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Ask HN: Friend's 15 year old wants to drop out, I've been asked to intervene

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Re: Ask HN: Friend's 15 year old wants to drop out, I've been asked to intervene

#51

Post by shantanubala »

ams6110 wrote: post #47
mattbee wrote: post #36

Wow. It's definitely a goofy, pompous, rambling letter written by someone who doesn't know what he doesn't know yet. But assuming the business is profitable, there's zero chance that you or his parents can stop him from pursuing it at this point. I think this 15-year old's decision is made, and the point to intervene might have been when he started employing people. I wasn't particularly academic, but wasn't driven /…

Yes, he sounds like every 15 year old I know (including my own son) who is absolutely convinced that school is useless and a waste of time. That said, for most people the purpose of school is to prepare them to be able to support themselves and their families, and it sounds like he's basically able to do that now. School is something you can always come back to, but once you start into the family/kids part of your li…

I think Neil Tyson does a beautiful job of explaining why basic education is important:

There are people who say “I'll never need this math -- these trig identities from 10th grade or 11th grade.” Or maybe you never learned them. Here's the catch: whether or not you ever use the math that you learned in school, the act of having learned the math established a wiring in your brain that didn't exist before, and it's the wiring in your brain that makes you the problem solver.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0E-9uJgDZU&feature=youtu...

Re: Ask HN: Friend's 15 year old wants to drop out, I've been asked to intervene

#52

Post by maeon3 »

shawndumas wrote: post #2

Hello Mr. [Principal], I've heard through sources that there have been various meetings conducted regarding my recent and overall academic performance at [private school]. I'd like to put some stuff on the table and get your thoughts on a few issues if you would take the time to read this. As background information I'd like you to know that I am the owner, CEO, and CTO of [hosting company], LLC a large Minecraft host…

Need followup information:

1. What is the parents net worth?

2. Is the child a US Citizen?

3. What is the skin color/race/nationality of the child?

4. How much money does the child have in cash. What's his net worth?

5. Is his employment at this gig guaranteed for at least 5 years and is this gig going to continue his salary for 5 years?

6. Does he show any signs of burn-out? He may be wildly successful for a few years, then commit suicide because he didn't get stock options?

7. Does the child have stock options in the company and the right to liquidate the company and if so how much would get get in return?

8. Committed any felonies or gotten into trouble in younger years?

9. Does he have a drivers license?

10. Is there a Charismatic cult leader that hypnotized him into a delusional state to plant these seeds who stand to make a fortune from his quitting school?

11. What is the REAL reason for hating school?

12. Did the child write this letter or hire one of his employees to do it?

13. Are there any bullies in school that are hassling him that are prompting this? Can he get along with his peers?

14. Does he have successful mentors who will see his development through to age 18 or so?

15. Is his relationship with his parents solid? So that if he were to get into an accident and become mentally disabled that they would take care of him?

Who can predict the future of this decision? If I was the father, I'd compromise, I'd say: "If your next year in high school is Straight A's, we'll let you quit". If he wants it that bad, and he's a doozer, he'll make it happen.

Re: Ask HN: Friend's 15 year old wants to drop out, I've been asked to intervene

#53

Post by eps »

il wrote: post #14

He founded a startup with $350K in revenue and his parents will be disappointed? Really? This guy is not your typical at-risk high school dropout. He's clearly a true entrepreneur and a winner. At this point, he can pretty much write his own ticket in life. He doesn't need the arbitrary rules and stifling structure of high school to be successful. His parents grew up in a very different world, and they need to unders…

> a true entrepreneur and a winner

The problem is that he might be a lucky winner. As per the "once - you're lucky, twice - you're good" expression. He's on a roll now, but if it all collapses (350k split to 12 employees and running costs - that's not really something to write home about), what are the chances that he'd be able to recreate the success? I don't know. Nobody knows.

He's effectively not hedging the risk of future failures.

