Why are We So Focused on the Dropout Issue?

Every year, there appears to be a new crisis point in education that garners the headlines in the newspapers, creates dialogue on talk shows, and creates a massive number of news articles about the situation. But why is dropping out such a hot topic, and why now?

In the late ’80s, the business community became alarmed and sent out a clarion call that we were heading for a major disaster if we did not address the dropout issue. We rushed to the occasion and started a lot of new programs aimed at early intervention, thinking that these would solve the problem. These programs have been very successful at helping address many of the issues for young children and have helped to increase school readiness. The dropout issue has also helped us to better understand the importance of early intervention in school success and pointed up the chasm between those who have quality preschool education opportunities and those who do not.

The problem is that while we addressed early childhood education, we dropped many of the programs that supported youth during their adolescence. There were a number of reports that came out in the early ’90s about what we needed to do to change our middle grades education, but by and large most of them were never implemented, as there was just not enough money or maybe willpower to address the issues at the same time as the early childhood issues. For whatever the reason, middle grades were largely neglected.

Now our focus is on high schools because we have a crisis. The efforts to improve reading and math scores at the lower grades and efforts to help in school readiness have not helped to significantly affect the dropout issue. In fact, some of the states with the most investment in kindergarten and preschool continue to show some of the worst dropout rates.

Does that mean we should abandon early childhood programs and invest ONLY in older children? ABSOLUTELY NOT. What we need is to build a continuum of services that provides students at all levels of schooling appropriate support systems. While it is easy to blame the parents for poor academic performance (or the teachers), often it is the environment itself—which includes schools, parents, community and peers—that is conducive to dropping out. Students do not begin dropping out of school at ninth grade for no reason: that is simply where some students are finally old enough to realize that school may not be for them, and we give them permission to drop out at that age.

We also look for simple answers to complex problems. We wrongly assume that teaching kids to read better or learn more math will keep them in school. While it is true that students who cannot read or do math will fail as they move upwards in school, better reading and math scores do not guarantee that students will find high school (or middle school) appealing enough to stay. Although teaching kids to read and write at grade level is essential, we must also recognize that many of the students who are dropping out of school have the ability to read and do math on grade level or higher.

They are simply bored with school, have overwhelming social issues, or have to work to support their families.

There are a number of reasons why individual students drop out of school. We cannot lump them into one basket and say “THIS is the reason they dropped out.” We have to take the time and energy to find out why they are thinking of dropping out, long before they actually walk out the door. The Silent Epidemic report, one of the most in-depth studies of why kids drop out*, showed us that many kids do not want to drop out of school but feel there are no options for them. Many of them are good students, bright students, who leave sometimes lacking only a few credits before they walk out the door. Many students feel pushed out of school. In addition, once they leave school, they do not feel they would be welcomed back. Whether they are dropouts, pushouts, or fallouts, it has created a crisis in education.

So, why is dropping out so important now? Let’s look at the statistics. North Carolina alone spends over 590 million dollars a year on feeding, clothing, and providing safety to over 25,000 dropouts in our adult prison system. The average cost per inmate is $25,000 (enough to put a child through one of our state universities on a full scholarship for four years). The $25,000 cost does not include lost wages during the time of incarceration, nor that more than likely the family left behind will have to enter the social welfare system in order to survive. It also does not include the data that suggest that children who have incarcerated parents are more likely to drop out or experience social problems.

Economic loss is also a major factor. We currently have over 67 million people under the age of 50 who will have to provide support to over 88 million adults over 60 who will be leaving the workforce within the next ten years. These older adults will be retiring from jobs that will need to be filled, and many will also be depending on the social security system and Medicare to provide for them. If we are losing 40% of our contributors, where will we find the dollars to sustain the workforce? Who will pay the lion’s share of taxes?

The world has changed and we must change with it. Prior to World War II, many young people dropped out of school and went to work for the mills and factories. During and after World War II, many of our young people—especially young males—joined the military service, which provided an alternative for students who wanted to finish school and move into skilled jobs. The GI bill also provided them the opportunity to continue their education. The military provided a huge educational service to thousands of men and women who were able to not only complete high school but also learn marketable skills that could be transferred back to the workplace. They also learned discipline, self respect, and respect for authority. Unfortunately, during the late ’80s, that option was eliminated, as the military recognized a need for more qualified individuals.

Now that the military is not an option and the demand for skilled labor and a more highly educated workforce is imperative, what must we do to address the crisis? First we must understand why students drop out and give them a chance to be part of the solution. We need to spend time and energy creating new models for both middle and high schools that engage young minds. We need to accept that, just as all adults do not go the same job and do the same things each day, neither should we expect this of our youth. Today’s youth live in a far different world than the one that existed even ten years ago. They have grown up with instant access and quick response. They have grown up with 99 channels to choose from and a remote that allows them to rapidly switch from one channel to another. They have grown up with interactive toys and games. They have grown up with mobile communication and instant messaging. The problem is that schools have changed very little for these young people. They still sit through lectures, complete questions at the end of the chapter, and have to learn cursive (even if the only time you ever have to use cursive is to sign your signature). They are forced to memorize tons of worthless information that is a point and click away by simply hitting search on their Blackberry, computer, or cell phone.

We also have failed to recognize that society is different. Many children have never eaten a home-cooked meal. They have never sat down and had a family discussion over dinner. Thousands of children literally raise themselves, as one or both parents work and many work second- and third-shift jobs just to put food on the table. Current trend data show us that fewer and fewer children attend church or have families that have any religious affiliation. Many public high schools are so large that only a small percentage of students may participate in extracurricular activities, especially sports. School budgets have been cut so severely that in many schools, art and music have been eliminated, and band uniforms have to be purchased by students—they are not provided by the school.

Yes, we have a crisis in education; but if we continue to do the same things we have always done, we will continue to get the same results: an ever-increasing number of students dropping out.

So what do we need to change, and how? We must invest in our schools NOW. We must ensure that all children, regardless of where they live, have qualified teachers who can facilitate learning, who know not only the content, but also how to teach by engaging young people in their own learning. We must provide many more options for students, including chances to learn marketable skills and to learn through different teaching methods that use the community as experiential classrooms. We need to create smaller learning communities in every middle school and high school and we need to create separate small schools where young people feel cared about and cared for during turbulent times. We also need to engage all the resources of the community to support our students. No longer can we lay the responsibility of dealing with the myriad of social issues on the doors of teachers. We need shared responsibility and accountability to ensure that all students are staying in school.

The investment we make now in keeping students in school is not only the morally right thing to do but it is economically imperative. The future of this country and the well-being of future generations demands that we make the necessary changes.