High School Drop Out Crisis
Posted on 27 October 2009 by Stenberg-Tendys W.L. in Promotion
A report from the Educational Testing Service revealed that little is being done to stem the rising high school drop-out crisis.
Nearly 6.2 million students in the United States dropped out of high school in 2007. That represents 16% of all Americans in that age range. Most of the persistent dropouts were Latino or black, according to a report by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, and the Alternative Schools Network in Chicago, Illinois.
“In the current global economy, having at least a high school diploma is a critical step for avoiding poverty, and a college degree is a prerequisite for a well-paying job,” the study says.
The major consequence of the dropout rate is an increase in crime and an increase in prison population. The concern is that more is spent in keeping prisoners in jail, than is being spent on educating children. The typical annual expense for one prisoner is between $20,000 – $50,000. The cost of a pupil is from $7,000 – $20,000 per year, with an average of $9,000.
The Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan is trying to promote change through incentives in a $100 billion education stimulus package. Under consideration are ways that technology will help support the efforts of teachers to individualize instruction for students, improve professional development for teachers, make the curriculum more relevant to the world today and ways that can facilitate the teaching of reading.
Kids need 21st century skills if they are to succeed in the world marketplace. Skills such as collaboration, technology, computer and Internet search skills, to name just a few of the requirements. It is also believed that schools should take advantage of students’ love of social networks, mobile devices and collaborative writing tools, such as blogs, to promote learning.
In the tropical island of Vanuatu, a Lesser Developed Nation of the South Pacific, the problem is the lack of free education. Many children cannot complete their high school education because they do not have the ability to raise the necessary funds.
YouMe Support Foundation is dedicated to picking up as many of these students as possible. On November 19th they are holding a Guinness World Record challenge, in an attempt to raise public awareness, as well as raise funds to assist top students to remain in school.
You can support these 820 kids in their endeavour to break the Guinness World Record, by making a small donation. Every cent you give will go to help these kids.
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