High School Dropouts In The United States

Teenagers dropping out of high school is a growing problem for citizens in the United States. High school dropout rates have progressively gotten worse because of a student’s lack of work and problems at home. Although the United States’ teen dropout rate is slowly declining as a whole, it is still leading to many other problems. I recently watched a report on the news, which mentioned that the U.S. is still towards the bottom of the education count throughout many countries. This report makes me wonder what the future will bring us. Will the unemployed over power the employed? Will our taxes continue to increase to pay for unemployment policies? How do kids that drop out of school early prosper in our society? I’ve also learned about teen
dropouts through my family.
My uncle never finished high school; he understands what it is like to go through life without a degree. He is currently attending school to achieve the diploma that he deserves. He is also working his way upwards in his job, and hopes to receive a larger paycheck to support his wife and child. Although he had a rough start, his story seems to prove that everyone needs an education. I think that without a full experience in a school classroom, we will be unable to achieve greater things in life. It is understandable that dropouts will have a harder time with learning, since they missed out on a daily classroom experience that most of the people around them have encountered before. This issue is very interesting to me as a student because I watch my classmates misuse their opportunities every day. It is also easily relatable to myself and the students around me; we’ve all wanted to quit and give up, but we know that we will not get anywhere without an education. Dropping out of school is caused by family struggles at home, and leads to joblessness and an increase in imprisonment rates. Beginning around 2006, a variety of agencies became concerned about high school dropout rates. According to a study at Northeastern University, “... the findings revealed that only 60 percent of the nation’s 16-24 year old dropouts worked at some point during the year. This implies a year-round joblessness rate of 40% among these high school dropouts.” (northeastern.edu 5) This snippet from the study shows that without an education, a majority of dropouts will be unable to prosper in their lives as adults. It also leads us to believe that without a job, an adult may struggle with paying bills and such. In fact, the study also includes that “...the mean annual earnings of the nation’s young dropouts in 2007 were only $8,358 well below the average of $15,149 for all young adults.” (6) This quote from the study at Northeastern University is very important because it gives us a good estimate of the money that dropouts seize to earn. These wide ranges of numbers help to show that being educated is a necessity, and further shows us where our taxes go. Taxpayers will have to continue to pay for unemployment, and will most likely fear that unemployment rates will increase. Through extensive research, I’ve found that quite a few of student dropouts have been related to struggles in the family life at home. When living in an environment where parents struggle to put food on their tables, it can be hard to fight the urge to leave school. It is even harder to focus on an education when you are surrounded by dropouts. The article, “Why Students Drop Out: The Economic Pressures That Make Leaving School Unavoidable,” by John Rosales, published on June 8, 2015, mentions that “youth living in households with so little education... are more than twice as likely to drop out... than other kids.” (neatoday.org) This quote shows that the type of environment that a student is put into can greatly affect the way that they perceive education, and it also demonstrates the likeliness of a student to succeed. In this perspective, many teens dropout to help support their families, instead of many other reasons. Later in the article, Molly Scott, co-author of “Dropping Out and Clocking In: A Portrait of Teens Who Leave School Early and Work,” mentions that “there is so much poverty in so many families... Students often decide to help provide for their parents, siblings, and themselves.” (neatoday.org) This quote from Scott shows us the more emotional side of this issue. Although kids want to drop out to work, the job that they take will most likely not give them enough profit to fulfill the rest of their lives. They still need an education, and in the long run, their improved job will help their future be easier to manage. Most students that drop out of school to work will eventually experience unemployment.
After researching family struggles, I’ve also found that unemployment is an enormous problem for teenage dropouts in the United States.
According to the article, “The True Cost of High School Dropouts,” by Henry M. Levin and Cecilia E. Rouse, published on January 25, 2012, “studies show that the typical high school graduate will obtain higher employment and earnings - an astonishing 50 percent to 100 percent increase in lifetime income.” (nytimes.com) This portion of the article identifies how successful a school graduate tends to be in the work industry. The article tells of how much non-graduates will cost the public and even themselves. It makes the public aware of the dent that dropouts are putting in their wallets. The United States is currently experiencing a high unemployment rate, which is due to the low rate of completion of school. Young adults will face hardship as they move through their lives. They will have to pay bills that a regular citizen also faces, but it is proven that they will have a tougher time coming up with the money to do so. Later, the article mentions that “because of the increased income, the typical graduate will contribute more in tax revenues over his lifetime than if he’d dropped out.” (nytimes.com) This quote again shows that graduates are a necessity in our generation. This also shows that the public will have less worries with graduates rather than non-graduates. The overall taxes that Americans pay for unemployment will stop increasing
if the amount of total graduates increases. The number of dropouts is too big to not worry about, and the article seems to prove it. This article contains valuable and usable information through the use of facts and statistics.
Besides an increase in unemployment, the United States will also experience an increase in incarceration rates.
For example, the article, “Cause and Effect: The High Cost of High School Dropouts,” by Matthew Lynch, published on November 30, 2014, states that “over 80 percent of the incarcerated population is high school dropouts.” (huffingtonpost.com) This quote shows the people of America that school dropouts are a threat to watch out for. It is proven that out of most Americans, the majority that are thrown in prison never completed high school. We meet dropouts in our daily lives, whether it is at a restaurant or even a grocery store. Our society is being unprotected from the harmful citizens, yet they continue to pay for the high costs of imprisonment. Yet again, this seems to show us how an education is a huge factor in our lives. Teen dropouts that end up in prison also lead to the increase of prisoners in the U.S., which is another current social issue. Society now has to fear that the dropouts around us will harm us or others. A majority of dropouts also face mental illnesses, which means that a lot of non-graduates end up in need of help. So, not only does dropping out of high school lead to imprisonment, but it also is proven that more students will get sick. This article does a great job enforcing the social problems that teen dropouts allow to occur by including useful information and
statistics.
After completing full research, I’ve concluded that teens drop out of school to help their families, and that this method leads to unemployment, and imprisonment. In order to limit the number of dropouts, the United States needs to create more programs that focus on helping students succeed. This issue also has to be introduced more broadly to the public, in which the above articles prove. The writings show citizens that with the slightest help, we can improve the regular habits of high school students. To answer one of my previous questions, I’ve learned that young adults will not prosper throughout their lives without an education. Most adults will be unemployed or imprisoned in the future. Our society should care about this issue because these non-graduates will eventually be the faces of America. If we help students now, we can prevent increased taxes for unemployment later. Also, the crime rates that surround us will cease to increase. Parents won’t have to always be in fear when their children leave the house. To protect others and ourselves, this issue with teen dropouts will have to be addressed, and it is mandatory that we are all prepared for it.