Withers1

SamuelHakeemJavonWithers
Smith
EnglishIVHonors
3November,2015
GettingOvertheMountain
Forvariousreasons,manyhighschoolstudentsaredroppingoutofschoolandbecoming
stereotypicalstatistics,whileveryfewdropoutsmakesomethingofthemselves.Staroutside
linebackerfortheSeattleSeahawks,BruceIrvin,isoneoftheNationalFootballLeagues(NFL)
successstories.IrvindroppedoutofhighschoolbeforehisjunioryearatStephensonHigh
School.WhileatStephenson,hejoinedthefootballteam,buttoduebeingacademically
ineligible,hewaskickedoffandshortlyafter,droppedoutofschool.Irvin'slifebegantospiral
outofcontrolafterdroppingout.Irvinwaskickedoutbyhismother,jumpedfromhouseto
house,hungwithdrugdealers,committedcrimes,andwasarrestedmultipletimes.Luckily,Irvin
hadwhathecalls,aneyeopeningmoment,andwenttogethisGED.Eventuallyfoundhis
waytoWestVirginiaUniversitytoplayfootballmakinganameforhimself,andthentothe
NFL(WashingtonPost).ThoughBruceIrvinovercamehissituation,notallhighschooldropouts
overcometheirsituations.Withthepropersupportfrompeopleinteachingandmentoring
positions,thenumberofhighschooldropoutswoulddecreasesufficiently.
Bydefinition,ahighschooldropoutis
astudentwhowithdrawsfromhighschoolafter
havingreachedthelegalagetodoso(Dictionary).InNorthCarolina,thelegalagetodropoutof
highschoolis16yearsold,butrecently,theNorthCarolinaBoardofEducationhasbeen
consideringboostingthelegalageto18.Nevertheless,thereasonshighschoolstudentsdropout

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fallintothreecategoriesconsistingofschoolrelatedissues,familyrelatedissues,and
employmentrelatedissues(DropoutPrevention).AccordingtoastudydonebyDropout
Prevention,themoreprevalentissuesarecenteredaroundschool.beingthat24.2%ofstudents
dropoutduetoschoolissues,whileonly16.9%dropoutduetofamilyrelatedissues,and9.7%
dropoutduetoemploymentrelated.Inthe1960s,thehighschooldropoutratewasatanalltime
highof27.2%,butitbenefitedalotofdropoutsthen,becausejobswerejustasavailablefor
dropout,asthosethatcompletedhighschool(NCSE).Overtime,thehighschooldropoutratehas
droppeddramaticallytoalmost8%,butstillcloseto7,000highschoolstudentsdropoutaday
(PewResearchCenter).Today,justabouteveryjobrequiresahighschooldiplomaoracollege
degree.Withoutthesepapers,itisjustaboutimpossibletogetwork,thusmanyhighschool
dropoutsenduponthestreetsmakingup30.8%ofthepovertyrate,committing75%ofthe
crimesintheU.S.,ormakingabout$200,000lessinhis/herlifetimewhenworkisfound(PBS).
Withthesestaggeringnumbers,itisimperativethatwecontinuetotrytoresolvethisissue,so
thateverybodyhasafairchancetogetintocollege,competeforjobs,andmakealiving.
Knowingthenumbersandreasoningsbehindhighschooldropouts,therearesolutions
beingputintoeffect.ThemoreeffectiveofthesesolutionsistheGeneralEducation
Devolvementprogram,orGED.TheGEDprogramoffersagreatalternativeforasecondchance
foreducation.GEDprogramsareusuallyofferedbycommunitycollegesandsomeuniversities.
ThebenefitofGEDprogramsbeingofferedbyhighereducationalinstitutionsisthatitison
campussoif/whenthestudentmovesontocollege,theywillalreadyhaveexperienceina
collegeatmosphere.TheGEDtestchallengestheknowledgeoftheparticipantsinareasofmath,
science,writing,readingandsocialstudies.Thetestsscorerangeisfrom200800,butthe

