<p>My middle son is in the 8th grade now and certainly, like me, school will not be his thing. (I went on to become the CEO of many nonprofits, and I will tell you it was nothing I learned in school…) he is big into acting but not particularly at his high school which is very large and impersonal…he does OK (A, B’s and a couple C’s) in school but it is boring and miserable. (I dont know how kids drag themselves to school these days) So what school could be suggested that will be all about acting and not selective, with a fall back degree of some sort that he can use if the acting doesnt come to fruition.</p>
<p>My son is a theater minor, and I have been surprised to find out all of the academic work that goes into being a theater major or minor. For instance, one course that he will have to take – a course in script analysis – requires students to write over the course of a semester a paper that will be 80-100 pages long. S has always been a slow writer, and knows he’ll have to work hard to do well in that course. He plans to do so because it’s the only way he can be a theater minor.</p>
<p>I think it’s very early to be trying to decide on a school for your 8th grader. More than likely his interests will change greatly over the next several years.</p>
<p>I encourage you to have him participate in all aspects of theater, including the technical end. It’s possible for people with good tech skills to get well paying jobs on the tech side of theater/film even if they lack college educations.</p>
<p>Also have your S find out what is required to be an acting major in college. Perhaps when he sees how much academic work is required, he’ll take his current schooling more seriously.</p>
<p>All kids are different, I am a family therapist, and I hope he doesnt start to focus on school and waste valuable living time, school is a waste of time for many really talented students. Also my children seem to know from a very early age what they want to do! thanks tho.</p>
<p>" I hope he doesnt start to focus on school and waste valuable living time, school is a waste of time for many really talented students."</p>
<p>Fine, but then don’t plan for him to go to college to pursue his acting interests. I doubt that there’s any college where he’ll be able to study acting without also having to do some major academic work, including with his acting classes. He may assume that studying acting means literally acting all of the time, but theater classes include theater history, script analysis and even acting classes require students to do a lot of papers analyzing their characters.</p>
<p>If he’s certain that he wants an acting career, perhaps you could give him the money that you would have spent for college, and you could let him go to a major city like NYC or LA, enroll in acting workshops (not college) there while auditioning to get roles.</p>
<p>It seems like you’re planning this a little early. At the age of 13, many kids think, “Gee, wouldn’t it be great if I could drop school and audition for High School Musical?” or, “I wish I could be the next Hannah Montana!” It’s a nice thought, but unless your kid is REALLY talented (and as his parent, you can’t really tell objectively) telling him school is a waste of time doesn’t sound like a good idea. </p>
<p>Most kids find school boring. Shakespeare? Boring. Math? Boring. Biology? Boring. If all our parents were like, well, school’s a waste of time, we would drop out at 16. </p>
<p>Enroll your kid in acting classes or an acting workshop, which he’ll probably enjoy and he can improve his skills. You have a while to go until he graduates high school! By that time, he may not want to do something else. Have you considered an arts college? I go to NYU and our arts school, Tisch, has a great theatre program. They care about talent more than grades/SAT, but he’ll still need to be a B-student. Good luck :)</p>
<p>I have two other children who have been through this and I counsel others…it isnt too early and it isnt all about academics, you two need to start to think a little more creatively and outside the box, most people who are actually successful in life do you know.</p>