[theqoo] THERE'S A BOY IN MY CLASS WHO DROPPED OUT...

I’m a high school homeroom teacher. At the beginning of the semester, one student came to me saying, "I don't have any friends I get along with. I’m spending time alone." So, I asked two students who seemed gentle to take the student along with them. After the first semester finals, the student came back asking for another counseling session, saying they wanted to drop out. So I asked why they wanted to drop out.

The student replied, "I don’t get along well with friends, and I feel forced to hang out with them. It’s not fun, and subjects like art, physical education, and music seem like a waste of time. The physical education teacher’s exercises like basketball free throws and running seem like a waste of time too. I’ve messed up the midterms and finals, so my grades are suffering. I just want to study English, math, and science during school hours to get into college through the college entrance exam." 

I told the student that you can’t only hang out with people who are just like you or whom you are compatible with; it’s also very important to develop social skills by interacting with people who are different from you. The student didn’t seem to like this idea. I then asked, "Is there a physically strong friend who is making you do things for them, taking your stuff, bullying you, hitting you, or harassing you?" The student said no, so I asked, "Then why do you want to drop out? When I was in middle school, there were students who were forced to run errands, had their belongings taken, or were victims of SV—those students all graduated. You’re not in that situation, so why are you thinking of dropping out?"

I continued, "Do you really think you can get into a good university just by studying only the important subjects and that it’s a waste of time to go to school? Do you think you can do well? Even if you get into a better university, who do you think employers will prefer: someone who graduated from a normal high school or someone who graduated from a specialized program like a high school equivalency or a technical college? I would prefer the latter. Do you think an interviewer will take a risk on someone who hasn’t successfully participated in group activities? Probably not." The student’s expression remained unchanged.

Finally, I said, "School life is something you only experience once in your life. If you drop out now, you can never go back to high school. I hope you enjoy what you can at your age. I will help you as much as I can." The student said they would think about it.

At the end of the first semester, a meeting with the parents was held, and eventually, the student contacted me during the break saying they wanted to drop out. The student submitted the dropout application, and it’s not fully processed yet but is in the dormancy period. In practice, unless the student changes their mind, it will automatically be processed in a few days, so you can consider it as a dropout. (There is a meeting with the principal, but it's just a formal discussion, essentially telling the student to live their life well if they've decided to leave.) I’ve done all I can to help. It’s disappointing that they still decided to quit. I wonder if they will do well in society. I don’t know...

original post: here

1. So many students can't take the heat anymore and withdraw because of this kind of advice nowadays

2. I think it's a serious and realistic advice that a teacher can give......................... Although it's the teacher's fault for releasing the content of a counseling online 

3. I'm former teacher am now a public servant, and I believe the teacher have done everything they could. They provided objective and rational advice about society and made an effort to help. There is nothing incorrect in what they said. Will it really get better if you only study and get into a good university? Even if you get into college, you might struggle to adapt, and once you're no longer a student, you might find it difficult to navigate life in society. I think that the objective and rational advice are better than vague emotional words

4. What they said was the truth... The student who dropped out will eventually develop into an avoidant type 

5. It's the truth, and the teacher seems passionate about their job. If they weren’t passionate, it would just be a case of, "Well, it's your life, do what you want," with a laugh. These days, there are so many students dropping out for this reason that it’s no longer an isolated issue. There are many articles and news reports about it being a social problem. More and more students are dropping out and planning to take the college entrance exam after preparing through self-study because they’ve messed up their grades

6. What they said is true, maybe not the right delivery, but everything was facts

7. It's really becoming increasingly hard to be a teacher nowadays... 

8. It seems that one of the reasons for dropping out of school includes disliking the rigid, standardized way of thinking. Even if the student has already made up their mind, it also seems that the current society pushed him in that direction

9. The teacher did everything they could. What else could they have done? Do you really think babying students will solve anything?

10. We should be grateful that there are still teachers like that in this day and age

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