Graduation Speech : High School

I have been going to school since I was four years old and, that means that I have been attending school twenty to twenty two years, including kindergarten, middle school, high school and now college. As every student, I had my ups and downs in school; I had some failures and some successes. One of the failures that affected me the most and that I will always remember was the time that I was in high school during my junior year. I failed almost all my classes and, I only passed two classes and with a C. In the other hand I had some really good success. The most recent one and the one that I am still happy about is getting my Family Development Credential. We learn from our mistakes and also from our successes, these two times in my life

Did you know that 1.2 million high school students drop out of school every year just in the United States alone (11 Facts)? The decrease of high school graduation rates is a fairly important issue, and there are plenty of reasons to propose a change. According to the U.S. Department of Education, the current standard dropout rate of high school students is 7.4%. High school dropouts encounter way more difficulties and challenges than a high school graduate would. An average high school drop out lacks the basic education that one needs in order to be successful in life. They are more likely to face problems dealing with financial insecurity, communication skills, and of course, educational matters. With a high school diploma, one is more likely to get hired for a job, earn a higher income, and educate oneself even further. Some possible causes of high school students dropping out include stress, boredom, family problems, pregnancies, and drugs. With that said, with every issue, there is always a solution. By taking the problem at hand and looking at it from a broad perspective, we can thoroughly identify the source of the high dropout rates of U.S. high school students. There are countless factors that may be the cause of this epidemic, but a few ideas including making learning more relevant, limiting the workload given to students, and providing mandatory classes on drugs and safe sex may possibly be a solution to this

In the past decade, the issue of high school dropouts has been a major problem in the United States. On the other hand, several studies have shown that in 2015 students are still dropping out, but not nearly at the dropout rate since 2008. Nevertheless, there is still a high school dropout crisis. In today’s society the majority of student’s dropout for reasons such as their financial state at home, the increased teen pregnancy rate, and the pressure of alcohol and drugs.

Most parents want to see their children graduate from high school, but that’s not the case for everyone. If one comes from a low income household, the chances of dropping out is higher than someone from a high income household. According to the NCES (National Center for Education Statistics), a student who comes from an low income household is six times more likely to dropout from high school than a student from a high income household. The reasons why low income students dropout from high school varies, but it’s more important to question why students from low income households are more likely to dropout. The percentage of children living in poverty in the U.S. by race is sixty five percent for Blacks, sixty three percent for both Hispanics

Thousands of students drop out of high school every year. This change in student’s academic career path can affect not only the lives of youth who drop out, but can have a ripple effect on the lives of others as well. A student who drops out is more likely to be unemployed, become dependent on government assistance, or being convicted of serious crimes. Clearly, a student who drops out has barriers that prevent them from meeting their full potential. Some adolescents are more vulnerable to dropping out than others. This information is not new and the education system does not accurately identify the root causes behind individual drop outs. This has caused schools to provide support to students that is misdirected and allows for some students to slip through the cracks of the education system. Therefore, the current system for preventing school dropouts is not effective because current attendance and truancy interventions do not target the root causes in the best manner. This can only mean that there are more effective ways to support

Throughout the years it seems as though the graduation rates among high school students have increased, but there is still a huge underlying problem in the U.S. with high school drop outs. There have been many half brained reasons for these students dropping out and many people believe the reason for these drop outs is the students faults themselves. But as I know as a student and as a student who has graduated, it is not only the students fault. There are many outside factors and influences that lead to the students dropping out. The term “drop out” is referring to a student who leaves high school for practical and illusionistic reasons. More than 1.3 million students in high school drop out every year in the U.S. It is improbable and

While high school student dropout rates in general are declining, dropout rates for low-income students are still four and a half times greater than those of higher income students (Stark, 2015). This is important because, according to Bridgeland, Dilulio and Morrison (2006), “Dropouts are much more likely than their peers who graduate to be unemployed, living in poverty, receiving public assistance, in prison, on death row, unhealthy, divorced, and single parents with children who drop out from high school themselves” (p.3). Coming from a background such as this already, low-income students that drop out are essentially continuing the same cycle that they were raised in.