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minimumscoreneededtopassis410mostpeopleaverage500.InNorthCarolina,82.6%of
dropoutspassedtheGEDtest,22.4%movedontoa4yearcollege,38.6%gotintoa2year
college,and20.3%gotacceptedintoatechnicalprogram(GEDTesting).Theonesthatdonot
gofurtherwitheducationalopportunities,theyfindbetterjobsorgetpromotedtohighpositions,
Formanydropouts,gettingaGEDopenednumerousopportunitiesthatchangedlives.
ThoughaGEDisasecondchanceopportunityofgettinganeducation,Iproposea
solutionfortherootoftheproblem.Thetopcomplaintsfromstudentsarethattheyarenot
motivatedandfeeltheyhavelittletonosupportfromtheirteacher.Infact,astudyconductedby
LivingSciencefoundthat30%ofstudentswantmoreinteractionfromtheteacher,60%are
boredwiththework,and25%feltthattheteacherhonestlydidnotcareabouttheclass.With
thesestatists,itclearthatproblemiswithintheschoolandlayswiththeteacher.So,whatcould
theteachersdotofixthisproblem?Well,teachersacrossthecountrygotoworkshops/seminars
tolearnskillsandtricksofbeingabettereducator,buttherearestillcomponentsmissingthatare
causingcomplaints.Myfirstsolutionsisimplementingtrainingcoursesonhowtomotivate,
support,andeffectivelycommunicatewithstudentsinteacherworkshops/seminars.These
courseswouldbetaughtbydecoratededucators,toshowexamplesandanswersaboutwhat
works,whatiseffective,andwhatbenefitscertainsstudents,aswellasimproveoverall
productivityoftheclassroom.Withthistraining,teacherswillseebetterresultsfromtheir
studentsandthestudentswillfeelliketheirteachersaregivingextraefforttohelpthemlearn,
thustheywillfeelcomfortableapproachingthemwithissuesinvolvingtheclass.
AnothersolutionIproposeisforafterschoolhours.AccordingtoPublicAgenda,79%of
studentsparticipateintheafterschoolsportsorclubs.Coaches/mentorsinchargeofthese

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activitiesoftenhaveapolicythatstudentsmustattainatleastanCaverageinordertobe
eligibleparticipate,buteveryyearclosetoathousandparticipantsbecomeineligibleatsome
duringthatactivitysseason.Forsomeoneonthevergeofdroppingoutthathasnotdonesodue
tobeingpartofanafterschoolactivity,losingtheopportunitytotobeparticipateisamajor
blow.Coaches/mentorsaresupposedtokeepupwithhowtheirplayer/studentsaredoingin
school,butthisisoftennotthecase.Ibelievethatiftheschoolandstatemakesitmoreofa
requirementforcoaches/mentorstokeepupwiththeeligibilityofparticipants,thismayhelp
withsomeoftheproblem.Formanyhighschoolstudents,afterschoolactivitiesgivesthem
motivationtotoexcelinschool,butstillsomeneedaextrapush.Sometimes,itisnotenough
beingthestarathleteorthebestcompetitor,somestudentsneedamentor.InainterviewI
conductedwithJimmyTeague,headfootballcoachoftheReidsvilleHighSchoolRams,hesaid,
Sometimescoachingisntdonewheneveryoneisoffthefield,aplayermayneedhelpwith
somethingoutsidethesportandyouhavetothentakeontheroleofamentor.Beingaathlete
andcoach,Iunderstandbothathletesprospectiveandcoach/mentorprospective,findingthe
balancebetweenthetwo.Forexample,highschoolsportsofferscholarshipopportunitiesfor
playersandjoboffersforcoaches.Ifagreatathletehasachanceofgettingascholarship,but
becomesineligible,hewilllosehisscholarship.Notonlydoestheathletegetheldresponsible,
butthecoachaswell.Coaches/mentorshavethepowertoleaveaneffectonkidsthatthey
interactwith,especiallythosewhoatriskofdroppingout,becausetheycanprovidethesupport
andincentivetomotivatethem.
ThoughthehighschoolsdropoutsareaissueintheU.S.,therearesolutionstogetting
overtheacademically,troubledmountain.TheopportunitytoaGEDprovideshighschool

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dropoutswitha2ndchancetogetaneducationandhasbeenworkingsincethe1940s.Tosolve
theproblemattheroot,wecouldtrainourteachersinareasofmotivationandcommunication,
also,givingmoreresponsibilitytothoseinchargeprogramsconnectedtotheschool.Withthese
solutions,theratehighschooldropoutsshoulddecreasedramatically.Fromtheratebeingat
27.2%to8%andsteadilydropping,progressisbeingmade.Everyonehasaroletoplayinorder
forthistoworkproperly.