Dropout - Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor:
It’s 2006. We can send robots to Mars, have men walk on the moon. We can design computer chips so small they can hardly be seen. And conquer diseases once thought unconquerable. Yet, it appears we can’t reduce the number of students dropping out of our high schools. And haven’t been able to for more than thirty years!

Why not? Is it a lack of will? Or simply a failure to understand what Jody Smith pointed out in your recent OpEd: in this country one student drops out of high school every nine seconds. That means that by the time you have finished reading this letter, at least two young people will have made a decision to leave school!

That’s two young people who will never have a decent wage job, who are quite likely to end up in prison, or be on welfare. They may be the father, or the mother, of your grandchild. One could be your sister who wanted to be a doctor, but got pregnant instead. One could have been another Martin Luther King, or perhaps that Native American who discovered a cure for diabetes.

Mentoring programs like those in various school districts in Pierce County can help mitigate the dropout issue. But we can’t always shift the burden to others. As parents, family members, friends, or employers, we also need to take responsibility. We need to take time to understand the problem(s) that young person is having with staying in school. We need to listen to that student. Not hear our goals, but recognize and accept their goals! Help them identify what they want from their school experience, the barriers that exist, and how those barriers can be overcome. Let’s help them! Ultimately, we’ll also be helping ‘us’.

Yours sincerely,

Dear Editor:
I understand that Pierce County is trying to be innovative. And I am delighted to hear that last year it helped keep approximately 60 percent of ‘at risk’ students from dropping out of high school. But the school can’t do it by itself, nor the mentors even in collaboration with others.

It is up to each one of us to be involved. For each of us holds within ourselves the power to lead by example. We know that not all children learn in the same way or on the same schedule, but research indicates that they can all meet high expectations and should be given that opportunity. We are doing our children, ourselves, and ultimately our communities a disservice if we expect anything less!

Yours sincerely,

 

Dear Editor:
Don’t read this. Instead just sit back in your chair, take a sip of coffee, and watch the second hand on your watch tick off nine seconds. It won’t take much time. Less than you think. In fact, time’s up now. And according to Jody Smith’s recent OpEd, one more young person in this country will have dropped out of school.

Can you live with that?

Yours sincerely