So. This is the most annoying thing ever. Still funny though

[Jackass McAwesome]

So I went to my counselor before Break. I went to him so I could get information about GEDs and dropping out of school. So this guy tells us we can talk to him about aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanything we need to talk about. Here's the kicker. He gets all nervous and tells me that it's better for me to stay in school. So I give him my reasons for not wanting to remain in school- the school administration being incompetent and unable to provide for my needs as a student, as per the schools "Creed." It gets even more funny here. He outright calls me a liar and tells me to get out of the office. Here's the thing- our student handbook tells us that in the event that we would like to drop out of school, we are to see our counselor for recommendations for alternate schooling programs. So being the handy dandy resourceful bitch that I am, I instead reach into my bag and pull out the handbook. He visually pales and starts pleading me to leave. I tell him to read the information out loud to me. He instead closes the handbook, glares out me and threatens to call the principal and tell him that I'm being insubordinate. A this point, I am convinced to leave, so I do. So tomorrow I get to go to this hell-hole you call school. Fucking hell.


Ahaha, so let's point out what he did wrong here:


-It's in the handbook. He neglects to acknowledge this.
-He tells us we can talk about and say anything to him, instead he makes himself out to be a liar.
-He avoids every attempt at explaining the information I seek to me.
-He threatens me with punishment instead of being a counselor and assisting me with my problems with school.

[Eidolon]

What a chump.

[Avenger]

that was a total
ASSFUCK
try telling the principal,or someone who will listen and be able to convince him to help,better yet talk to someone who
can help you drop out.

[akdonn]

Oni-Chiisu:

Your points are very well taken. I'm guessing this "counselor" is new at the job and probably doesn't know how to deal with somebody coming in with "attitude" and basically saying everything he stands for is crap. Now, you need to deal with the problem in a responsible way. Here is my suggestion:

Sit down and write a letter to the principal. Quote the handbook, explain you tried to talk to Mr. whatever the counselor's name is, and explain that traditional public education may not be for everyone (even teachers and administrators agree to that!). Write "confidential" on the envelop and hand deliver the original of this letter to the principal's office. In the letter explain your concerns in a civil way, and at the bottom cc: The School Board. You can probably find out the names of the school board members by looking on the school web site--you might even be able to email each of them. If you can't then put it there anyway, cause the principal won't know the difference.

The result of doing this will be "The Meeting" where your parents and the counselor and perhaps the principal will all try to beat you down. They will all act like they want to understand your problem, but what they really want to do is convince you that they are right and you are wrong. Don't show any "attitude" at this meeting--just take notes and act like the perfect student, even if this is out of character. This is very important: You must be very considerate but clear in your commitment to find alternate education to what you are being subjected to. This will pucker up the counselor, and get you to a point of negotiating what you want--or it will get everybody against you and deciding you aren't fit to be in their school.

Don't get mad, get even!

[Jackass McAwesome]

I am a sophomore, and the current counselor has been here since 1992 when our school system started up. Our principal is a hard headed fool, many before myself have done this and been denied their freedom. Some have even recorded conversations via tape recorder or cell-phones hidden in their jackets, some even with wiretaps.

One particularly unstoppable person went into said meeting strong. The next day she was in fucking tears, apparently because the principal started shouting at her, telling her that she'd amount to nothing in life with a GED. That she'd be nothing but a whore, and her parents hadn't even tried to stop him from shouting. I spent the day consoling her. You have to understand, their's quite a few of these anti-school people at our school.

I've listened to a lot of afore mentioned recordings, which all ended in the principal shouting his ass off, the parents not stopping him, Once such incident involved police a few years back because we had a movement going on, and it went awry and "violence" broke out. I've spoken with a few of the people involve who'd witnessed the event. The only violent thing was a teacher attacking a few students with a broom, yet the students were the only ones arrested.

[akdonn]

Ok, so maybe I overestimated the potential for reasonable resolution to this problem. I still think you should write a letter, and help anyone else write letters, and send them to school board members. You might even ATTEND A SCHOOL BOARD MEETING! Get a bunch of you together and show up, sign up to testify, and tell your story. You CAN make a difference--even in hickville Georgia.

