During his hour long presentation at the DLC, Wes Beach fielded a question from a young man in the audience: “Do you mean to say, that all you need to be successful in college is the ability to read, write and do basic math?”
Wes nodded and answered, deliberately, “Yes”.
“You just blew my mind!” The teen gushed.
A small smile formed on Wes’s face. Although others disagree with him, Wes exudes unshakable assurance from 53 years as an educator, the last ten years of which he graduated more than 1,400 young people from high school early. It’s hard to argue with the results he’s seen in that time--he’s accumulated quite a case study that high school is not necessary for success in life.
That’s right. High school is not necessary for success in life.
High school is not necessary.
Wes taught in public junior high and high school before forming his own private school, Beach High School. Initially, through Beach High, Wes awarded extra credits to his public high school students--credits for experiences that his students wanted but their high school didn’t offer. By 1993, Wes left the public system to run Beach High full time.
Wes writes of Beach High graduates: “Almost all of them have skipped a large part or all of high school, missing the academic preparation that is supposedly necessary for college and life. They have gone on to succeed in vocations ranging from professional rock climbing to medicine. The majority of these people choose to go to college, and many of them reach the highest levels of formal education and enter the professions.”
Beach High is not accredited, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Wes works with students to create a transcript that reflects their experiences and goals. He’s had students admitted straight to four year universities, including Stanford, UC Berkeley and Harvard. Most attend a community college first. The military does not recognize a Beach High School diploma, but that is the only institution that has posed a problem.
Many of Wes’s students have chosen to forgo college. Wes shares: “they’ve been successful in dance, music, acting, photography, sports, crafts, high tech and entrepreneurial endeavors. Among these people are a principal dancer with a big-city ballet company, a well-known wedding photographer, a successful singer and recording artist, a leading man in movies, and a professional rock climber.”
Wes is quick to point out that families can easily set up their own homeschools. California law allows families to establish their own private high school, and create their own transcripts for their students. http://www.hsc.org/establishing-your-own-private-school.html
The California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) is another option, for those 16 or older. http://www.chspe.net/ The CHSPE is a test of basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills. It allows students to leave high school early and attend community college full time. The CHSPE is different from the California High School Exit Eam (CAHSEE), which does NOT allow students to graduate early! Public high schools--including public charters and independent study programs--are reluctant to inform students of the CHSPE option, because it doesn’t reflect well on the school’s graduation rates.
To take the GED, students must wait until they are 18, and the test has 5 content areas (reading, writing; mathematics; science; and social studies).
In summary, young adults--14, 15 or 16 years old--who do not want to pursue traditional high school coursework have several options. Wes shares the stories of nine such people in his inspiring book Forging Paths: Beyond Traditional Schooling. http://www.amazon.com/Forging-Paths-Beyond-Traditional-Schooling/dp/0615577849
Some final words from Wes: “I’ve spent time attempting to understand why people succeed who are “academically unprepared”. The obvious answer is that academic preparation is not what’s fundamentally necessary. It appears to me that personal strengths are what’s foundational in success, strengths such as confidence, curiosity, passion, realistic self-knowledge, a capacity for wholehearted engagement, an ability to persevere, and a sense of autonomy.”
