Running away from Running Start

With all the problems I encountered in high school, something had to change. I was not going to succeed another year. I needed something else. According to those around me, that something else had to be the Running Start program.

For those who do not know, Running Start is a program in the state of Washington that allows high school students to attend a community college. College courses would count as both high school and college credit. I could work towards a two-year degree, still graduate high schools, and use the two-year degree to reduce the time I would spend in college.

One slight problem. College is indistinguishable from high school. Running Start did nothing to address my problems. I still had to deal with the excruciatingly slow pace, over-the-top repetition, and even the same teacher idiocy that chased me out of high school.

The problems that I encountered during my school years were not a few bad teachers, they were not a few bad schools, they were not isolated to the district (which actually had a good reputation). I have also watched enough television to see that these same problems were not confined. Even portrayals of so-called “good” teachers give me the chills.

With what I had been told, I was out of options. With society’s heavy reliance on the schools, my life was essentially over. Dropping out would have put me on the wrong end of widespread discriminatory policies, but it might have been a better option than high school or college. What was left for me?

Fortunately, another option appeared. I joined a monitored homeschooling program at an alternative high school. This still put me at risk of having society looking down on me, but that would only be true for people who knew that I resorted to alternative methods. The stereotypes associated with this kind of schooling include teenage girls who have had children, kids who have had problems with drugs, and a number of other types of rejects. How do such students get punished? They are given more rights.

Finally, I had some say in my own education. I still think that it’s silly that options are only presented after the traditional model has proven to be seriously harmful. Regardless, I not only managed to earn my diploma, but I even managed to finish on time.