I was always concerned that Megan was not getting a well-rounded education while being home schooled. She was missing out of things like Guidance Counseling, Career Counseling and work-study. She has had no exposure to the real working world either. An involved parent could have made up for the absence of these public school services. I tried to expose Megan to the type of work I do – I even hired her part time to do a few small projects for me. Her uncle also had her do a small project where he works at – he works for a direct mail company. Much of what I needed to teach her was hindered by her not having a PC. We did give her a PC for Christmas but it’s difficult to teach her all that she would need to know with her living in another state.
But I digress as usual. Megan wasn’t exposed to different career opportunities while she home schooled herself. I once asked her about the possibility of working with her father – his reply was that she needed a college education. On the surface that’s a good answer but it’s not one that would motivate her.
You can image how excited I was when Megan called telling me she had found the career she wanted to pursue – a Dental Assistant. Granted she came to this conclusion after seeing a commercial for the school she is going to on TV. This is where the benefit of a work-study program comes in. I was exposed to data entry and worked as a newspaper staff photographer through my high school work-study program. Then in my senior year as most high school students do – I got a part-time job. I didn’t have a car or a driver’s license but I had a job. Megan hasn’t been exposed to low paying service industry type jobs that could motivate her to want to do better. Instead her absentee parent told her to focus on finishing high school – again on the surface is not a bad suggestion.
So now after a few weeks of dental school the excitement has worn off. A few weeks back she mentioned nursing school. While that is even much better than dental school I still don’t know if that’s the line of work Megan would enjoy. It’s much better paying but it’s also a much harder field – it’s very demanding.
At this point I don’t know if she’s just having problems with the work or just doesn’t like it. If she’s having problems with her studies she will have a much harder time in nursing. If she just doesn’t like AND is doing well in her current program she will probably do just fine.
The other issue (which is not my concern) is that she has signed a contract for this program. More than likely, her father will have to pay for the entire program even if she doesn’t finish it.
So why do I feel like I have failed Megan when it’s been her father that has encouraged this? Maybe she should consider enlisting in the Air Force – I did at age 19 after working in retail for 3 years.
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