The Major Causes of Students Dropping Out

Major Causes of Students Dropping Out There are four major causes of students dropping out of school: a. The child him/herself b. The family situation c. The community they live in d. The school environment In order to prevent students from dropping out of school, we must attack the causes listed above. Some of them are out of our control. For example, we cannot address the community they live in or in most cases, their family situation. But we can address the choices they make and the school environment. One of the ways of doing so is for educators to ask a serious of tough questions. More) How inviting a classroom environment is there for the student? Are the walls painted in â€Å"happy colors†? or are they drab institutional gray or green? Are your bulletin boards filled with student work, left blank or with commercial advertisements? Are all students encouraged to learn? Has the school created different classes for students – those designed to pass and those design ed to fail? Those who will go on to college and those who will drop out. What role can you, as a classroom instructor, play in overcoming this paradigm? How many students start in your school or system, graduate?Does the school track their progress through the system? Are â€Å"safety nets†? built in for those who are identified as at-risk? What â€Å"pillars†? support these safety nets? Are you one of these safety nets? Do you know how to get additional assistance in helping students graduate? (Is there additional counseling, mentoring, after school learning activities, service-learning projects designed to connect school to the world of work? As you track, is the largest reason for kids leaving school, â€Å"miscellaneous† How many students who dropouts are actually pushed out? (Students who are told, by word or action, â€Å"I do not want you in my class†? r â€Å"I don’t need you in my school. †? ) How close to graduation are students wh o dropout? Do they need one credit or ten? What has the school done to help them make up the credit? What role can you, as a classroom instructor, play in overcoming this paradigm? What is done to support the â€Å"psychological†? dropout – the child who is physically in the school but mentally is miles away. What role can you, as a classroom instructor, play in overcoming this paradigm? †¢ . Because classes were not interesting For many students, the material in the classes they're taking seem so far removed from daily life that it's hard to see the point.Many say this is one primary reason they decide to leave school before graduation. †¢ 2. Not motivated Beyond not connecting with the material, many students aren't given the encouragement and support they need to feel motivated to study and learn. Without motivation — and with plenty of other pressures pushing in — they lose the focus school requires. †¢ 3. Got a job The need to work whi le attending school is an unavoidable reality for many students, and once the job's requirement for hours starts making attendance at school difficult, the job often wins. †¢ 4.Became a parent Being a parent is a job in itself — and for many students in high school with children, it's impossible to reconcile having kids with getting a degree. †¢ 5. To care for a family member Like raising a child, taking care of a sick or aging relative is a big job, and one that sadly can make life difficult for even the most dedicated potential graduates. Dropping Out: Cause and Effect Dropping out of high school is an issue faced by many teens today. It results from a few main common causes, one is often a lack of involvement in extra-curricular activities.Another revolves around the parents not being forceful in demanding that their children commit to staying in school. A third cause is the absence of effort exerted by students to be successful in their studies. Why do teenagers lose their interest in school? When students are not successful with their studies it often starts a negative downward spiral in their commitment to school. When they feel less positive about school they generally are less interested in extra-curricular activities – sports, music, and clubs. For many students, it is their success in extra-curricular activities that fuels their desire to remain in school.If students have no success in either academic or extra-curricular activities they have no incentives to go to school. Consequently, they have no attachment to their school. Too many parentsare not firm enough with their children and their education. Parents fail to impress upon their children the importance of remaining in school and that dropping out is detrimental to their future. Sometimes teens drop out because of a lack of fear instilled into them by their parents; many teens have little or no parental supervision. Coupled with a lack of communication skills between par ents and teens, the result can be a lack of involvement with school.There is an absence of effort put forth by many of today's students. They seem quite lackadaisical and have no discipline when it comes to their studies. Continual failure is often a prescription for tremendous overload and stress. It tends to amount to the self-fulfilling prophecy of dropping out; which may feel like their only escape. It can be prevented however. Selling teens on the benefits of staying in school requires continual effort and a great expenditure of time. Parents have to be more in tune with their children's†¦