high school dropout memo
Dear Chancellor Klein: I begin with an interesting statistic: A study indicates that psychological depression afflicts more than one third of high school students (“National Education Center of Statistics”). ... I provide this little statistic as a means of an introduction into discussing one of the most serious education problems, both past and present: high school dropout rates. According to Michelle Fine who wrote a book called Framing Dropouts, on her observations of a Comprehensive High School in Upper Manhattan over a decade ago, students who remained in school were significantly more depressed, more teacher dependent, unwilling to challenge a misgrade and endlessly willing to conform (Fine 4). Fine, therefore, reveals that the structures, ideologies and practices of schools are highly conformist – which is what triggers dropout rates. She questions why kids would stay in a school committed to majority failure and asserts that the main reason why kids drop out is to, ironically, take control over their own lives. ... Such exclusion policies play a key factor in dropout rates (Fine 25). Another main factor in the dropout problem, as addressed by Fine, is the notion of “silencing. ... Fine’s also speaks of “social consciousness” as prominent issue in the dropout problem. ... Dropout problems appears on the surface as if it were due to lack of student motivation, unskilled teachers, and apathetic parents. ... Yet, aside from breaking down the stratification barriers, Fine still advocates for these students to earn a high school diploma because it would enable them to acquire the basic academic and social skills needed to venture out into the world. Still, her primary solution to the dropout problem is to put an end to the “natural” diminishing of freedom of expression within our structured, class-based society. Since Fine’s study, the high school dropout problem continues to shockingly endure, despite recent education innovations and new technology of the new millennium.