In his State of the Union Address, President Obama called on states to increase the age a student can drop out of high school to 18. In his address, President Obama stated that increasing the high school graduation rate is positively linked to higher earning potential, stronger economies and lower crime rates[i] One state, Illinois has taken the lead by proposing legislation to raise the age of school attendance to 18. Illinois is one of 29 states that allow students to drop out of high school when they turn 17.
The call by President Obama to raise the high school dropout age a is a good idea, if there is an innovative and sustainable plan to address the causes for dropping out. There is a plethora of research on factors relating to high school dropouts. While a majority of the research focuses on factors such as economic isolation, unemployment and poverty, very little attention is given to the concerns that matter to students’ when they consider dropping out.
One concern that matters to high school students is the lack of relevancy and connection of the curriculum to the real world. Students have expressed frustration over the failure to understand what they are taught and its usefulness to their immediate and post high school lives. Our educational system can no longer continue the belief that young adults will blindly follow the academic directives of teachers even when they feel those directives do not make sense. The failure to address the students’ concern for relevancy in the academic curriculum is one of the leading causes of high school dropouts. For decades students’ have complained that school is “boring” and they aren’t learning “anything.” Yet, their concerns continue to fall on deaf ears.
Another concern that matters to high school students are the mixed messages they receive about the importance of obtaining a high school diploma. Students are constantly told they have to finish high school in order to get a good job. Yet daily they are confronted with high school graduates (relatives, neighbors, older friends etc) who are unemployed/underemployed, overworked or financially struggling. At the same time they see peers who have dropped out and are making money (legally or illegally) and they see their favorite entertainers (some who are dropouts or pretend to be dropouts) being paraded in the media and earning large sums of money without having a diploma.
A final concern that matters to high school students is the ability to balance work and their education. This has been a problem for many students who need to work in order to contribute to the family expenses or to take care of their own expenses. Unfortunately our high schools are not equipped to provide a flexible schedule to assists students with balancing school and work. High schools can provide work rosters, but work rosters are primarily for seniors. Underclassmen are not eligible for work rosters due to state mandates that require that amount of “seat” time a student must spend in school. The inability to be flexible forces some students out of balance and causes them to choose work over school. We should consider work rosters for all students and consider how students can earn credit towards graduation for working.
Before we consider increasing the age of school enrollment, we must first address the concerns that matter to high school students. For too long, the concerns of high school have been ignored and the result of being ignored is disengagement and dropping out. How much longer will we ignore their concerns?
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