SHARE THIS SHOW:
RELATED CONVERSATIONS:
RECENTLY ON TOL:
TOL Our Town
- A tumblr site dedicated to the people and places that make up Oregon and Southwest Washington.
TAGS:
Many people — including Mayor Sam Adams — are worried about the high school dropout rate in Portland. But they're not alone. Dropout rates are a concern for parents and districts across the state. One Eugene high school counselor says her school even keeps a "worry book" on seniors considered high risk. There's some disagreement about the rate — and even how you calculate it — but few people think it's low enough.
Adams frequently cites a Portland Schools Foundation study which found that only 57 percent of the class of 2004 in Portland Public Schools earned a diploma within five years. And PPS will release a follow-up report on the class of 2007 this June that is expected to show the five-year graduation rate has improved, but only to 63.2 percent.
Adams's spokesman Roy Kaufmann says the cohort study is "foundational" to Adams's education policy, which includes halving the drop-out rate by 2013. The 2009-2010 city budget proposal includes hundreds of thousands of dollars to this end.
But are the findings an accurate reflection of Portland students' graduation rates? Drop out rates, after all, vary depending on the methodology and criteria of the study involved. The Oregon Department of Education, for instance, reported an all-time low state drop-out rate for last year of just 3.7 percent, a figure which grows to 8.4 percent for Portland Public Schools. But that study looked at the overall drop-out rate in a single year. And Tony Alpert, the state education department's director of assessment, says that next year the state will report a cohort graduation rate in line with a 2011 federal requirement — a move that will likely decrease those counted as graduates by an estimated 10 percent.
So what data is most helpful in determining who drops out and why? How do you keep students in school? What behaviors should schools and parents watch out for?
Did you drop out of high school? How has that affected your life? Do you have a child in danger of dropping out? Are you an educator struggling to keep kids in school?
GUESTS:
- McKenzie Robinson: A student at Open Meadow C.R.U.E. (Core Restoring the Urban Environment), an alternative 10th through 12th grade program in North Portland
- John Wilhelmi: High School director for Portland Public Schools
- Tony Alpert: Director of Assessment and Accountability for the Oregon Department of Education
- Amy Adams-Schauer: Ninth and 10th grade counselor at Churchill High School in Eugene
Tagged as: graduation · high school
Photo credit: Clonny / Flickr / Creative Commons
-
In Sept. 1995, at the begining of my junior year of high school, on my 17th birthday, my dad dissapeared on Mt. Hood and was never found. Needless to say it was impossible for me to care about school. I tried a tutor and an alternative school but it took a few years before I was serious enough to finish anything. Fortunatly I have now gotten a GED and completed a two-year program at Clackamas Community College.
-
I have to say your guest McKenzie is incredibly eloquent. She has my vote!
-
I'll pass this on to her. High praise!
-
I hear a lot of stories of people who have dropped out of high school because of drug problems, or family issues - but there's another side to it that I frequently do not see addressed. I dropped out of high school because of the lack of challenge, I couldn't get into the classes that I wanted to be in and wasn't engaged in the classes that I was in. I was totally put off by the public school system and no one would hear my case when it came to getting me into better programs, so I dropped out and decided to try to make a career for myself.
I'm 31 now and work as a Manager/Engineer in Software development. After a about a year of working at minimum wage jobs I moved into the technical arena and worked my way up the chain.
I sometimes wish I would have stuck with it and gone to college, but a lot of my friends who did actually go to college are not anywhere near where I am in my career or in my life - I make over 100,000 dollars a year, own my own house, and have made a good life for myself.
Being a dropout is my dirty little secret, I've never gone back and completed so much as a GED. I do have aspirations of getting a degree one day, but am honestly putoff by the fact that I'd somehow be judged due to not having completed high school when I've worked hard, and done well for myself.
-
I was a Teach For America corps member in Texas. Our drop-out rate was over 50% from 8th grade through high school. Our administration was not willing to face this fact and insisted that the drop-out rate was really the 20% or so that the state reported. (They were able to report this because they listed kids as moving, becoming employed, etc.) Their refusal to accept the facts made it impossible to really address the problems. I commend John Wilhelmi for his refreshing dedication to the truth. He is right to face "the brutal facts" because it is the only way any improvement will be made.
