The Importance Of Student Disengagement From School

In the article “Dumbing Down Our Schools,” Ruth Mitchell states the argument of most classroom work found in the large town and city high schools are below the academic grade level, except the Advanced Placement and Honors classes. She brings up that high school students are doing the same activities that an elementary student would do. Mitchell has brought up convincing points that supports her argument, such as statics. Her persuasive reasonings does seem logical because it relates to people that have witness the urban high school education, along with her confident analyzation approaches.

There was a time when America’s education system was top-notch according to the culture and society. With time, a myriad of things has changed, but unfortunately what has not evolved is the American education system. The country is still following a system which was not designed for the current global economic climate. Equality, as positive as it sounds is not as sufficient when it comes to education. The system treats students equally yet expect a similar culmination and outcome. Every child has his individuality and distinct abilities; one cannot judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree. Conversely, a few of the prominent reasons why the education system is failing are overcrowded schools, the rise of technology, and following the same old school hours.

While the most important purpose and goal of high school has ultimately remained the same, its factors have changed over the years. In the Articles, “Missing in Interaction,” written by Myra and David Sadker and “Savage Inequalities,” written by Jonathan Kozol, the authors introduce and include examples of the way education itself has changed other the years, as well as the goal that was set for it. Our system of education’s main purpose has been to educate children and help them with their future, but certain issues in regards to our system have not been given the attention that should be required.

As Laurence Powell Jobs once said, “It’s not that our high school system was not designed well, but that it was designed in 1906 when the country was just out of the industrial era. There hasn’t been a substantial systemic change the way we do high school since then.” It’s no secret that the current school system used in America is outdated and problematic. With a plethora of obvious issues in need of fixing, there are noticeable differences between America and other countries. Steps needed to improve the system can be implemented. Although times have changed, the American education system has become outdated and thus is riddled with faults. When compared to other education systems, it is clear that the American schooling system is in need of reform.

After watching the short film “The Middle School Moment,” and hearing the research finding of Dr. Robert Balfanz, took me by surprise on how serious the issue about kids dropping out is. I found it shocking in discovering that about 7,000 students dropped out of school everyday. Not only that but the fact that their personal lives and society play a huge role in their decisions, which schools tend to ignore. Another thing that I found interesting about the video was the prevention program that was adopted by Middle School 244 in the Bronx, and how it gave struggling students like Omarina Cabrera, the opportunity to continue their education after having issues preventing them from getting a proper education.

The author proves how our present school system is based on an old-fashioned model designed for students who would finally work in factories. Provided that simple abilities to young pupils might have been enough by the turn of the 21st century, but it is absolutely not satisfactory in the 21st. The several and cumulative things of a broader base of knowledge and rapidly proceeding technologies need extension of access to education and overhaul of curricula, teaching styles, and learning assessments. Darling-Hammond discovers imaginative changes in Finland, South Korea, Singapore, and other places that have kept up with the rising needs for educating school children. She poignantly shows how California pales in comparison to these places.

These students “reported that high school was ‘boring, nothing I was interested in,’ or ‘it was boring… the teacher just stood in front of the room and just talked and didn’t really like involve you’” (Rumberger, 2011, p. 157). Mike Rose recognized this in his story when he said that the vocational track was “most often a place for those who are not just making it, a dumping ground for the disaffected” (1989, p. 3). The teachers had no clue “how to engage the imaginations of us kids who were scuttling along at the bottom of the pond” (1989, p. 3) and lacked inventiveness. In the 1980’s and even in 2005, students were bored with the teachers because the teachers were uncreative in their lessons. The students, in turn, stopped liking school and felt no need to

“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.

As the bell rings, all the students jump up and race towards the school exit, looking towards the rest of the weekend doing whatever they want to do. A lot of students despise school, saying that it is torture sitting in a classroom writing on paper. The problem is, American education is broken. But how? We have to look at how the past American education worked, how the system is broken, and how we fix it.

There are other factors associated with early school leaving. Researchers have focused on three different topics. First topic, student and family factors identified as contributing to dropouts is gender, racial, and ethnic minority status, low socioeconomic status, poor school performance, low self-esteem, delinquency, substance abuse, and pregnancy. In addition to this research has also gathered the impact of certain family characteristics, such as single-families,

“The antiquated educational model our schools stubbornly cling to was designed well over a century ago to meet the demands of an emerging industrial economy”(Mercogliano, 2005, p.2). In his article,

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

Researchers have found that although individuals have unique reasons for dropping out, several influences ranging from family background to school characteristics are highly interrelated in a student’s decision to leave (Brown & Rodriguez, 2009; Dalton, Glennie, & Ingels, 2009; Valencia, 2011). In this text, the context in which a student disengages from school will be examined, considering at times the social arrangement between teacher and student that might either amend or reproduce the circumstances associated with leaving

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.

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.