Hello I hope the information will help you.

I have a 20 year old who in my mind should have went to college right out of high school he is a good young adult , but wanted to make sure what he wanted to do. In your case belieive since your are a single parent and a great mom your son needs a father image to encourage him, young men his age go through a rejection period in their life it sometimes start at the age of 12 to 15
most times as moms we notice it but cannot seem to put our finger on problem. My oldest son went through this secret rejection by father. Young men need to be validated by their fathers or another father IMAGE to accept them and encourge him towards greatness. Remember a man lanuage is different then our. They are thinkers we are as women responders we have been created to respond right away to fix the problem. Men they hear us but they can be longtime thinkers but once they get their vision in place move out the way greatness begans to produce and bless many.

By you placing this ad shows you love him and he will do well. Your son will make you proud he is a thinker he know what he wants just continue to love him.

Be Encouraged You have done well as a single mom.

Stop signing him out.

Offer him rewards for better grades. Whatever they are presently, set a somewhat higher goal and promise a reward, and stick to it. This should be for relatively frequent grades that might be expected within a month.

I have two teenagers, one still at school ( just ) and one who didn't finish school but is doing other study outside of school. It has taken me a few years to realise that they are not mine to control, not teenagers anyway.

Even if they pretend to do what you want, they really only do what they want when they want - do you understand what I mean, our influence as parents decreases at this point, they pay 'lip service' to what we ask. That being said, they still value our input and love and support.

So admit to him that you understand, school is boring and dull and he doesn't want to be there, but he has to for a little bit longer. Tell him to just sit and hang in there, he doesn't actually need to do much but be seen and be counted. Don't sign him out but tell him why you can't - Put it in terms of your legal liability with the school, they are following procedure and so must you. It's not a question of love or helping him or anything, its what you must do. And as a young adult its the first time he has to think about the legality of what's happening and why it must be the way it is.

Teenagers only listen if we tell them what they want to hear. Tell him you hear the complaints from him, you are listening, but at this point your hands are tied and its impossible to do as he asks. Count down the days/weeks/months he has left just like he does...."wow, only 2 more months of this rubbish eh?" ... "another week, another one out of the way" so be sympathetic but don't get caught in the 'help me out Mum' conversations.

It might work, it worked with mine so she stayed till the end of the year ( a few months of real hassle but it paid off :) and yes, I'm also a single parent. We have no backup, we have no one with us saying "listen to your Mother" so we make up one! In this case its the school authority that binds you as well as him. Consider yourself a team to get over the last hurdle. And if he can see the end getting closer with your help it might just work out :)

He does sound like he has good potential so in the long run I'm sure it will work out for both of you.
Good luck and I hope you get some helpful advice

I say, with as loud a voice as one person can, look into a GED, and do it now. School is not for everyone and it cost nothing to look into it. Some people take to the GED route like a duck to water. Wouldn't it be wonderful if he turned out to be one of those?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Wjkl4QqDFc

I don't have a teen but I was one a long time ago ;) I agree with the poster before me that school isn't for everyone, and at his age, I'm wondering if maybe it's gotten to be too stressful and he's thinking of reasons to not go or get signed out.

Another question could be whether he's not understanding the school work and just doesn't want to say it. I would imagine it must be kind of embarrassing for him to be in school either way.

I'd let him get his GED or finish online. There are high school courses available online that he could do, because in the end he definitely needs to get some form of education. It just might be better for his self esteem if he finishes somewhere else.

If he's working and doing the handyman thing on the weekends, he's probably one of those guys that needs to be doing something and learns easier that way. Lots of guys are like that (and girls for that matter), it doesn't mean they're bad or anything is wrong with them. The school setting is definitely not for everyone.

It is very likely that your son is indeed exhausted and discouraged from going to high school for an extended amount of time. It sounds as though he has had to repeat a grade at some point due to his lack of motivation for school work since he is somewhat older than his peers? Having an older teen who is legally already an adult, can be sometimes difficult to deal with effectively, especially if both of your priorities are somewhat different. The first thing to do is to stop making excuses for him as to why he might need time off from school. If you are indeed still responsible for him from the school’s point of view you must not allow him to skip school whenever he pleases and remind him of his expressed desire to complete his education and continue on to college. Let him know that he only needs to hang in there for the remainder of the school year (if he’s a senior) and then high school will finally be over for him. Sit him down and discuss his commitment to school with him and help him figure out how much time he must invest in order to achieve his graduation requirements. Having a distinct plan in place may help him put things into perspective, provide him with a foreseeable goal, and allow him to gain a glimpse of a high school-free future. When your son told you he would like to continue his education, he may have indicated that although he’s still in high school he may be ready to move on to bigger and better things: college. Sometimes when students appear to be fed up with school and complain of boredom, subjects studied in school may actually be not challenging enough for them and they are oftentimes ready to pursue an education where they can study what truly interests them. Your son sounds like a smart young man who is aware of the concept of responsibility and hard work. He also seems to be a typical young adult who loves to explore his youth by focusing on enjoyable activities. Thus, the best approach to take is to let him know that you understand his desire to have fun and the feeling that school may not always be a thrilling experience. However, you must ensure that he understands the importance of taking his senior year studies seriously, as well as the consequences that may follow if he decides not to. It may be in his best interest to create successful study habits while still in high school, since he would carry these along to college for effective post-secondary learning. Show your son you support him and talk to him in a non-critical way, since you may otherwise cause him to shut down and stop listening (if he feels you are lecturing him rather than discussing options to successfully manage his final high school year). Finally, you should never sign him out of school regardless how much he pleads with you (unless, of course, he is actually not feeling well), since you may then be sending him the signal that it is okay to skip school when you feel like it and that school is not truly important enough for you to dedicate your time and attention to while there. True, school days can seem long at times, but your son has to realize that even if he decides against college and wants to enter the working world, there will be no acceptance of excuses from employers nor will you be able to “sign” him out whenever he simply does not feel like going or staying. High school prepares teens and young adults for their adult lives following secondary education in certain ways, and ensuring proper attendance is one way to teach students the importance of responsibility and commitment to a cause.

Stop and ask him why he hasnt obtained his GED? he will be done with everything and be ready to move on. He's board with school because all his friends are gone . Obtaining a HS deploma for the sake of a HS graduation is not needed . My wife was home schooled and never graduated . A GED will get him to the starting point.