-L Mongeau
-
I wonder how different countries like Norway, Finland, Germany, Japan, India, France, and the Netherlands set up their schools and what we might learn from them.
-
It saddens me when I hear about the state of public education in Portland for two reasons, I graduated Jefferson HS and I know it's just not that hard AND because now my tax dollars are funding.
When I went through school, kids who failed a class or a grade (like I did with PE Class) made it up by paying for summer school. We also had to pass tests to proceed through school. What ever happened to that?
It seemed back in the seventies, that there was a much higher level of "fluff" but there were also higher expecatations of students and a higher graduation level.
Whatever happened to those standards?
-
I totally agree. I've heard six times now how it's the teachers' fault that the children aren't engaged. It's a two lane road, and the student needs to realize it's their road to plow, not the teachers. The teaching culture needs to change such that more weight is put on the students to be proactive about their learning.
-
How exactly do you expect that students are going "to realize it's their road to plow." More pressure, more standards---and then everything will be peachy-creamy! Not likely.
-
If our youth is not doing well in school we need to examine the type of support they are receiving from parents and the support the parents are recieving from society. There once was a time when the majority of households had one stay-at-home parent. That resource is mostly gone now with the need for two income households and that gap has not been filled.
Young people are not adults, they don't have the same life experience and their brains are not fully developed. We can't expect them all to simply make the situation work by trying harder. We need to help them be smarter about the choices they make and that takes an investment of time and energy on the part of adults. The one size fits all notion of school has to go.
From a social perspective, if we don't educate our children properly we significantly effect the quality of life they will have. From an economic perspective, we can either make the investment up front in education where it will be more efficient or we will have to make the investment later on in the form of social welfare programs, not to mention the loss of economic growth that would have come if are youth were able to contribute to the work force close to their potential.
-
If you have not done so already I would encourage you to disaggregate the dropout data for your listerners/readers. Please show the data for low income students, students of color as well as the overall dropout data.
-
Thanks for the insight, Ed. The greater the aggregation, the more information is obscured. The subtext of the whole show is that the dropout rate depends on how 'dropout' is defined.
-
I did not drop out of school. If my parents weren't so insistant that I keep going I would have tried to find a different path. My issue was that I was really bored. I had a few great teachers but mostly I didn't feel challenged or engaged. My sole interest was art and the school was seriously lacking in that area. I just decided to wait it out until graduation.
I really think that we need to re-evaluate our classes and school environment. It sounds like Charter and Alternative schools have an approuch that we should look at more closely.
At the moment I am trying to deside if I want my daughter to attend public schools.
-
It's a mistake to think of music and art as being the "extras" in a school curriculum. When is the system going to figure out that music and art provide students with a complete education?
-
I agree. Up to a point, we should allow students to pursue their passions, and help them find a compromise between their passions and the opportunities that are expected to be in available in the workforce. Art play an extremely important role in society and it seems that in recent decades we've making the false choice between having art and being able to fund other programs.
Additionally, even for those who don't with to become professional artists, art can be an important form of expression for everyone. I consider myself to be very reason oriented, but I find that what I can't quite explain in a one page journal entry, I can do in a few sentences of a poem.
-
"Open Meadow C.R.U.E. (Core Restoring the Urban Environment)"
Ms Robinsons' description sounds a lot like what Bend High School tried in the 1960s with their modular classes. It put more trust and responsibility in the students hands and was more like a university is set up.
Most students did very well with it but some went downtown and just hung out and since Bend was a very small town back then and the system was new, some people complained about the skipping students and so the system was reverted back to the old non-trusting and non self responsibility ways.
-
This is a very interesting point. I think their are studies that show a direct corelation with giving trust to young people (even children) and how they take more responsibility for themselves as long as their is consistent oversight and consquences. Let's think about freeing our kids from our own anxieties about them doing well, by micromanaging them less and giving trust where it's due.
Research based decision making is the way to go and if the parents need educating to help them feel comfortable with a system that is more reasonable, then so be it.
