Plan B : High School - University

We do a poor job of creating, facilitating, supporting, AND celebrating Plan B

By Peter Massiah

We all had tears in our eyes; the student, his father and me. It was such a relief; for all of us. Plan B. Nathan, the student, had taken a sudden left turn in Grade 11. He had skipped enough classes to be suspended and in my office with his Dad. We needed an answer. The answer was Plan B. I'd seen it too many times before.

It's an Inability Problem AND an accomodation Problem

Almost every grade eight who enters my school is on their way to a university education. That's Plan A. Quite aside from the ability and the getting the good marks problem, there is another problem. Even if each of my students could perform at the required level for Plan A, there is not enough room for them. The fact is: only one in every five can make it to university because that is all there is room for.

A not infrequent tragedy gets played out in families in my school and in almost every other school I know. It goes like this. The parent (s) and the kid(s) arrive with a firm commitment to Plan A. In the years from Grade 8 through Grade 10 the tale is told. The evidence is gathered, the data is amassed and, far too often, completely ignored.

According to the evidence, collected over three years, Junior does not have what it takes to be the one in five who can make it. He has been a good kid, worked hard, made a contribution and pulled down a B average. And now, it's time to select courses for the final two graduating years.

If he does what Nathan, and his folks, did. He sticks to Plan A. He selects the three senior sciences, maybe the honors math and three other academic, university preparation courses. If he does what Nathan did, he cracks under the immense pressure and finds a way out that is more a cry for help than an offence against the rules. He starts to skip school. Or he acts out in some other way. He needs Plan B. and there is not one available.

Nathan and his Dad cried in my office because Dad finally let go of Plan A. It was going to be OK for Nathan to take the courses that would lead to the college program in graphic design. He could get out of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, as well as that very scary Math class. He could stop feeling inadequate. He could stop feeling he had let everybody down. He could begin to put together a plan to get where he wanted to go and where he knew he could go. He now had Plan B.

Plan B IS an Honourable Option

There is an easier way to Plan B. Or, maybe it isn't easy at all. It requires a significant shift. It requires change; at home and at school.

We do a great job of selling 'the dream'; Plan A. Almost everybody buys into it. We do a poor job of creating, facilitating, supporting, AND celebrating Plan B.

Grade 10, in most systems, is the year. The evidence is in. It needs to be honored. Yes, there are exceptions, but, for the most part, what has happened in Grades 8 through 10 is a very good predictor of what is to come.

Yes, IF, one works harder the marks might improve. The trouble is, the work gets harder too. And then there is just the shear competition of numbers. There are only so many spaces. Your school counselor can give you an accurate picture of the marks required to make it into university.

Grade 10 is the year when an honest, open and willing assessment of what is, needs to take place. It needs to happen before the course selection in January. The night before the form is due is not the time to be evaluating one's future life and the choices that will shape it.

It is never too early to think about Plan B. The existence of Plan B will not slow down a genuine Plan A kid. The existence of Plan B will only serve to honor, support, and give love, to a genuine Plan B kid.