High Schools: Should The Dropout Age Be Raised?

Should The Dropout Age Be Raised?

“Dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country, and this country needs and values the talents of every American ("President Obama’s Address to Congress" 2009).” Barack Obama spoke this in his address to Congress. Some might say that high school does not suit everyone, but dropping out of high school can affect your future. Dropping out of high school this young can affect job opportunities and standard of living. There are also other alternatives, such as counseling and tutoring. Therefore, students should not be able to make this life-changing decision until their senior year.

Having a successful future costs more than it should in this

According to USA Today Marc Brackett had said :“It’s hard to concentrate and it's hard to do well in school if your brain is constantly having to respond to stress," Marc Brackett, a researcher in the Yale University Department of Psychology and director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.” Going to school can be very difficult especially with hard classes. Some main factors of why students drop out of highschool can be the following : stress, exhaustion, boredom, or low self-esteem. Introducing tutoring can be beneficial to these students. Failing classes or not doing well on homework or tests can lower a student’s self esteem. This causes the student to drop out because of hard tests or homework that the student does not understand. Tutoring can also benefit the student by having a friend to talk to. Some students drop out because of bullying or lack of friends. Tutoring can be a great bonding experience for two classmates which will make the student want to attend school (Toppo "Our high school kids: tired, stressed and bored" 2015). Do they really need school if they already have a job that they have picked out that doesn’t require a high school diploma? Kenny Buchanan explains his experience of dropping out of high school and his regrets. In this interview, Kenny Buchanan was asked if he found a job right away. His reply was the

These teens have difficulty with staying in school the most. There are ways to stay in school and be pregnant at the same time. According to Progressive Policy,“Among dropouts, 30 percent of girls cite pregnancy or parenthood as a key reason they left school. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, only 51 percent of teen moms earn a high school diploma compared to 89 percent of female students who did not give birth as a teen. The picture is even worse for the youngest mothers: just 38 percent of teen girls who have a child before they turn 18 have a high school diploma. For these teens, the task of balancing their education and a baby proved impossible ("The Drop Out Crisis and Teen Pregnancy" 2012).” These statistics prove that more pregnant teens are dropping out of school. Some schools are fortunate enough to have an alternative school for teen pregnancy. Dallas, Texas saw this problem and took it into consideration. “More and more, the girls are just opting to remain at their home schools, except for the younger ones,” Humphrey said. “For the last five years, we’ve had more middle school students than we’ve had high school students.” The school began in 1969 as a program at the Buckner Benevolences Maternity Home. Ten locations and three names later, the high school makes its home inside the William B. Carrell Multiple