How to Get Your Hesitant Teen to Graduate

You can encourage and motivate your teen all you want, but after awhile you have to just step back (as difficult as that may be). As a parent, there is only so much that you can do, and only so far that you can push. As much as you want to see your child make the right choices and do what is best for them, you must realize that they have to want this to. Ultimately, it their decision and you must respect and try your best to support their choice.

After years of schooling, people often question why someone would drop out their last year when they were so close to being done.

The reality for some students is that they weren't really that close to being done. After four years of slacking off in classes, barely scraping by to the next grade level, some students may have end up having to take at least one extra semester of school in order to get done. Perhaps even an entire year. So yes, they were still pretty close, but not close enough. Knowing that your friends are going to graduate and you don't even have a chance to walk across that freedom stage, no matter how hard your work is a complete motivation killer and also pretty depressing.

Another reason someone may drop out or quit their senior year, is because that is the only time that they can. The laws vary from state to state. In some states you have to be eighteen in order to dropout. Not all seniors hit this age before graduation. Other states allow you to be 16 with parental permission. Also, with what I have seen, when a student drops out there is a final session with the student, counselors, principal, etc. So even if your teen drops out, at least they are getting some final advice and reasoning from professionals about it.

My best male friend is considered a genius. He has seen the school physiologist and he has taken all the tests. He is an incredible person. However, he will not be walking with his class this year and has decided to dropout. Classes were too boring for him. He failed sophomore English (a class he was auditing) and passed senior honor's English with an A. He wasn't being challenged in his classes which caused definite problems. I watched as his mom tried to defend him. I watched her as she looked for every other alternative. I listened to her as she talked to him, telling him all about his potential and things he could do once he graduated. I watched her try so hard. And I also watched her give up like he did. She knew that her efforts were futile. Now she helps out with her son's band, hoping that one day, his dream will still be fulfilled.

There are many other reasons why teens are hesitant to graduate as well. Some have a bad home environment which affects their schooling as well. Others try to graduate, but they end up failing that required class their last semester, never bothering to try again. Some students are simply afraid to graduate. It's a scary thing knowing that the next step is the real world. Other kids just don't realize how important it is to graduate. The list is endless for it's different for each individual.

What is important is knowing that as a parent, you did the best you could. You encouraged them, you tried motivating them, maybe you even tried bribing them! Try taking comfort in knowing that you did all that you could while being supportive. After your teen doesn't graduate, accept this fact and move on. See what else you can do to help. See if they'll take a short GED course, the next best thing. Just keep trying to help, encourage, and support your teen. Hopefully, they've learned their lesson and will be more willing to listen to you next time.