High School Dropouts Get a Second Chance to Teach Their Children the Importance of Education! Part I

My name is Damon Tinnon and I teach GED Prep at the Napa Valley Adult School in beautiful Napa, CA. I began teaching the GED Prep class for the Napa Valley Adult School in the Fall of 2001. I have also taught beginning Spanish for the Adult School’s Community Education program, the Adult Basic Education (ABE) class, which is the class one level below this one, English as a Second Language (ESL) and GED in the Spanish Language. I am a credentialed teacher in the state of California.

Each year, I have only one goal. I want to help every student who is committed to passing the GED to pass it.

I love teaching in Adult Education because the students tend to be very motivated. I truly love seeing adults get a second chance at a GED or High School Diploma. I get excited when a student improves their skill levels. I love watching adult students grow in their skills and confidence and then go and PASS the GED!

But more than anything else, I love seeing parents of K-12 students earn their GED. This is an extremely important dynamic that can not be too over emphasized. Seeing a parent change their status from high school dropout to Diploma holder is powerful. I see students regain their integrity, credibility and esteem as a parent.

It is difficult for parents to teach the importance of an education when they themselves have not completed the basic education level provided freely to and expected of all in our society.

I realize that there are many reasons for our nation’s ridiculously high dropout rates. However, those reasons do not change the facts. Indeed, it does not change the most scary fact of the facts. Children of high school dropouts are more likely than those children of high school graduates to drop out, or repeat the cycle.

If we don’t pay attention to the aged drop outs, those with 10 or more years since dropping out, we are playing a dangerous game. These are the drop outs who have children in elementary school or higher. These are the families that are struggling with homework most severely. These are the folks who are in and out of stable employment and housing. These are the folks who meet most often with principals, teachers and resource specialists. These are the parents who have the most difficult time managing and following through on intervention strategies proposed by the schools – if they are lucky enough to have a single strategy with resources presented to them. Suffice it to say this is an important battleground.

Damon A. Tinnon