16 year-old drop out advice???

[Sun Baked]

Oh yeah, his mom has tried to smack him around a few times, and he has
called the police on her each time.

The first few times they were concerned about his well-being, but
the last time they understood he was trying to get her in trouble.

The police talked to him for an hour, but he was like "WHATEVER".

He's getting off easy stealing from family right now ...

If somebody catches him out in the world, they may not stop at smacking him around.

The collection agents some people hire to get their stuff back aren't too nice. And they keep coming around until they get their money back.

He'll be lucky if he only spends a couple days in the hospital.

 

[Abstract]

Petty theft apparently.


Lethal

Getting caught might be the best thing in the world for him. It's really the only thing that CAN induce a change at this moment in time. And hopefully he's caught for something bigger than petty theft, but not necessarily "bad" (ie: nobody gets hurt in the process).

Or maybe he just wants people to be worried about him because he wants the attention.

Either way, he needs to get caught for one of his crimes, and then your parents could probably send him to boot camp without much of a fight on his part since he knows he's guilty. If you tell him he's going to boot camp, and he probably won't listen.

 

[thedude110]

and yes it is illegal to not go to school in america before the age of 18

The law is state dependent. In some states that dropout age is 18, in others 16. Most states will allow students to appeal to the courts for the status of emancipated minor at ages even younger than 16 if they can prove that they can support themselves and that their homelife is hostile.

Does his mother know that he no longer attends school? If not, she needs to know, though it's not necessarily your responsibility to tell her. Have any of his teachers inquired about him? When my students disappear for extended periods of time I almost always call home. He may not believe it, but his teachers care about him -- they wouldn't be trying to teach him otherwise.

When students drop out, one of the hardest things to do is to work up the courage to actually go back to school. Students assume they'll be in trouble, or that they'll never be able to make up missed work. Some students are just too embarassed to walk back into school -- to face their teachers and their peers.

Tell him this: As a teacher, it makes me happy when a student who I thought was gone for good works up the courage to come back to school -- to come back into my class, to look me in the eye and ask me "What did I miss?" His teachers aren't going to care that he's missed time -- they're going to respect him for making the decision, and for having the courage, to go back to school.

 

[janey]

You were bored with high school, and obviously are capable beyond what high school was offering you. I applaud you for your dedication and hard work towards your goals. I think getting out of high school early should be a viable option for some kids who are bored with the system and need a greater challenge.

Thanks mate
and there are options available. There's the GED/CHSPE if you're 16 or are in 10th grade when you take the exam...there's early college entrance programs (like the one my ex was in) and theres people who just skip tons of grades.
It's possible, it's just not well known and attached to lots of stigma. Even thinking about starting that path required so much effort but my high school counselor helped me out, and my parents sorta liked the idea. wouldn't be the first time i tried, either.

 

[Chacala_Nayarit]

Time for him to go to the willow patch and pick three switches. 100 lashes!

 

[prostuff1]

Man...if my dad ever found out i was doing something like this i would be kicked out of the house and EVERTHING would be taken away from me. Meaning no car, clothes, and no help from the family.

And if one of my parents ever caught me stealing from someone/somewhere they would send me to jail.

 

[OutThere]

Being that he's under 18 you might be able to contact some sort of social services as a concerned third-party and get him into a program for kids in trouble, otherwise you don't have a whole lot of authority.

 

[MyLeftNut]

Hate to say it, but this kid wants to get caught. He wants to push it as far as he can until whatever is really bugging him gets fixed and Im not sure he knows what that is. He will probably learn the hard way and for him it might be the only way. Sorry to sound pessimistic.

Sometimes it takes great struggle and experience before we really learn. We can be told a thousand times not to do something and yet we still do it until we learn through painful experience. Lets hope he doesnt have to pay the ultimate price.

Just make sure he knows your there for him, whatever happens. When the chips are really down he might turn to you.

*edit* note - my sig doesnt really help in the take me seriously stakes...

 

[superbovine]

My girlfriend's brother is 16, and dropped out of high school last month.
His mother is a nurse (single parent) and he just sits around all day,
smokes weed with his friends. He steals and lies all the time, and
doesn't have a job. I have tried talking him out of dropping out, but
since then he has stolen some of my stuff...and he actually stole all the Halloween candy 20 minutes before the trick-or-treaters came!!

His dad lives in the same town, but doesn't seem to care about
the situation. I know what my dad would do in this situation, but I have
trying to be quiet, since I am not his parent.....

Anybody have any ideas?

The only person that will changes his life is himself. It isn't hard to get clean off weed. The hard part is changing is life style and getting away from his loser friends. He has to choose to live clean. There is always rehab which would be good for him because it would get him away from his loser friends. after he is clean you'd have to either kill all of his loser friends or find him a new life and new life style. in other words, you shouldn't get personally involved because what right do you have to get his life. he won't respect you listen to you.

 

[jer2eydevil88]

Child Services in america will intervene if you notify them, just take into consideration if this kid is going to appreciate it or not before you take that step.

Most kids of that age want to be punished by their parents to resolve that they are still cared about (its a cry for attention), if you give him the attention instead of his mother then he may get fairly more screwed up than he already is.

... my two bits