I’m thinking about dropping out of high school to help my family with money. My mom is really struggling and sometimes she has trouble giving us the basics. Any advice??
Paul this is a tough decision to make – one that many people have considered to help their families. I will do my best to offer you advice with the littleI know about your situation.
It’s really admirable that you want to help support your family, and there are some things you might be able to do without dropping out of school. We’llget to those later. First, I want to try to convince you that dropping out right now is not the best long-term plan for financially supporting your family.
Like I mentioned, Paul, I don’t know your exact situation, but one thing I do know are facts about high school dropouts. Not surprisingly high schooldropouts earn significantly less money than those who finished high school (about $200,000 less over their lifetimes). Also high school dropouts make upover half of the people who are on welfare. Now I know these facts don’t tell the whole story, but they do suggest that dropping out of high school mightnot be the best decision for your family in the long run. Staying in school might be the best decision.
There are some things you can do to help you family right now though. One thing is that you can get a part-time job. When I was in high school I workedat our community center and also babysat and mowed lawns. If you live on the reservation, see if one of your tribal service departments provides supportto people applying for jobs. They might have some leads on good jobs, and they will be able to help you with your job applications. Also, at your tribalservices office, you can learn more about assistance programs for families that are struggling. There might be different programs you and your mom arenot aware of.
I hope this advice is useful to you Paul. If anyone out there has had the same issue and found something that worked for them, please post.
Good Luck!
Auntie is rooting for you!
