Commentary: My Solutions

1. Orange should make a deal with Orange High School.

• In Kentucky, the Kentucky Department of Education promised to give grants to the first 57 school districts that changed their dropout age to 18.
• Orange should do something similar to this. Orange High School will receive money to support the school if 98% of the graduating class actually graduate each year over a two year period.

2. Orange High School should make a deal with the students.

• If 98% of the students graduate, then Project Graduation can be initiated.

3. Create a new school to get people to graduate.

• In Savannah, South Carolina, a new charter school program was designed to get dropouts to graduate.
• Orange should create a school or a program that dropouts or potential dropouts can attend to convince them to graduate high school. There can be workshops and fun field trips designed to keep them in school.

My Three Research Sources

1)Staying in School: A Proposal for Raising High-School Graduation Rates

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ulh&AN=85240835&site=src-live

This resource has many interesting facts and supports my idea that programs need to be created to help reduce the dropout rate.

2)1 in 4 dropouts cite lack of parental help

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=2W62599775365&site=src-live

This resource focuses on why a student would most likely dropout of high school.

3)District hopes online program will net diplomas

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=2W6143306796&site=src-live

This resource gives an example of what one district is doing in order to help dropouts have an education and reduce the dropout rate within their community.

Video Interview #2

In this second video, I interviewed my younger brother Ahmed. These are the questions asked:

1. What do you think causes students to drop out?
2. Which group of people do you think are more likely to drop out?
3. Have you ever thought about dropping out or do you know anyone who has?
4. What ways do you believe we can reduce the drop out rate?
5. What advice would you give to a student who wanted to dropout?

Thesis Statement and Counter Argument

Thesis Statement: When you see a young person working at a local grocery store, when you see a student who is missing out on school work, when you learn that a potential student joined a gang, then you know that the dropout epidemic is a serious issue.

Counter Argument: Although some may argue that dropping out can lead to success, they must look at the whole picture. Not everyone can become famous like Michael Jackson or own a big business like Donald Trump.

Pathos, Logos, Ethos and My Social Problem

http://completetrackandfield.com/3112/training-in-hallways/

Dropping out. It is an event that occurs every 26 seconds within the United States or about 7,000 in a day. It is a sad occurrence. Seeing a kid leaving school; planning to never come back. You wonder, "Why?" You see the look on their face; they try to act like everything is fine, when its not.  It could have been the teachers or the work that they were behind on in school. It could have been the people around them or the job they had in order to support their family. We never know for sure. Yet, that does not mean that we should leave this problem alone. Education is a very important tool to us in today's society. Many of us were not destined to become famous but that does not mean that we can't become something in life. Staying in high school and finishing it ensures us with a better job. I stumbled upon some facts on the website  Do Something. Dropouts will earn $200, 000 less than those high school students who graduate and over $800, 000 less than college graduates during their life. WOW! That is a lot of money. This does not have to be a fact for every kid. There are many ways in which we can solve this problem. One way is to create a drop out prevention program that provides kids with jobs, homework help, counseling, etc. Another way is to have parents, teachers, and other adults explain to students that dropping out is not good and talk about its various effects. Dropping out is a very serious issue within our communities today. If we do not do something about it now, more and more students will feel the need to leave their education behind. Education is the key to success and if we lose that key and do not try to find it, opening up the door to success will become a challenge.

The Great Debaters and My Social Problem

The Great Debaters was a very intellectual movie that touched on many issues that can be related to our time today. Mr. Tolson, the teacher in the movie, mentioned something that I thought related to my social problem: dropping out.

"Denigrate. There's a word for you. From the Latin word "niger", to defame, to blacken. It's always there, isn't it? Even in the dictionary. Even in the speech of a Negro professor. Somehow, "black" is always equated with failure."

The idea that black is equated with failure is a common thought among our society today. Many things that have to do with something bad are equated to African Americans and Hispanics. Dropping out is no exception. According to the website, Do Something, Hispanics and African Americans are more likely to drop out of high school than Asians and Whites. That is not good. As a community, we need to try to find different ways to reduce this problem. Education is very important and we need to try our best to make everyone agree that it is.

Pictures on Dropping Out

http://duncannuggets.com/2011/12/high-school-dropout-factory.html

http://evelio27matias.wordpress.com/solutions/

http://tmc108.blogspot.com/2010/05/cause-and-effect-paragraph.html

http://9gag.com/gag/3619243

11 Facts About Dropping Out

The website Do Something listed eleven facts on Dropping Out.

http://nichcy.org/laws/idea/partb/indicators-partb/indicator2

1. 1)Every year, over 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone. That’s a student every 26 seconds – or 7,000 a day.

1. 2)More than a quarter of high school freshmen fail to graduate from high school on time.

1. 3)On average, only 58% of students in America's 50 largest cities make it to graduation.

1. 4)More than one in four Hispanic youth drop out, and nearly half leave by the eighth grade.

1. 5)Hispanics are twice as likely as African Americans to drop out. White and Asian American students are least likely to drop out.

1. 6)In the last 20 years, the earnings level of dropouts doubled, while it nearly tripled for college graduates.

1. 7)Recent dropouts will earn $200,000 less than high school graduates, and over $800,000 less than college graduates, in their lives.

1. 8)Dropouts make up nearly half the heads of households on welfare.

1. 9)In the U.S., high school dropouts commit about 75 percent of crimes.

1. 10)The dropout problem is likely to increase substantially through 2020 unless significant improvements are made.

1. 11)America’s high school graduation rate ranks 19th in the world. (Forty years ago, we were number one.)

http://www.dosomething.org

My Interview on My Social Problem: Dropping Out

In this video, I interview a friend on the current social problem that I am working on: Dropping Out.

The following questions were asked:

1) What is your opinion on the problem of dropping out?
2) Have you or any one else skipped school or dropped out before?
3) Do you have any ideas on what may cause an individual to skip school or dropout?
4) Do you have any ideas on possible solutions for this problem?
5) What advice do you have for those who have ever thought of skipping school or dropping out?

CPB's Initiative for the Prevention of Dropping Out

Many states have joined this widely known initiative by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting called American Graduate. It is a media initiative designed to help local communities identify and implement solutions to the high school dropout crisis. More than 75 public radio and television stations in over 30 states have been used to help students stay on track towards high school graduation, college, and their future.

Some states that have collaborated with this initiative include:

• New York                                                
• Pennsylvania
• Virginia
• North Carolina
• South Carolina
• Colorado
• New Mexico
• Texas
• Washington
• California                              
• Massachusetts