Student Dropout Rates and Poor Attendance In Many Schools is a Major Concern
Students are dropping out of school, and the poor attendance of many students should be a concern to all of us. Parents, teachers, administrators, and members of the general community must get involved to solve this problem. It is not a new problem. It continues to be an issue of great concern. The lack of an education affects everyone. It contributes to social problems, increases in incarceration, increases in crime rates, lack of opportunities in employment, and in general leaves a community with little hope of advancement.
Community meetings have been organized to address this problem. This is a good thing. But I consider it to be a first step to solving this problem. I hope that the issue of high school dropouts is really looked at closely. There is more than one reason for students who drop out of school. This columnist would like to present some of those reasons which have been taken from an article written in a master’s Theses in the Spring of 2012 by Jeffrey K. Mangini. I commend him on his work. The ideas that he expressed are some of the reasons for students who drop out of school. I have added some ideas also in this article for people to consider. My advice to anyone organizing a meeting on this topic is to realize that it will take a series of meetings to seriously address the issue of high school dropouts.
The following are several of the main ideas that author Mangini gives in his article which include reasons for student dropouts:
Poor attendance in school. Students who have consistently poor attendance are more likely to eventually drop out of school.
Family dynamics. A student’s family support is very important. Most students who drop out of school are raised in single family homes. Often, they get little academic support. This is not true of all situations, but they are often present in many homes.
The school environment. The environment of the school must be conducive to learning. Teachers must have high expectations of all students.
Peer influence. Sometimes students receive negative influence from their peers. They may be bullied or made fun of if they try to do good in school.
Literacy. If students can’t read or write well, they may be ashamed and feel that they will not be able to succeed.
Housing. Many families in urban communities move often.
Moving from place to place does not help students.
Violence is one of the reasons that I would like to add. Crime in general and the violent disruption in our communities impact the lives of our students. The constant killings, shootings, drug dealing, and other crimes contribute to much of the mayhem that we witness almost nightly on the evening news. It is hard to learn in this environment. We see women and children murdered now. This has an impact on our students when they lose loved ones right in the midst of their community.
These issues must be addressed in community meetings. Our educators, pastors, leaders, parents, and school counselors must be involved. Community programs must be developed to provide mentoring, support, and more educational opportunities for students to learn. We need a campaign for good education in our community. Yes, this is hard work. But it is necessary if we are serious about reducing the high school drop rate and poor attendance of some students.
When I was teaching, I was known for keeping students engaged in learning. I never sent students to the office unless it was absolutely necessary. I handled problems in my classroom I had many strategies that I used. I often used role playing to allow students to come up with ways to solve problems. I didn’t put students down. I used writing as a way for students to write down their feelings. In future articles I will give more examples of these activities.