-
There will always be students who, for whatever reasons, won't be able to get a high school diploma. Neither they, nor their schools, should be penalized for this.
-
How do you determine that student vs. the student who society allowed to dropout, who we could have prevented from droping out?
-
We have got to stop tying students' grade level to their age. As long as we "pass" kids to the next grade level without them mastering the basics of the one they are in, they will end up being discouraged by their inability to catch up. Starting in elementary school, kids should be grouped by ability and understanding and only move forward when they have a solid understanding of the material. We have a high school student in a geometry class who never mastered basic math and now we are spending a lot of money on a private tutor to get him even close to passing the class. The high school is useless in getting him the instruction he should have gotten two years ago.
-
Agreed, if we could help societal expectations focus on students gaining skills, and not focus on 'seat time' students would benefit by being able to go faster or take more time to master skills and move ahead.
-
It seems that your "professional" guests rely on numbers on reports and studies to figure out what's wrong. I think to few of those people go talk to a kid to see what's bothering them. Maybe that's class size issues, maybe it's union issues, I don't know. But I think the schools have gotten to big and lost focus on the product (the student).
Thanks!
-
Agreed. It's become one huge beaurocratic mess. We need to find a ground-up solution that is research based. Talking to students sounds like a first reasonable step.
-
When I was a teenager, I was living on my own, supporting myself on a minimum wage job at 17 years old. My parents had a messy divorce and my brothers and I ended up in the middle of it. I had to transition from Middle School to High School, and had 8 classes a day. I didn't feel challenged by any of the material.
But I still graduated in 2001.
While I was in school, I saw the more challenging programs getting cut left and right. Meanwhile, my friends in alternative schools were getting field trips, small class sizes and personal attention. I find it offensice that a person like me, who worked my behind off to excel at school in the midst of everything that was going on in my life gets nothing, while the whiner who gives up gets rewarded.
-
Maybe you were too hard on yourself and a little whining would have resulted in a better quality of life.
-
there is a school in vancouver wa that goes from grades 6 though 12. it works. middle school is isolating for pubescent kids and is counter productive.
-
I can't speak for all dropouts, but from my experience a significant contributor to the dropout rate is the PPS fundamental inability to accommodate and respond to kids with learning disabilities or with learning styles that do not fit well within the mass-production format of the existing system. My step-daughter with a non-verbal learning disability required creativity and siginificant accommodation to stay within the public school system- things like e-mailing assignments to the teacher, posting assignments on a web page, relief from strict tardiness requirements. The PPS could not accommodate these needs. (Her NLD required tremendous effort on her part just to accomplish normal everyday tasks. She could not track paper, or function timely in the distraction of school hallways.) She dropped out and got her GED. My son was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome and had similar difficulties, and although he stuck with the system, the system did not help much.
PPS personnel are not trained to recognize learning disabilities in those kids whose parents may not be as attuned or have resources available. Teachers do not have the flexibility, and PPS does not provide the creativity, to meet the special needs of kids outside of the bell-curve of the mass market education population. The special education programs and IEP programs are unimaginitive, ineffective and, quite simply, a joke. In my experience as a parent, the only value of an IEP is that it gives a parent guaranteed access to a meeting with the teacher and the administration. Beyond that, the accomodations offered were inadequate, unimaginitive and ineffective.
From my observation, a high percentage of dropouts and poor performance among students relates to the inflexibility of the educational program, and the inability of the system to engage the distinctive learning styles of students who do not function well in the standard "sit and listen" format of the classroom. Until the educational system attains the flexibility to engage the natural abilities of all of the students, it is doomed to fail.
-
Thank you for the clarity that matches our experience.
-
If this has already been addressed, please ignore: How does Portland benchmark on these variables compared to other similarly funded metropolitan school districts? How does Oregon benchmark compared to other states?
-
In addition to the personalization and good work that is going on in alternative schools for a certain students, like McKenzie, I think it is important to also acknowledge the good work that IS happening--perhaps for a different segment of the student population at our traditional public high schools like Roosevelt High School where McKenzie started.
In this light I think it is enormously valuable to have data, like that being used in the 2004 cohort study that can most effectively identify EARLY IN A STUDENT'S high school career, the supports and learning milieu appropriate to their specific needs.
