High School Diplomas
Is it really important to have a high school diploma?
It is extremely important to have a High School diploma, because in our society today, ignorance is costing us a lot of money. And everybody thinks, "Oh, I don't want to go to school." A High School diploma simply says that you've met the minimal requirements to make you functional in our society, and this is far more important than someone forcing you to go to school, or forcing you to take classes. You need to be an educated person, so that you won't be taken advantage of in our society. Education costs us all money, including you. Being a high school dropout without a high school diploma will cost you money. It may cost you personally, or it may cost your family, your children, in lost health care benefits, or anything else. We can't afford and you can't afford not to have a high school diploma.
What are the alternatives to a high school diploma?
If a student does not desire to get a high school diploma, they can always go on to adult education. They can get a high school diploma at adult education. They can also get an adult education diploma. They can get a GED, or "general education diploma". You can also take the equivalency exam, which is a proficiency test. And you can also not get a high school diploma and go directly into a junior college if you're 18.
Is a GED considered to be the equivalent of a high school diploma by employers?
Though an employer may accept a GED, if they are looking at applications and they have people who have high school diplomas or even a person who has a college degree, they may look over the high school GED in favor of someone with a high school diploma. A lot of times, employers assume that a person who's got the GED has not, for some reason, met the specific requirements of a high school diploma, or they haven't taken as rigorous of a schedule as a high school diploma. It doesn't necessarily mean that that employer will not accept you, but there are some unwritten laws and some unwritten assumptions about a GED. It's often unfortunately been called a "good enough degree". However, that does not mean that you should have nothing. If you have not gotten your high school diploma, it is good to go ahead and get a GED, and then continue on to higher education.
Can I still get my diploma if I've already dropped out of school?
If you've dropped out of high school for whatever reason, life happens and sometimes we just have to stop where we are, make the decision to go back and get a GED. It is OK. If I've dropped out of high school, you can still go back, or even go on to adult education and receive your high school diploma. There's never a time when you cannot get a high school diploma, even if you've dropped out of high school.
