Education of Randy Charles Johnson

Randy Charles Johnson's education included elementary schooling in Bean Station, leaving high school at 15, and later completing a correspondence high-school diploma. His videos connect his decision to leave school with bullying and his opposition to corporal punishment.

School experiences

Randy attended Bean Station Elementary School from 1977 to 1986. He recalls being paddled for failing to fill in one answer on a test and seeing classmates punished for similarly minor behavior. He argues that striking children with a wooden paddle should be treated like striking an adult and identifies school paddling as one reason he left formal education. In later recollections, he praised two favorite elementary-school teachers and remembered serving as a 4-H song leader for three school years.

Leaving and completing school

Randy left school on August 29, 1986. In a 40-year retrospective, he identified corporal punishment, a painful rejection by a classmate, and being struck from behind by another student as his three reasons for leaving. A companion account says he valued the extra time he could spend in nearby woods before they were cleared. Despite explaining those feelings, he consistently asks young viewers not to follow his example.

In 1993 he began a correspondence course through ICS Newport Pacific, now Penn Foster. He studied for more than two years, finished in June 1995, and received the diploma on July 5. Randy emphasizes that it was a high-school diploma, not a GED, and says the course cost about $400.

"I'm proud of myself about my diploma. I made myself a promise that I would get it, and I did get it."

Randy Johnson, "My High School Diploma"