[Jackass McAwesome]

Last year I sang for the chorus. I got to go to a school board meeting, oooo~!

They were all beer guzzlers and used the word fuck in every other sentence. I doubt that people who're unable to refrain from swearing in the presence of students are going to be able to solve the problem of an Anti-School faction. Next you'll probably say "get the State involved!" No, people have already tried, and the board pulled an act together quick enough to fool them into believe they weren't a shitload of hicks. Truth be told, we've done just about everything we can do, and no success has come of it. So you know what I say, and for the reason I'm here?

FUCK IT.

Blood rains. Everything dies.

I apologize if it seems like I'm just telling you things to bounce off your suggestions and the like. I just don't see them happening. They've been tried before. The results all sucked. So I'm not going to be the one to try them all again.

Do you think I wanna get screamed at?

No.

Do you think I wanna see a bunch of beer guzzling hicks that are the disappointment of the world?

No.

Do you think I want to bare on my shoulders the weight of being a part of a long line of failures?

Certainly not! I would think I'd prefer to keep my sanity, or what's left of it!

Our school has a wall of shame. A wall of shame that people are etched upon by the students that are against what the person was for, and some teachers, which I've seen, have etched upon some student's name so that they be made fun of through the ages. I am a self-conscious person, and even though it's wrong for me too, I actually give a damn what others think of me. I don't want to be the subject of ridicule for years to come. It's not a thing you can change with drugs or chemicals. It's just a thing. And it hurts.

[youvebeenthunderstruck]

You're an intelligent person, and intelligent people have lost many a battles. Don't give up. If all else fails, you can try to transfer schools, or you can actually get the information (a few of the members on here would probably love to help) needed for a GED. You can completely bypass your school by getting a GED independently.

[SoulRiser]

Wow. ... I'd have given suggestions, but it seems all of those have already been ruled out. It'd be hilarious how that "counselor" reacted, if it wasn't so damn sad.

I'm pretty sure you can get a GED without the school's permission though. Wikipedia to the rescue!

Looks like the only reason you have to ask the counselor is because you can't take the GED while you're enrolled in a school. But you don't need his permission to drop out (I think).

[akdonn]

If the handbook says they will help you with finding alternate education, then you should hold them to it. Write a letter to the editor of the local paper! You could create a circus by making fun of the counselor in a flier you leave in the bathroom stalls. There are lots of ways you could turn this situation to your own advantage.

I recommend looking up Saul Alinski. He was a famous organizer in Chicago who did stuff that threw Mayor Daily into fits. He organized people against the slumlords who would not do anything for people who lived in "the projects." He was very successful when faced with problems like you are talking about. Alinski wrote a book "Rules for Radicals" and has some very amusing and fun ways to bring the problems you have articulated so well to light.

I know they work because I have used them myself, but that's another story...

[Will]

This sounds like something I would do. You are awesome.

What do your parents think about it?

[Jackass McAwesome]

Well, they got a call from my counselor (oshi-) and I got home. They were fucking _pissed_ about me wanting to drop out and get a GED instead of finishing High School. So they had the counselor change up my schedule. I'm in NJROTC because of it, apparently to "set me straight." Well, whatever. If my parents paid attention to me more than they do, they'd know I'm a lot more than just defiant.

In fact.

They usually try to put people like me in the asylums.

[Will]

Oni-Chiisu Wrote:Well, they got a call from my counselor (oshi-) and I got home. They were fucking _pissed_ about me wanting to drop out and get a GED instead of finishing High School. So they had the counselor change up my schedule. I'm in NJROTC because of it, apparently to "set me straight." Well, whatever. If my parents paid attention to me more than they do, they'd know I'm a lot more than just defiant.

In fact.

They usually try to put people like me in the asylums.

If your parents are anything like mine, which they seem to be, they're too stupid to accept that school is stupid, and you'll end up going through all of high school. Well, maybe if you do something really bold, like run away, they'll give in. You can still just go to school but not pay attention in class, not do homework and do better things instead. It's quite funny when said thing is considered academic or intellectual, like when your parents get angry at you for reading about quantum physics (and actually learning something) instead of doing your geometry homework.

College will probably be better if you go, but getting into college for four years is, in itself, a stupid reason to go through primary and secondary schools for 13 years.

