A Blog Loosely Based Around the Topic of an Improved Student

Or: Why a dropout-prevention assemblies kill the motivation to live

Last Tuesday I was lassoed into chaperoning a Dropout-Prevention Program.  Simmons High's 25 biggest malcontents were herded into a bus and shipped to the middle school, where we picked up 15 more malcontents and headed off to Greenville.

Washington County had gone to an assuredly great expense to put on a "Get-on-the-Bus.MS" Dropout Prevention program.  Why that money was spent is still being debated.  The collected dropout risks from around the county gathered in the convention center and sat for 3 hours, listening to Washington County's 4 (repeat that: 4!) different school districts' representatives summarize their prevention plans.  Then a State Dept. of Education Secretary took the podium and--after apologizing in advance if she ran over her 5 minute time limit--regaled us with rambling reminisces, recriminations, and repetitions for well along half an hour.

Lost in the shuffle was any shape of speech directed towards our kids, to inform or inspire them to stay in school.

As soon as the show began, and I saw what was to come, I knew there might be trouble.  I sat myself next to L.S.W., the school's alpha troublemaker.  He chomped and kicked when I sat down, but took it well enough thereafter.  Despite three hours' nauseous natterings, he behaved better than I'd believed he would.  And, in a fit of misguided and ignorant inspiration, he leaned over to me during the proceedings and, passing judgment on the prevention program, said:

"If I'd have known this is what we'd be doing, I would have just stayed in school."