> I was an idiot. Back then, I didn't have the perspective to know what was important and what was unimportant...
And what makes you think the people designing your high school curriculum knew any better or that teaching you important things was even their goal?
I think with a little guidance from well educated people I could have spent my high school years learning a hell of a lot more important things than my school wanted me to.
I agree with your advice that dropping out of HS should be discouraged, but mostly just because it'd hurt you later if you didn't have a decent grasp of reading/writing/math and a diploma to get past the stigma of not having one.
"And what makes you think the people designing your high school curriculum knew any better or that teaching you important things was even their goal?"
I don't think they knew for sure, but they had a hell of a lot better idea about what was important than I did, at the time. And in retrospect, they weren't too far off.
Most people who teach and design high school curricula are incredibly dedicated people, who want you to learn. They certainly aren't doing it for the money and fame.
"And what makes you think the people designing your high school curriculum knew any better or that teaching you important things was even their goal?"
The insinuation here borders on slander.
How much time did you spend asking your instructors for more interesting work to do? Did you ask them about why they chose the curriculum they did? Whether there were better choices? For advice on guiding your personal learning process?
If so, you might have a case to make here (but only for your specific teachers, not the entire profession). If not, you malign your teachers without enough evidence to back your accusations.
I remember two teachers specifically, who were ecstatic to have a student who actually gave a damn about learning. One affectionately (and jokingly) called me his "disciple." They went out of their way to find experiments for me to do in the course of applying for my state's summer science school. They found ways to help me learn more about computers and programming.
If you just blew your teachers off and did not even engage them about how they could help you learn, the blame falls more on you than them.
If it was anything like my school, the teachers had very little choice in curriculum.
The English teachers were told what books to teach. The math teachers had the books picked out for them. The AP teachers had a strict test for which to prepare us. Foreign language teachers likely had the most flexibility in retrospect. The science teachers didn't have enough money to do much more than teach to the book. (Some of them did an admirable job none the less.)
Mind you, the teachers liked me. I didn't complain about the grades, asked questions, and was engaged with the learning process. That doesn't mean I don't regret dropping out after the sophomore year (1995) like I almost did and go to the community college. I regret not getting my associates and cashing in at the end of the boom so that I could have gone back to college in my time.
And what makes you think the people designing your high school curriculum knew any better or that teaching you important things was even their goal?
I think with a little guidance from well educated people I could have spent my high school years learning a hell of a lot more important things than my school wanted me to.
I agree with your advice that dropping out of HS should be discouraged, but mostly just because it'd hurt you later if you didn't have a decent grasp of reading/writing/math and a diploma to get past the stigma of not having one.