[youvebeenthunderstruck]

You could contact the ACLU about this, or get the press involved if you're not lazy. They have no right to do this.

[akdonn]

Quote:They usually try to put people like me in the asylums.

We don't have asylums anymore; they call them "mental hospitals" and people are just put there until they can be signed out to a "care giver." In the big picture you are a little grain of sand, and while everybody hears the grinding sound, you are pretty much required to do whatever your parents expect until you are "on your own." When you get older and have your own kids you'll tell them how you were a hand full for anybody in authority...

Your comments about your parents reveal a good reason why you are angry.

I'm not allowed to bring my cell phone to school:

[Jackass McAwesome]

akdonn Wrote:

Quote:They usually try to put people like me in the asylums.

We don't have asylums anymore; they call them "mental hospitals" and people are just put there until they can be signed out to a "care giver." In the big picture you are a little grain of sand, and while everybody hears the grinding sound, you are pretty much required to do whatever your parents expect until you are "on your own." When you get older and have your own kids you'll tell them how you were a hand full for anybody in authority...

Ahahahahaa, No. See, I'm going to Japan, where the school isn't so shitty. I intend to do this at least two years after high school.

akdonn Wrote:Your comments about your parents reveal a good reason why you are angry.

Yes, they're controlling dicks.

akdonn Wrote:I'm not allowed to bring my cell phone to school:

What's with the gun, dude.

[Avenger]

if i were you i would go to the principal nad if he started yelling at me i would tell him to SHUT THE FUCK UP right in his
face.this is not a good idea so don't do it,really if you don't want to deal with school then don't worry about the classes
just do something to entertain you and don't do the homework then after you become 18 get a GED and drop out of school then nobody could do shit about it.

[SoulRiser]

Quote:See, I'm going to Japan, where the school isn't so shitty.

I've heard that the schools in Japan are actually worse. They're a lot stricter and more obsessed with grades than the US is.

[akdonn]

That's true. I had a colleague who did a teacher exchange to Japan and came back with all kinds of glowing comments about the cultural honors bestowed on teachers. They are held in very high esteem and their authority is unquestioned. In fact, the teacher arbitrarily determines which students will qualify to go to higher education or to crummy service jobs. The system is really in-grown and overly structured with formalities and expectations.

[Jackass McAwesome]

I'm sort of used to formality. I got a taste of ROTC today, and it was pretty thorough.

PLUS THEY'RE NOT ALL HICKS.

And the Sargent's having a party in honor of the new cadets tomorrow.

Yes tomorrow, Saturday.

[akdonn]

Sounds like you might be "finding yourself."

[Jackass McAwesome]

Excuse me?

Anyway, I thought ROTC was going to be a bitch for me, here's a little conversation that Sargent Jarvis and myself had today.

---

Jarvis- Excuse me, cadet. You're _______ right?

Me- *military posture* Yessir.

Jarvis- At ease Cadet. I received word from the counselor that he put you in here himself, and you didn't come voluntarily.

Me- That's true.

Jarvis- Is there any reason the counselor did this? You don't have to remain in here if you don't want to. We can get your schedule changed if you want.

Me- Yesterday I enjoyed myself, since most of this school is ignorant to why I don't like it.

Jarvis- Mr. _______ said that you might mention something to this effect. Do you want to explain why?

Me- Well, it's just that most of this school's administration doesn't want to help its stude-

Jarvis- Say no more, cadet. You planned to drop out didn't you?

Me- I planned to work toward a GED, sir.

Jarvis- That makes sense. What I said before still stands, though. If you'd like to leave ROTC, you may at will.

Me- Thank you, sir, but I will stay. A few of the cadets here have been pressuring me to join, anyway.

Jarvis- Well, it's nice to have a dedicated cadet in NJROTC. Dismissed.

---

...Yeah.

[akdonn]

I've known a number of kids who really thrive on structure. We have a program called Alaska Military Youth Acadamy (http://www.ngycp.org/state/ak/) where they help kids get their GED while learning in a military atmosphere.

Some kids go there for a while, and come back for their diploma because the diploma is more valuable once they figure out what they didn't know about doing the work...