Words I've heard before, but never have the stung so much. What hurts even more is feeling like it may be the right decision. How do you look a child in the eyes and say they need to stay in school when they want to leave in order to provide for their newborn? Yes, high school diplomas afford you certain things you wouldn't otherwise have access to, but in the short term how do they keep the baby fed? How do they pay for daycare?
As driven as some of these students may be, the reality is that many of them don't return after they leave. Sure, there are options like Dallas Can and others, but there's a few problems with this. 1. Many students don't know their options or where to go to find the right answers. 2. Many of these students get taken advantage of by predatory educational institutions that are basically fake schools that trick you with commercials and give you fake diplomas that are barely worth the paper they're printed on, then leave you with more debt than a real school would. 3. Even the half days or modified schedules at places like Dallas Can don't address the root of some of their issues like having to spend time with a child with no daycare for example.
What is my advice? Try to find a middle ground that lets you disrupt your path as much as possible. I know that advice is not very good, but without having any kids and never having had to choose between work and school, the best I can to do be supportive. The best I can do is tell them what the ideal situation is even if it's not possible. The best I can do is make sure they have access to people and information that can be truly helpful and motivate them to take advantage of it.
Sometimes it becomes less about fixing and prevention and becomes more about minimizing the damage.
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When DISD Students break down
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As driven as some of these students may be, the reality is that many of them don't return after they leave. Sure, there are options like Dallas Can and others, but there's a few problems with this. 1. Many students don't know their options or where to go to find the right answers. 2. Many of these students get taken advantage of by predatory educational institutions that are basically fake schools that trick you with commercials and give you fake diplomas that are barely worth the paper they're printed on, then leave you with more debt than a real school would. 3. Even the half days or modified schedules at places like Dallas Can don't address the root of some of their issues like having to spend time with a child with no daycare for example.
What is my advice? Try to find a middle ground that lets you disrupt your path as much as possible. I know that advice is not very good, but without having any kids and never having had to choose between work and school, the best I can to do be supportive. The best I can do is tell them what the ideal situation is even if it's not possible. The best I can do is make sure they have access to people and information that can be truly helpful and motivate them to take advantage of it.
Sometimes it becomes less about fixing and prevention and becomes more about minimizing the damage.
Related Articles:
When DISD Students break down
Collecting Dallas Students
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