Dropping Out : Why Should High School Drop Out?

In the United States, over 1.2 million students drop out of high school every year. This is about one student every 26 seconds or 7,000 students a day. These alarming statistics are unfortunately a reality. Many of these kids face severe consequences throughout their life because of this one bad decision. These challenges could be avoided if students are required to graduate and receive their diploma. Students should be required to stay in school until the age of 18 to protect their well-being, ensure they won’t make a decision that they will likely regret, and give them more opportunities in their adulthood.

There are many negative effects caused by dropping out of high-school. Some of these effects include dropouts being more likely to become delinquents, more likely to have a lower income, and more likely to be leading an unhealthy life. According to the article Raise the Legal Dropout Age by the University of Toronto, "An average dropout earns less money, is more likely to spend time in jail, and is less healthy, less happy and less likely to be married than a high school graduate." These are some major effects that everyone should be aware of. Simply dropping out of school can change someone's whole life for the worse.

“Dropping out of school does not seem to happen overnight; it comes after a long term process of frustration and failure” (Balfanz par 2). According to the National Center for Education Statistics, The population studied students attending Baltimore schools and gathered research that indicates how low test scores and report card grades as early as the 1st grade are reliable sources of whether students would later drop out(Alexander, Entwisle and Kabbani par.6). Also having to go through grade retention as early as kindergarten is also connected to why the dropout rate has reached a dynamic level (Kaufman and Bradby par.6). Whoever decides to drops out has no type of support, encouragement, or ambition starting at such a young age.

Students who drop out of school usually do it over the frustration of not understanding what is going on in class or

Most of the teenagers who drop out from high school tend to fall into the jail system chain. In the website “Alternative Schools Network” which is dedicated to stopping students from dropping out of school mentions that “Youth dropouts are more likely to be involved in destructive interactions and illicit activities, making them prone to incarceration”. There's a direct relationship between highschool dropouts and the likelihood of them going to jail. High school dropouts are most likely to end up being in a facility center, due to the fact that instead of being involved in their education they are getting involved in crimes or gangs. Not being able to find a good paying job in the first place, high school dropouts tend to recur to illicit activities to make their everyday living which leads them in a life going in and out of prison. Research has shown that “High school dropouts are less likely to receive skills and experience needed for employment”. Once an individual stops attending school they give up the necessary skills and knowledge required for a good job. Most of the times they end up getting a job which pays them barely enough to survive which leads them to illegal activities as a way out of their current

First of all, there is higher unemployment and lower job satisfaction when students do not graduate from high school. According to the radio interview, “.....to leave school for work, that decision is likely to have a negative impact over the course of his or her life. Those without a high school diploma have lower earnings, higher unemployment, lower job satisfaction…..” This shows that leaving school can have a negative effect on a person’s life. Though many students leave school for work to help raise money for their

In North Carolina a student can legally stop going to school at the age of 16. However, this is not a decision that students hastily make, rather it is a “gradual process of disengagement” (Bridgeland, DiLulio Jr. & Morison, 2006). There are many reasons as to why these students choose to dropout, including extenuating circumstances they may not be able to control. North Carolina requires a majority of their districts to have school social workers or counselors document the reasons students provide for dropping out of school. These reasons vary from school attendance having the highest percentage of 40.3, community college enrollment, conflicts with work, unstable home environment, change of location, need to care for children, and incarceration (Public Schools of North Carolina, 2015).

Each year, 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone. According to Dropoutprevention.org teenagers leave school because they feel they cannot complete course requirements, cannot keep up with school assignments or feel they do not connect with their teachers. When the young adults stop their education, they no longer have positive examples to follow and lose a plan for their life in the future. Teens are not yet experienced enough to make these types of life changing decisions. It is important for the government to set regulations for them to follow so they have a better opportunity of success later in life. Students should be required to stay in school until they are eighteen years old because high school teaches them life skills and their diploma qualify

“Dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country, and this country needs and values the talents of every American.” -Barack Obama. This quote from Barack Obama was from his address to Congress. Some might say that high school is not for everyone, but dropping out of high school can affect your future. As of right now, the dropout age is 16 . Teenagers at the age of 16 are not very knowledgeable of what happens after high school. At the age of 16 teenagers are not an adult nor should have to worry about dropping out of school. Therefore, students should not be able to make this life- changing decision until their senior year. Getting a high school diploma is a big deal yet these students are dropping out and losing the chance to have a good job that pays well and have a better future.

A student dropout is defined as a student 16 to 24 years old who was enrolled in school and has not obtained a high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED) certificate. Students who have transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts (U.S. Department of Education-National Center for Education Statistics, 2014). In the State of California (Education, 2017a) dropout for 2014-15 academic year was 10.7. In the latest date from the graduating class of 2015, 488,612 students were scheduled to graduate high school, and 52,249 students did not complete their high school

Another reason why a lot of students drop out of school is simply because they don't like it. High school, through its control over many decisions that are made for students, still seems to be restrictive. Many aspects of a student's life are pre-set and cannot be changed by the student to fit his needs. For example, a student's time schedule is set every year. Every student must go the same amount of hours every year. In most cases, school is from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. every day, whether he or she actually needs all the time or not. Students have to spend more time in some filler classes that they think they probably did not need to take but still had

As one can see in the past staying in school was mandatory and people were looked down if one did not finish school. Now in days’ students are quick to drop out and more parents are allowing it to happen. The rate of students who attend school and drop- out is tremendously high. As a student who thought about dropping out due to many encounters in life, but chose to stay in school and get an education changed who I am today. After all, each individual has a different perspective of whether high school should be mandatory both know it can only better one self. Attending high school will have challenges along with, but make it worth going for.

Dropping out leads to problems later on in life. Without a high school diploma or a good education, students may not get a high paying job and will most likely have a higher chance of being unemployed. Another problem dropping out creates is that students may choose to travel down a dark path. They may begin to do mischievous and horrible things. As a result of their actions, they’ll have a higher likelihood of ending up in jail or on public assistance.

Another personal related problem is jobs. Most students are working part-time in order to support themselves and their family which at times will lead to intrusion with school hours, home works, no time for studying especially to major exams and various school activities which otherwise leads to failing grade. Peer pressure is also another factor wherein these students are being led to bad influences such as drinking, drug which causes a major side effect to students (Schwartz, 1995). Schools do this in order to handle their problem. Students from broken homes are also likely to drop out of school due to the stressful situation that they have to go through and thus affect their concentration in school. Furthermore, most students who dropped out of school don't like school to begin with. These students will rebel and do anything against the school rules in order to be kicked out (Schwartz, 1995). They are likely to fail on their subjects, doesn't get along with other students, and have disciplinary problems. Oftentimes, disciplinary actions are taken before they are dropped out.

Will negatively affect a student's future. Bob Keeshan once said,”Children don't drop out of High School when they are 16 they do so in the first grade and wait 10 years to make it official.” Throughout the years studies have shown that in a year 1.2 million students drop out. Which leads that only 25% of High School students during their freshman year fail to graduate. Dropouts in the United States have became a very trending thing we must get to the bottom of this problem. Young adults should not be making these decisions it's time to step in.