-
Until our culture starts putting the burden of learning on the students, instead of square on the teachers, we will continue to hear about these issues. I floated through school, and it hasn't been until I tried getting through college that I learned my ability to learn was almost non-existant.
-
What exactly do the kids need to be responsible for?
I would say, beyond making a reasonable effort, the most important thing they can do is communicate when they need help or when they need to be challenged more. However, it doesn't make a difference if adults aren't able to listen.
I know that Think Out Loud has the As We Are series: Hearing from people that are normally talked about. I would like to suggest that a show from this series feature teenagers. So often they are talked at rather than to. I good starting point for this show would be the book The Secret Lives of Boys.
-
McKenzie's story is encouraging. As a former instructor in an alternative school/second chance school, I worked with at-risk kids, kids who were at risk of dropping out or being expelled for drug use, behavior problems or truancy. Our program kept the student-teacher ratio at 8:1 and that, I believe, allowed us to make progress with our students and get them back on track, either to reintegrate into mainstream schools or work towards a GED.
Some of the common factors I saw with our at-risk youth were behavioral problems caused either by boredom (not being challenged academically), unidentified learning disabilities or poor family support, both unintentional and intentional. I believe that these factors can contribute to the dropout rate along with the difficult transition from middle school to high school.
-
I would like to see an ongoing publicity campaign in the schools and maybe PSAs on TV and in the other media with words something like:
"We The People tax ourselves to pay for your schools, teachers, and classes because we believe in you as students preparing for your future as participating and contributing citizens and so we want you to take full advantage of these opportunities that we are providing for you.
Your education is not free, it costs us a lot and you can thank us by working hard to educate yourself, staying in school, and taking personal responsibility for your learning."
Or simpler worded posters in the halls, classes, and cafeterias at random times.
"We the taxpayers want you! ... to take the education we offer you!"
I'd like to see randomly picked taxpayers read such words occasionally at assemblies and sports games. Rich people and working people, doctors and engineers, fast food servers and realty agents, in fashionable clothes and in normal carpenter working clothes, the full range of taxpaying citizens ought to be represented to the kids as contributors to their educations. Maybe put their faces on posters along with the words.
The point is to get kids to realize that the normal everyday people that they recognize and are familiar with are working hard and taxing themselves for the kids sakes because we believe in the value of educating kids.
-
I disagree that this would be effective. By sending this message in a mass media format like this I believe it would only serve to create more of the wrong kind of pressure on kids. We need parents saying these things to kids, in their own words, and backing it up by acknowleging that a child's education is a partnership between the child, parents, and educators.
As I'm writing this, I'm realizing more and more that the parents may be the real solution in the end. Students are willing to talk about their needs, I believe most teachers care deeply for their students and are willing to talk about the students needs and, it's the parents that seem to be out of the loop, more often then not, and it's the parents that hold the purse strings. Politicians may feel their hands are tied with changing education policy or funding when the parents may vote them out of office next time out of fear of trying something new. Parents need to get involved and educate themselves about education. All tax payers do.
-
I, too, disagree that sending a message in mass media format would be very effective. While the message may reach some kids, most kids who are ready to drop out are not considering that taxpaying adults might be affected by their actions. Having worked with at-risk youth, I found that they tended to be more receptive to their peers or to adults who treated them respectfully, listened to them and did not lecture to them.
Parents are certainly part of the solution, but all too often, they are not or cannot be there for their children. In a single parent home, that parent may not be aware of what is happening with that child until it's too late. In McKenzie's case, her mom wasn't aware that something was amiss until she had already missed a lot of time from school. This is not an uncommon truth. The unfortunate thing is that in many of these cases, it's not that the parent doesn't care, it's that the parent is trying hard to keep a roof over the family's head and food on the table. There is also poor communication between the schools and the families.
The program where I worked had current contact information for the families and our instructors had monthly family conferences. Again, unfortunately, because of lack of funding and class size, not all programs are able to do this. The result? Our children fall between the cracks in the educational and social systems. The lucky ones fall in the small safety nets that do exist.
