The High School Dropout Crisis John Staurt Mill, the most influential English-speaking philosopher of the nineteenth century, wrote in On Liberty: “Human nature is not a machine to be built after a model, and set to do exactly the work prescribed for it, but a tree, which requires to grow and develop itself on all sides, according to the tendency of the inward forces which make it a living thing.” He reminded us that human nature can be improved by civilization. Therefore, if we want to create a strong community, a stable economic, people must be educated.
Education has always played an important role in our society. That is a reason for majority of kids in the developed countries finish high school. However, that is not applied in the United States.. The high rate of high school dropping out has become a national concern. Understanding the reasons behind the high school dropping out is the key to solve this critical and costly problem. At present, the dropout rate is high because of school, family, and jobs issues, and can be improved by assisting at-risk students, opening online classes, and combining high school and college – level instruction. In the U.S., high school dropouts are influenced by an array of factors, and the reasons fall into three main categories: reasons involving to school, family, and jobs. Russell W. Rumberger, a professor of education California University, Santa Barbara, and Voice Provost for Education Partnership at the University of California Office of the President, shows that the first reason for high school dropout is that students are not interested in school. In his research, he point out when students discussed their schools and classes, many students reported that they lacked interest in school. Many students reflected, “high school was boring, nothing I was interested in,” or “it was boring …the teacher just stood in front of the room, talked, and didn’t involve you.” Other students reported that the works were not even hard, and since they did not learn anything, they did not need to go. In contract, many students reported that the reason was they missing to many days, and couldn’t catch up (Rumberger 157). At the result, students dropped out because they are not interested in schools, and they do not think they need school either. Another reason for dropping out is family issue. Pregnancy references as the number one reason for female students leaving school as twenty-seven percent, and nearly eight percent of male say they left school because they became fathers (“Reason why”). Pregnant and parenting teens often do not feel supported within their schools; this lack of support makes those students isolated themselves from other peers, quit their own education, and face difficulty in providing their children’s with opportunity as well (Varlas). Many pregnant students usually feel embarrassed, so they do not want go back school. They also may struggle with morning sickness or fatigue. It makes the pregnant teens meet difficulty keeping up with their classwork (“what are problems”). At the result, those students dropped out because they were not supported.
Beside those above reasons, high school students drop out because they got a job, or could not work and doing school work at the same time. Many students are in situations where both of their parents not working, or one does not work, so they have to find a job to support their families. Alternatively, in some cases, the parents cannot afford their books, supplies, and transportation. “Obviously, the more absences a student have, the less likely they are to succeed,” said Martindale, coordinator of Building Bridges for the Future of Muskogee, “And we know there is a corollary with dropout rates — they’re seven times more likely in families with low income” (Spaulding).
Students who drop out of high school suffer from a range of consequences for the rest of their lives. First of all, they have to face bleak economic future –