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Cause and Effect In 2007, nearly eight percent of young adults in America did not receive a high school diploma (“What are the dropout rates of high school students? “). Imagining that two students in the average kindergarten class will not complete high school is heartbreaking. All students have the right to a strong education. Students should be able to rely on schools to provide a healthy atmosphere which will encourage them to stay active in education.
In order for schools to increase the number of students who receive their high school diploma, school should promote safe sex, create stricter policies on drug and alcohol use and teach a more interesting curriculum. By schools teach a more effective safe sex program, more students would choose to stay in school rather than dropping out. Out of these 8 percent of students who take the risky chance of dropping out, an incredible one-third of them were pregnant (Schwartz). It is hard enough on teens growing up by themselves. When you add a baby to the mix, things only get harder.
Unfortunately, many students are unable to handle this responsibility and end up retreating to leave school as their source of help. If schools could step up the awareness of contraception methods, students would be less likely to get pregnant, resulting in a higher graduation rate. Astonishingly, in the survey taken in 2007 “one-fifth of the dropouts were married” (Schwartz). Many students today have a hard enough time dealing with boyfriends and girlfriends. To make the decision of marriage, it takes a great deal of maturity in both ends of the couple.
Sadly, couples who have babies in school can feel forced to marry when they may not truly ant to spend the remainder of their life with their significant other. Stress is incorporated with these life changing choices all because of taking in the responsibility of having a child too early. After having a child, financial obligations become harder to meet. Dropouts may try to find jobs to support their child. This becomes a difficult situation due to the fact the dropout missed out on crucial learning experiences. It is reported that “dropouts earned slightly under $13,000 in average” (Urich).
Students have their whole life ahead of them to find love, have children and work. The school systems are set up so that for the first eighteen years of people’s lives they are able to learn and mature for the future. In the economy today, bosses tend to look for someone with more education. If schools have the capability to change one factor in a teenager’s life such as having safe sex, one student may be able to have a more rewarding life. Schools can enhance their drug and alcohol policies so that students are more likely to complete high school.
In a recent study, researchers found that a popular reason for high school students dropping out was that they “had a drug problem” (Schwartz). Addiction to drugs and alcohol abuser has to pay for the product somewhat. Students may world a lot to feed their cravings for the illegal substance. Ultimately, working causes lots of unneeded stress. But there are some students who are unable to work for one reason or another. There students may have to result to stealing to maintain their ongoing drug addiction. In this case, security becomes an issue that schools should deal with.
According to the same poll, dropouts “didn’t feel safe” (Schwartz). As students are growing up, it is important to remember that they are maturing. Likewise, teenagers are still immature when it comes to some views. The feeling of safety is important to students. Another poll found that “School environments are very influential in the lives of youth. Experiencing a feeling of safety and security in school lowers the risk of an adolescent engaging in violence” (Smith 2). Considering their information, people can see that the way schools run their schools make a difference on the students’ feeling of security.
The safe feeling is important to insure students stay in school. Drugs and alcohol are two easy ways that can eliminate the safe feeling especially when the substances lead to violence. Schools would be able to eliminate many of dropouts by threating punishment upon all drug and alcohol users. It is also crucial for these schools to enforce the harsher policies being set. By making this step against illegal substances, schools will set a standard for all disrupting actions in the way of completing high school.
Implementing a more relatable curriculum to high school student is a measure that needs to be taken in order to keep students from quitting school. A high school student tell a reporter that “I am never going back to that gutter of a school,” referring to his unwillingness to return to school (Lagto). His story dealt with the teachers simply not caring. Students simply get bored of their teachers and schools and decide to cut class. Attendance soon becomes a major problem. It is reported that “One-third [of dropouts] cut class at least 10 times” Schwartz). If schools applied interesting topics to their teachings, attendance would increase, giving the dropout rate a decrease. Not only would attendance increase, but students would be more willing to do better work. The student also goes on to say, “Most of the teachers didn’t teach anything. All they did was put the assignment on the board and expect is to do it. I’m some of my classes, I never did my work” (Lagto). The student admits to not doing his work due to his boredom of the teacher. All students learn differently.
Teachers aren’t paid to just write assignments on the board. Teachers are supposed to cater to all students’ needs of learning. If teachers don’t, students will not be as willing to work hard and they may lose all respect for teachers. “Dropouts reported that parents and guardians were more opposed to their decision than were school personal, with three-quarters indication that their families had tried to talk them out of leaving school” (Schwartz). For teachers not to care as much as parents is disheartening. Teachers are paid to care for students over the course of a year.
Saying that some teachers don’t care if their students’ dropout is impossible to think about. Teaching is their job and passion should be applied to any job that someone has. If the curriculum were to remain the same, students could potentially resort to violence. Boredom is a major cause of school related violence. Of all dropouts, “One-third were put on in-school is to decrease, high school dropouts will remain an ongoing issue on the country. It is crucial for schools to enhance their curriculum so more high school students make the smart decision to get a diploma.