Our educational, social and economic systems are so inextricably intertwined that a true solution to addressing the dropout rate will require a combined effort on all our parts, to take action to back our words. I continue to be encouraged that it can be done when I hear of stories like McKenzie's or successful reports regarding some of my former students. I can only hope that programs that provide alternative learning environments continue to grow despite, or in spite of, the growing shortage of funding for such programs.
-
Very cool practical idea!
-
I just wanted to compliment McKenzie for all she said. She is really an eloquent and intelligent young woman and I loved hearing her ideas. I don't know how much credit goes to the alternative school she was talking about, but it sounds like they've done a lot for McKenzie. The only thing she said that I didn't like was that she was planning to go into law enforcement--what a waste! Because it sounds like she really does have the potential to be a leader, rather than a reactionary tool of the wealthy. Stay positive, McKenzie.
It is really mind-blowing to think about what a different place the world would be if we spent as much money on education as we do on war. Can't we just try? Books not bombs.
-
I was miserable in middle school and high school.
Because I was socially poorly adjusted and very shy.
I don't believe it is possible for counselors, teachers to give individual attention to kids like myself.
Because there are too many of us.
Perhaps there could be some social studies / psychology courses that are pertinent to kids of that age that could do some of the work of a counseling surrogate... talking about how personalities are formed, what the external pressures are, conformity and nonconformity, social values in a capitalistic society, in the media, between generations, etc.
I say "how personalities are formed", because I believe that is the challenge of that age.
That, and recognizing external influences on one's choices.
Note that these are fairly challenging concepts for anybody to think about.
The problem, I believe, is that shy, maladjusted kids are often regarded as doltish and fragile - and so they are given remedial social skills classes which seem merely geared to emphasize conformity, as well as insult their intelligence.
I was poorly prepared for school, and school couldn't help me.
I didn't expect it to.
What would be nice is to be able to take that last two years of high school and return to it when one is really ready and willing to, rather than the feeling of having it crammed down your throat, as with the current model of compulsory education.
-
I agree. I think that all teenagers could benefit from behavior and social science. It would play a great part in allowing them to begin using their higher brain functions to moderate their natural instincts, similar to the principles of the Cognitive Behavioral psychological model.
Also, when I was in highschool someone close to me was experiencing a similar situation. He ended up dropping out and getting his GED because he felt so disconnected from the teachers, other students, and the administration. The shame is that he was very smart and it stunted his education.
-
In 2006, I dropped out of school because I really felt like it was pointless. I was going thru a whole lot in my life, with family and more. And, going to school made everything seem even more stressful because it felt like I wasn't learning anything. I pretty much learned more in middle school than in high school, so I figured, "Why, go?"
Now, I'm stable and going to an alternative school where I'm about to get my GED and job training skills. I actually feel like I'm working towards something and not just having to do tons of homework. I would also like to say that, I actually get commented at this school. I get comments for doing the most simple things, as where in high school I would do packs of work and just was told if I failed or passed.
If, students in regular schools felt like they were actually getting something done in sort of an enjoyable way, they might not be so quick to drop out. That's my opinion.
-
I graduated in 1993, and had already joined the military by the time of my graduation. My problem with High School, is that it was too easy. It just was not challenging enough for me to really care. I had enough credits to graduate in 1991, I was just missing the core classes. As a Junior, I could not leave campus, or I would have only been in the core classes and have left.
I went on to get two degrees, both IT related. I loved the classroom style at the school I received my degrees from. It was more free floating, more engadging. High School never was that engaging for me.
Let the students off the leash and let them set the tone for the class. Let the teacher be there as a guide. It makes things a lot easier for everyone to get involved.
Just my 2 cents.
-
I agree. Perhaps the students could read the material before class and have a class discussion with the teacher as moderator. It would probably require more class time or a longer school year, but I think the students would enjoy it more and get a lot more dynamic learning out of it. Definitely worth the investment, I think.
-
This is quite an interesting wide ranging set of comments. Both my parents were high school (10th)or earlier(8th) grade dropouts. As a youth, I believe that school attendence was mandatory until age 16. This was in the WWII years and thus jobs were probably plentiful. My father served in the military. Wether voluntary or not, I don't know. The society of that era did not stigmatize the lack of a high school diploma. On the other hand I never observed my parents working in jobs that would require more education. I have no idea if this the result of educational achievement or lack of ambition.
