Why Do so Many Young People Drop out of High School or Fail to Graduate from College - Essay Example

[Teacher’s WHY DO SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE DROP OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL AND FAIL TO GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE? Education is a complex and systemic process through which an individual obtains knowledge, experience and sound altitude. However there should be a balance between all the components of education for it to be realistic. The neglect of basic things in the path of acquiring knowledge no doubt presents negative effects on the long run. Every child is born with curiosity and will always find satisfaction in attempting things but if his curiosity cannot be satisfied then he mentally degrades. Psychologically, it’s known that children develop with their childhood imagination and environmental influences, for example if a child’s room is decorated with books or educative toys such child grows up with passion towards books either playing with them or trying to understand visually what is there (Dwyer et al., 30-55). What inspires children to build mud houses or cars out of papers?  These are but just imaginations and physical replication of what they see around them, those abilities can be induced when such children are not given the possibilities to do things themselves. The rate of school drop outs is alarming and for various reason with some geographical significance. In some African regions where there is high poverty rate and poor educational standard, there is a significant dysfunctional system and the path to acquiring basic education becomes very hostile thereby causing many young students to develop lack of interest for school. Spanking: Spanking of young students by teachers, school workers and senior students is a norm in many African countries, young students are spanked for being late to lesson, spanked for being absent in some lessons, spanked for failing some tests, spanked for almost everything. This sends a negative feedback to the young minds and creating a misconception of what education should be and they develop fear for school and some even run away from school or pretend to be ill to avoid school. Poor educational facilities: The low standard of educational facilities creates an unconducive learning environment which hinders them from enjoying school or the process of learning, examples of such are young students studying in uncompleted buildings, studying without any equipment including toys for practical lessons, studying with limited textbooks etc. These factors de-motivate young students and they cannot relate it to reality the reason they should suffer through these instead of learning some handiwork and earning a living from it. Unemployment rate: In developing Nations where there is high rate of unemployment, some parents prefer sending their kids to skill acquisition centers because it’s better than having to go through the harsh system considering the financial implications and at the end there are thing chances of being employed (Dwyer et al., 30-55). Political instabilities: In some African countries like Nigeria where teachers often go on strike due to the government’s inability to meet of with their demands, some of these strike actions last for several months and sometimes a year and students spend more time at home and the duration of their studies is prolonged (Dwyer et al., 30-55). This cause student to spend extra years in school and many ends up finding something to do than waiting for extra years. These are specific reasons which contribute to the high rate of school drop outs in this region, nevertheless other general reason with can be seen in many regions of the world are not underestimated. Globally there are factors which contribute to the high rate of drop outs and they are, failure and academic deadlock, social and peer groups, the students themselves, unprofessional teachers, the community they live in, early marriages, pregnancies and lack of interest for school, addiction to the internet, social sites and adult sites. Failure and academic deadlock: Students face difficulties in the process of learning and they have to struggle so hard to pass, this can be linked to the structure of schools, some schools are structured such that they are exam oriented and not knowledge oriented. Students are encouraged to memorize a lot and loaded with home tasks that they spend almost all their time doing home tasks and not individual studies. However failure is not tolerated and can cost the students their admission, this creates a nervous and psychological imbalance where the students are not sure of their fate and always in some form of fear of failure. They are traumatized at poor grades which may lead them to severe depression and they begin to lose interest for school and finally drop out. Social and peer groups: Some students are exposed to bad peer groups which may influence them negatively and they cultivate bad habits, such as playing too much of video games which they find more interesting and entertaining than reading a book least going to school. The early use of drugs and alcohol also contributes to their lack of interest in educational works at large and school in particular. Some are convinced that education is of less important and easily make references to world billionaires and successful people who were drop outs. Addiction to the internet, social sites and adult sites- Young students are known for their activeness and ability to explore and experiment, the internet offers a lot of good things as well as bad things and it’s known that the bad things often appear more attractive, a lot of young people have access to the internet and social sites where they spend more time than with their school works and educative information. A significant number are addicted to adult sites and this occupies vital place in their heads and tries to dislodge their interests for academic works. Unprofessional teachers: A good teacher is not just someone that knows a lot of information but also someone that knows the most effective means to pass knowledge to his/her students. Some teachers with little training are assigned to difficult schools where the effect of their experience cannot be felt. They are either frustrated by the performance of the students or their low uptake ability and they are stuck in finding the most appropriate means to get the students on track. A lot of students may develop hate for the subject or the teacher and they find it boring and abandon school activities because of lack of interest. The community they live in: Some students come from communities where little or no value is attached to education and criminality, gang life, drug business and violence thrive. These influence the young minds and even they are most susceptible from dropping out of school because their societal life contradicts that of the school. In some cases these students adopt these behaviors in schools which place them at the highest risk of expulsion or constant suspension. Early marriages and pregnancies: Some students drop out of school due to inappropriate sexual behaviors which my lead to early pregnancy and force some to early marriages. The effects are that; they are distracted by family responsibilities; they have kids to take care of, social isolation and possible means to raise finance for their families. These completely detach them from pursing their academics and they end up dropping out of school. Lack of interest for school: Some students lack totally interest for school, the more they try to develop interest for the school the more the fail, they cannot explain themselves and their reasons but it just comes naturally. They don’t understand the essence of school and it’s better for them to try something outside school and sometimes they have innovative minds. The family: Some families due to socio-economic reasons are unable to meet up with the financial means to properly educate their children and some have many children and cannot afford to put them all through school, this cause a clash between the family priorities and school values and this tussle at any level can lead to students dropping out of school. These factors majorly contribute to the reasons why young students drop out of high school and fail to graduate from college. Works Cited Dwyer, Rachel E., Randy Hodson, and Laura McCloud. "Gender, debt, and dropping out of college." Gender & Society 27.1 (2013): 30-55. Read More