If his current company does well, it'll be OK. But if it fails, he may end up facing more trouble than he can handle, all due to not having basic checkboxes ticked on the resume.

Re: Ask HN: Friend's 15 year old wants to drop out, I've been asked to intervene

#54

Post by danielweber »

Am I the only one here who worked hard in high school and learned stuff? I was probably doing 60-70 hour weeks studying math, chemistry, physics, geology, English, and a few electives in between.

Of course I don't use most of that stuff in my daily life, but I'm glad I know it. And if I had gone into chemistry -- which I was seriously expecting to do as a freshman in college -- those chem classes would be something I'd be using in my daily life, of course with a lot more undergrad and grad work on top of it.

Re: Ask HN: Friend's 15 year old wants to drop out, I've been asked to intervene

#55

Post by protomyth »

Get the GED, bank the money, and go to college at your leisure when the Minecraft hosting plays out.

If High School weren't such a poor learning environment then maybe but this trend to saddle a student with homework so they are working on school in excess of 40hrs/week is inhuman. Most adults would be looking for new work under those conditions, but we frown on students when they don't want to put up with it. We need creative, spirited young folks, not a bunch of crushed-soul droids.

Re: Ask HN: Friend's 15 year old wants to drop out, I've been asked to intervene

#56

Post by RORVI »

If he knows what he's doing,i think it's better to let him do as he sees fit. After all it's his life and he will live it the way he wants. As for learning computer science,he already said he has a hosting business,so he may be able to learn computer science at work,by doing it (which is the best way !!!). I think his parents should support him, mainly because he is creating his own job, and if he fails it will be a valuable lesson for him, and then maybe he'll get back to school,but until then ,i think he's right when he chooses his company over highschool . If he's wrong, he'll learn from his mistake and move on...

Re: Ask HN: Friend's 15 year old wants to drop out, I've been asked to intervene

#57

Post by [deleted] »

shantanubala wrote: post #51
ams6110 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, he sounds like every 15 year old I know (including my own son) who is absolutely convinced that school is useless and a waste of time. That said, for most people the purpose of school is to prepare them to be able to support themselves and their families, and it sounds like he's basically able to do that now. School is something you can always come back to, but once you start into the family/kids part of your li…

I think Neil Tyson does a beautiful job of explaining why basic education is important: There are people who say “I'll never need this math -- these trig identities from 10th grade or 11th grade.” Or maybe you never learned them. Here's the catch: whether or not you ever use the math that you learned in school, the act of having learned the math established a wiring in your brain that didn't exist before, and it's th…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Friend's 15 year old wants to drop out, I've been asked to intervene

#58

Post by jonaphin »

Seems like school has had an influence on his grammar that numerous college graduates should envy.

Having been educated in France and lived my adult life in the US I can say the US education system has an advantage that other countries' may not have:

- In the US, one has the opportunity to get a college education at any age.

Re: Ask HN: Friend's 15 year old wants to drop out, I've been asked to intervene

#59

Post by mindcrime »

rayiner wrote: post #28
biscarch wrote: post #12

From my experiences of HS/College in the US, I wish someone had told me I could've gotten a GED, taken the SAT/ACTs and gone to college when I was 15. I feel as though I missed out on advancing my knowledge at a time in my life when I could focus on it with vast amounts of my time and energy. Although I'm not "behind" the average progression of someone at my stage in life, I feel as though I'm behind where I could be…

One of the administrators at my law school dropped out of high school, got a GED, and went to Harvard undergrad. Growing up, I always believed that colleges cared intensely about what classes you took in high school, etc. They don't. Nobody cares what you did in high school as long as you keep up a 4.0 in whatever classes you did take. People will care where you went to undergrad, people will care where you got your…

People will care where you went to undergrad, people will care where you got your MBA, but nobody will care about your high school (barring making old-money connections at a place like Andover or Exeter).

Some people will care about that stuff. Many won't.

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