Every 26 seconds, a student drops out in the United States, adding up to over 1.2 million students in a single year who do not graduate from high school. The decision to dropout is one that negatively impacts one’s future, considering job choice is consequently limited and unrewarding. As a result, students who dropout will be more often unemployed than those who do get a diploma, and even further more dependent on public assistance, due to not being able to make a sufficient salary. Although there have been steadily, continuously increasing rates of school completion in the past century, dropping out of school is still an existing problem. However, students should retain the right to drop out of high school, before the age of 18 if that is the decision they want to make.

Dropping out of college is major issue for many teens today. High school is a major contributing factor for students to shift into adults and pursue their education beyond more than expected. Receiving a high school diploma is considered a necessity if a student wants to go on to college and pursue their career. However, there has been an alarming issues regarding high school graduation rates and there are many circumstances such as unplanned pregnancies, poverty, and lack of parental support that support that cause on why students drop out of high

In one year, over 1.3 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone. Dropout rates have decreased for the better over the years. “The dropout rate has fallen 3% from 1990 to 2010” (dosomething.org). Of the many students who drop out, only about 63% are presented with a diploma. These students who received a diploma were willing to retake high school courses and gain the knowledge needed to advance to college. A high school dropout is ineligible for about 90% of jobs in America. “High school dropouts are forfeiting their opportunity to pursue the American dream” says Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The first action that should be taken to reduce the dropout rate is to have families be encouraging, engaged, and lenient. An adolescents’ achievement is linked to their parents’ standards and expectations of their child. Parental encouragement is displayed in numerous ways. First, when parents encourage achievement and set high standards for their child, in regards to school performance, it strengthens school success because they then

High school dropouts are usually defined as students who leave school before obtaining a diploma but in some cases, are also labeled as a drop out if they do not complete the high school curriculum within four years after entering ninth grade (Hampden-Thompson, Kienzl, Daniel, & Kinukawa, 2007). Students who are considered to be at risk are more vulnerable to dropping out of school than others. These at risk students usually exhibit behavioral, attitudinal, or academic problems (Lemon and Watson, 2011). However, other factors do contribute to dropping out which include family issues, health issues, mobility, and cultural issues.

Parent involvement is a crucial part of schooling. Chances are, a student who is contemplating dropping out has little direction or support in his or her life. Imagine a young man, about sixteen to seventeen years old. Finding a career, supporting a family, getting a car; these are all stresses of life that would be weighing in on him. In a perfect world, the father and mother would walk him through these new parts of life until he's done with high school. But according to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 80% of families in the US are lead by a single parent. Single parents are very busy working to provide for the family and have many of their own stresses already! School for a student with all of these stresses could likely take a backseat in his or her life, especially with a single parent who rarely has time to guide them. It's easy to imagine how lost that student would feel, not knowing whether try to make money or finish school. Parents need to make time for their students, period. 23% of dropouts blame a lack of parental help on their failure to graduate. What about students who do have parental guidance? The National Parent Teacher Association stated

The APA is the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States, with a mission to advance the creation, communication, and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives. For these reasons, it is not surprising that the American Psychological Association published an article in May of 2013, bringing to light the impact of family and community poverty on high school dropouts (Rumberger, 2013). According to the APA, an estimated 1.1 million individuals did not earn a high school diploma in 2012, and unfortunately the drop out and the drop out’s family are not the only ones affected, but the decision to drop out can also affect all of society as well. With lasting consequences, even after earning a GED, it is safe to say that something must be done to reduce the current dropout rate of approximately 7,000 people per day.

Imagine growing up in a poor community with an unstable family, would you be motivated to do well in school? Conditions like non-stable parenting, growing up in a poor community, and not having a safe learning community all impact a student’s education. These misfortunes lead to students not being driven to graduate and dropping out of high school. A big contribution to the drop out rate is not having a stable family.