As far as I know or remember, I started my education as a kindergarten dropout. I was supposed to take a city bus several blocks to a Catholic Parish Grade Schhol. I skipped the bus and played in mud puddles.
-
As a teacher of 6th-8th graders, honestly I see kids who are "on track" to drop out before they even get to high school.
Unlike in other US states, I'm not aware of any serious enforcement in Portland of the law requiring that kids consistently attend school. At the same time, it's common for kids with poor attendance to also be disruptions of the learning atmosphere when they DO attend. This gives teachers a perverse incentive to ignore their absences.
If a student is often absent, s/he is nearly guaranteed to be behind the rest of the class. If they're behind, that makes classes harder and it's more tempting to flake off or clown around instead of struggling to catch up. The 13 year old who will seek out a chance to stay after school for extra help or wants to attend classes in the summer or on Saturday is a rare individual. The abstract promise of getting caught up and graduating is just too far off to keep kids focused.
Kids who get into this situation are very likely to have unstable lives outside school so they don't get the support or follow-up from parents that typical middle-class kids are virtually guaranteed to receive from someone.
"At risk" kids need massive support which must be coordinated. I don't see this happening consistently, so the 40+% drop out rate doesn't surprise me too much. But for many kids who drop out, it becomes a tragedy.
I've met high school drop outs who were eventually successful, like some who have commented here. But I think they're a minority, and most had to struggle for years to "recover" from dropping out. If you count high school diplomas among (very expensive) prison inmates, you don't find many--and this isn't a coincidence either. So in this and many other ways, taxpayers lose too.
-
This is a valuable point. It sounds like we need to make voters more aware of the problem on a global scale rather than letting challenging students fall through the crack of poor incentives on the part of teachers, administrators, and law enforcement.
-
Hi everyone,
I would like to supply a few resources to those who are choosing to "Drop In" (as apposed to drop out) to the opportunities in their life and/or in their online/real communities to self-design their own education.
Here are a few resources to help you get started:
A) 1. "The Teenage Liberation Handbook-How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education" by Grace Llewellyn
http://distancelearn.about.com/od/virtualhighschools/gr/TeenageLib.htm
2. "Guerrilla Learning: How to give your kids a real education with or without school" by Grace Llewellyn
3. You can also join Grace at "Not Back To School Camp" in Oregon and Vermont, details are here at:
http://nbtsc.org/who/index.htm
B) For those challenged by the very existence of Grace's books and her camp, Wendy Preisnitz's book can provide some clarity:
1. "Challenging Assumptions in Education-From Institutionalized Education to a Learning Society"
This is a quote from the end of Wendy's book, “Once we accept the need for a new educational paradigm...these changes are personal as well as political, they will require the best efforts of many people working together. I invite you to brainstorm with me about ways to create a learning society. Contact me at assumptions@lifemedia.ca Send me your ideas for incorporation in future editions of this book. I would love to hear from you!”
Wendy Priesnitz is also the editor of "Natural Life" and "Life Learning" magazines, which are also great resources.
2. http://www.naturallifemagazine.com
To be continued...Kathleen
-
Continued from last post...
C) Frank Smith also provides an historical background of information about the time line of schooling, which helps create understanding as to why we are curious about Wendy and Grace challenging “schooling” vs. “education/a learning society”.
Pino Fiermonte comments on Frank Smith's writings:
“Smith opposes this 'official theory of learning' to a 'classic view' of learning which says that most of the time 'you learn from the company you keep' from the individuals and the groups you most identify with.”
“Smith also says that the question should never be 'if ' you are learning, but always 'what' are we learning, because you always learn.”
In Frank Smith's book, “The Book of Learning and Forgetting” he says, "You learn in communities of people who do what you are expected to learn."
Pino Fiermonte comments, “My interpretation of this is the following: If you expect your students to write, you have to write and share your writing. If you want them to read, then read and share your readings experience with your students. If you want them to reflect on their learning, then you should reflect on your teaching and share your reflections with them...
