Take this very short quiz.......
An 18 year old young man lives independently outside the home. One day, out of the blue, the parent gets a phone call from RB High, an 'inner city' school.
School: This is the registrar from RB High School. I wanted to let you know that your son is dropping out of school.
Parent: What? I didn't even know he was going there!
School: (long period of silence, then a sigh)
-------------------
What is your reaction?
a. Sad, pathetic really. No wonder so many of these kids don't finish school when the parents don't support their education at all.
or
b. This is SO funny, I'm practically falling off my chair, I'm laughing so hard! Hilarious, I chuckle every time I think of it.
If your reaction is b., well then come with me to the meeting tonight. I'm the parent in this true story. I would tell this story when I would present my own case which I haven't done in quite awhile. It would bring down the house. I told the story in my small group last week and the two parents most involved with the program thought it hysterically funny and were doubled up in mirth. The third person wasn't quite sure why it was funny. The two laughing people both value education very very highly. One, an immigrant from Mexico put herself through college and works in a professional capacity. She has the distinction of reading every single book in our parenting library. The other, an esteemed retired arts professional came to the group feeling that school issues were the most important issue in parenting his 15 year old grandson.
Irony...all about irony. Generally Changes parents regard education as very important but realize that they have no control over their child's school performance and attendance.
Picture before the meeting held on New Years Eve in our old space. Understandably a lower turnout. I count 12 in this picture. Last week we had 48 people!
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