Teenage Years

 I just had a conversation with a teenager that went something like this:

"You're going to want to make enough money you can support yourself."

"I don't need much. Like food. I can go a day without eating."

...

This came up while talking to him about what his goals were. You see, the student was upset. He only came to class about once or twice a week, never responded, left in the middle of things, and completed about 10 minutes worth of work. 

He thought that was fine and didn't know why I had to contact his grandma or why she was upset he was failing!

And this wasn't the first time for this song and dance either! 

I contacted home, he got in trouble, he did better for a week, and then he went back to his old ways. I gave him a week to see if he'd turn it around on his own and when he didn't, I contacted home again.

So Wednesday night, the kid found himself working with me on makeup work. I tried to chat him up since he seemed so disconnected from everything and we got to talking about goals. 

There were lots of "don't know," "don't care," and probably shrugs that I couldn't see.

It's hard to read people virtually. The student didn't log off or sit on mute, so I had the sense he wanted to talk and kept at it. That's how we hit the initial quotes. Soon followed by things like "People want big houses, but then you have to take care of them. I just need a room," and "If I want to drop out, it's my decision. Not anyone else's."

I got the feel that all this student wanted in life was to sit in a room with his phone and for no one to have any expectations.

I replied to the dropping out with something like, "If you can and are supporting yourself: Yes, it's your decision. School isn't necessary to be successful or happy in life. It does help. However, if you're living on someone's else's dollar and your grandma is paying for your clothes, your food, and your room then it's not your choice." 

We had a fairly productive night and he showed up in class the next day. In physical school, I'd want to drop by and check on this kind of student every time I saw them. Online, it's harder, but he did better for the next week. 

I wish I had time like that to follow up with everyone. In this case, I knew Grandma was invested and I didn't feel like I had to write a carefully crafted essay to address the issue without causing my inbox to blow up.

Definitely makes me wonder what it'll be like when Shane's a teenager! He has so many passions and interests, I can't see him presenting the same as this student. I'm expecting I'll have to reign Shane in rather than spur him on, but who knows?