In 1961 there was no such thing as "social promotion". Kids actually repeated a school year if their academic performance wasn't up to snuff. This made for fun 8th grade gym classes when we prepubescent 12 and 13 year olds competed with bearded, testosterone-fueled 15 and 16 year olds. It was embarrassing enough to be pinned to the wrestling mat by a third-try eighth grader. It was worse to wear a gauze pad over the beard stubble contusion that he left behind for the remainder of the school day.
Time does, in fact, heal all wounds. Most of the third-try eighth graders quit school as soon as they turned 16 and went on to a lucrative position at the local Car Wash. Minimum wage in those days was $1.25 per hour. That doesn't sound like much, but bear in mind that a six-pack of beer was only $1.25 back then. Work an hour, buy a six-pack seemed like a pretty good deal at the time.
Fifty years later, there is a better reason for some 16 year olds to quit school. Jeremy Tyler bailed out of high school after his sophomore year and signed a $140,000 contract to play pro basketball in Israel. At age 17, he packed up his sneakers and baggy shorts for a $250K contract in Japan. Having turned 18, he is now eligible to play in the NBA, average salary $5 million. Of course, it helps that Jeremy is 6'-10", 260 lbs, and can jump through the ceiling.
For all I know, Jeremy was a straight A student. Assuming that he was a third-try, 16 year old eighth grader, though would create a classic Guidance Counselor Training Session.
"Now, Jeremy, we need to choose which courses you will take next year in ninth grade. You'll need to take Geometry and Spanish if you hope to get into college."
"Actually, I was thinking of taking Conversational Hebrew this year and Fundamentals of Japanese the year after that. I'll be paid about $400K for my trouble which is more than you'll make in 10 years."
How does a Guidance Counselor answer that one?
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