Attendance is pretty bad at the GED program where I work. It doesn't seem to matter that you CAN get kicked out for attendance, the students seem to know that we'll just keep giving another, and another, and another chance. As long as you're active and learning you're in, even if you're not in every day.
And I wasn't really too concerned about that at first. I mean, attendance is one reason students fall behind in regular schools so I almost expect it to be an issue at an optional program. But then I got to know my students and learn about their goals.
Many want to go onto college. They don't just want a job that pays a little better (and, with a GED jobs pay just a little more), they want to become nurses and police officers. I'm not sure how they've picked the jobs, perhaps from too many career days where recruiters display possible income levels. Nurse's aides, for instance, earn a respectable salary and require a one year program.
But even one year programs are going to be a problem for some of these kids. They say they'll show up every day to college, even if they don't come to class every day. Maybe they're right. College classes are fun and interesting, if you understand what's going on.
I'm worried that bad habits won't die just because a kid's got a GED in hand. Additionally, the skills these kids need to pass the GED aren't necessarily the same skills they would need for college. They have so much working against them and I want only the best for each of them. I guess this is why we tend to celebrate the person who has come from nothing and made such a success of their life. It's the true American dream.
What we don't talk about within the American dream is the ability to overcome bad habits.
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