” indefinitely just to hide from the responsibilities of adulthood.