Teachers - think about this!
1. http://www.pinofiermonte.com/2008/04/book-of-learning-and-forgetting-frank.html
To be continued...Kathleen
-
Continued from last post...
D) For an online education alternative to get your “self-education/learning society” juices flowing check out:
1. www.selfdesign.com
For school staff exploring alternative online/real education models:
2. www.selfdesign.org
"SelfDesign is a learner-directed, enthusiasm-based educational methodology supporting learners, families, and learning consultants around the world. SelfDesign seeks to co-inspire wonder, joy and integrity in all learning experiences and relationships through authentic self-discovery and respect for learner rights. Our programs and models have influenced the lives of thousands of educators, parents and children, becoming a model for education in the 21st century."
I hope some of these resources may assist you in developing your own questions and curiosities and enhance your ever changing personalized learning journey!
Kathleen
"It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty." Albert Einstein
To paraphrase a famous quotation, all that is necessary for the triumph of damaging educational policies is that good educators keep silent. Alfie Kohn -
Drop Out? I agree with the first poster ... it's more like "Push Out!" I also look at the "reasons" for dropping out ... none of the reasons list anything to do with the system, lack of appropriate instruction, harrassment and intimidation, etc. If you don't fit into the "system," your child fails. We live in a small district. My son has aspergers and other special needs. He is very week in his executive function skills. We worked hard to increase his skills in strategizing to learn, motivation, initiation, time management, etc. When he entered the public school system he scored more than twice as high in reading (near the 70th percentile) than he did after 2 years (dropped to close to the 30th percentile). He still spells at the same level and his ability to organize his thoughts and write cohesive paragraphs has plummeted. The first year he was placed in a "living skills" class ... more akin to babysitting. Last year he was in a "resource room" with a teacher who didn't know how to teach ... he was coached through his progress monitoring to make it look like he was making progress. Yet third party testing using standardized tests show he's either decreased or just barely hung on ... This summer he did well at the community college with intensive supports to bring the skills he's been losing back up ... but now I'm given a choice ... If I want to complain about his special education services I MUST remove him from ALL public schools ... including the early college program he was admitted to ... I am not allowed to secure private special education services unless I either get him "released from compulsary education" (so they are off the hook), waive his special education rights, or send him to a private school and sue them. We live in an area of few options. This is indeed pushing a child out .... two years ago his goal was to get his 4 year degree ... now he wants to drop out and due to the lack of appropriate services as part of his specialized instruction he has become increasingly depressed. You tell me... What would their "stated" reasons be? Family difficulties? Lack of Motivation? Certainly nothing to do with a system that refuses to address his needs. I think it all comes down to the cha-ching! ($) Oregon law allows them to take special education monies and use them in general ed ...
-
This comment has been removed by the TOL staff.
-
Comments are now closed.
As a drop out myself (saved by learning how to read, curiosity and community college) and as a mom of a child who has essentially left school. I would say it is more accurate that he was 'pushed out' than that he dropped out.
The changes we need to see are a return to basics, my child struggles to put a sentence or paragraph together, he can't do basic math and the only help the school will offer is in the area of social skills and organization. They actually say he is performing on grade level, he's a 9th grader at Lake Oswego. It's supposed to be a high performing school district.
If we want to save our democracy citizens need to be able to read, write and process information for themselves. The rest is fluff, maybe nice fluff but the basics must come first.
Ask yourself how would you perform if you had 7 or 8 different jobs and bosses (teachers) to perform for everyday. They all had their own expectations, personalities, routines and they all have dictatorial power over you. Then at least every 9 months (every school year) all these bosses/teachers change. Oh yeah for 3 months each year they cut you completely loose. (which is left over from when you had to go bring in the harvest) Nobody really knows you and you don't really know anybody. Now why would you want to go back there?
Although there is in theory a set schedule it is often interrupted by assemblies, specials, etc. and you are just one of more than a thousand bodies just about your same age stuffed into this program. It is no wonder that Schools and prisons are designed by the same architects.
That is what almost all schools offer, it's actually a wonder that so many kids stay inside that system.