Leave those pesky children behind

[D_Raay]

Remember "No Child Left Behind"? Well, according to a new study, we're leaving behind 7,000 children every school day in this country. The 1.2 million students, who should be graduating high school this spring most likely won't be.

Translation, 7,000 kids a day in the United States are leaving school. That's according to an alarming study sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Education/) on the state of education in this country. Last year Bill Gates called American high schools obsolete. Based on these numbers, he might have been on to something.

The big cities are the worst; 14 urban districts places like Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, Denver, Cleveland, Dallas, Milwaukee. They have an on-time graduation right of less than 50 percent.

In New York City the on-time graduation rate is just 38.9 percent. In Baltimore, Maryland, it's 38.5 percent. And in Detroit, Michigan the on-time graduation rate of high school students, 21.7 percent. That's disgraceful.

The nation's overall graduation rate is about 70 percent, so the question is this -- what does it mean when 7,000 students are dropping out of school every day?

I suspect it's a way to make some of these unforunate youngsters flock to the military without being left with viable options.

[SobaViolence]

god bless america.

[racer5.0stang]

I guess it is the governments fault for kids dropping out of school. Lets not question where the parents are and what they are doing or not doing.

Maybe if we tried taking care of ourselves and our kids instead of expecting the government to do it for us, society as a whole might be better off.

[Schmeltz]

Good point, racer - so what mechanism do you propose to persuade people to make things work for themselves, instead of allowing government to take on the problem? Do you think that if people were simply left to their own devices they would naturally choose to educate and better themselves? I will agree that people should not be totally dependent on their government to simply provide them with opportunities, no questions asked. That is an unreasonable expectation. But how are we supposed to convince people to give a shit about their childrens' education? I don't think things would necessarily be any better if we simply "tried taking care of ourselves." In fact, things would probably be a damn sight worse.

[racer5.0stang]

Good point, racer - so what mechanism do you propose to persuade people to make things work for themselves, instead of allowing government to take on the problem?

Lets start with assuming responsibility for our own actions instead of putting the blame on some excuse to create pity for ourselves.

Maybe if we started living with our choices whether good or bad we might be able to make better choices for ourselves and our families in the future.

Lets say hypothetically that I received a speeding ticket because I disobeyed the posted speed limit sign. Now should I get mad at the cop and take my anger out on he/she because I was caught or should I accept responsibility for my own actions?

It just seems more logical to me that I should be ready to accept the consequences of my actions whether they be good or bad.

But how are we supposed to convince people to give a shit about their childrens' education?

That, my friend, is the million dollar question.

[Bob]

Lets say hypothetically that I received a speeding ticket because I disobeyed the posted speed limit sign. Now should I get mad at the cop and take my anger out on he/she because I was caught or should I accept responsibility for my own actions?

It just seems more logical to me that I should be ready to accept the consequences of my actions whether they be good or bad.





the consequences handed down to you from the government, you mean? you shouldn't even be needing them to influence your behavior in the first place, should you?

i do sort of agree with you though; should we immediately blame the governmnet for the atrocious high school dropout rate? i'm not saying there isn't a connection, i'm just saying that i haven't been shown what it is yet.

why are so many kids leaving school? 7,000 a day seems high. that's 3x the size of my high school. surely we must be running out of kids soon?

that's pretty depressing if it's accurate, though. that's exactly what america needs for the next generation. more dumb people.