THE COST OF HIGH SCHOOL NEGLECT

1. THE COST OF HIGH SCHOOL NEGLECT Research paper slides

2. Introduction • High school is gateway between elementary school and higher learning institutions. It forms the framework upon which individuals build their careers. • The importance of high school in an individual’s life is underlined by its requirement for work and higher learning eligibility. Accordingly, chances of living a happy and fulfilled life are less for those who do not complete high school education. Thus, the cost of neglecting high school is high since the chances of reconciling a resultant destitute lifestyle is next to impossible without high school education. • This cost is also high for the nation as lost revenue increases, and the situation is exacerbated as welfare and crime increase spending by about $24 million. Over 80% of offenders in juvenile facilities in the United States are dropouts of high school (Drennon-Gala, 1995). This adds to the overall economic effect since maintaining prisoners preys on the national GDP (AEE, 2010).

3. Introduction…Contd. • School neglect at any level is costly since the country loses the chance to make between 3 to 7 dollars from every dollar that has been spent in elementary as well as high school education (AEE, 2010). • High School neglect also affects societal responsibilities such as parenthood. The quality of parenting is lower in those individuals whose parents are dropouts. Consequently, they are likely to resort to the same decision thus, proliferating the vicious cycle of dropping out. Research shows that 1/3 of children with mothers who have less than high school education experience trouble in reading at a proficient level (AEE, 2010).

4. Introduction…Contd. • Only ten percent of children with parents who finished high school education have this problem. A significant number of children from low-income backgrounds also fail to meet the grade level requirements on core subjects. Accordingly, they face higher rates of special education placement and repeat grade repletion (Drapela, 2006). Thus, disadvantaged students are at a higher risk of becoming dropouts.

5. Social support • There are several things that can be done to avert high school dropout. It is important to give the students support. One of the essential supports is social support, which entails behavior of teachers and parents, direct and indirect relationships and contacts. • Social support can be displayed through participating and involving themselves with the student. This gives off the feeling of being loved and supported. There are indirect ways of support through maintaining consistent presence, which encourages the student to accept the presence of an adult or a teacher in their lives (Drapela, 2006).

6. Social support…Contd. • Emotional support is important as well. Teachers and parents should counsel and engage in early adolescent encouragement comfort and advice. Other than that, the presence of a parent in the child’s life is vital. In essence, the presence itself is constituent of additional helpful elements such as direct and indirect contact. These raise the level of happiness within an adolescent. • During actual participation and activities between the parent and the child, the support manifests and the child gets an opportunity to experience support. If the adolescent stays without parental contact, there is a negative feeling associated within it that translates to decisions and actions taken in school (Drapela, 2006).

7. Teacher Social Support • Teacher social support refers to the perceived support a student gets and the actual interaction they have with each other. The teacher and the adolescent engage in early interaction and contact to create a rapport that can be used in later situations to save a possible dropout incident. • It is inclusive of the teacher giving the student counseling sessions, schoolwork as well as comfort and additional academic assistance. Teacher support may also include the presence of a teacher in the same space as the student. This presence is useful for as long as the student perceives that the presence has a positive influence (Drapela, 2006). • Teacher involvement consists of the accumulation of the interactions that take place between the teacher and student.

8. The impact of Neglect • The impact of neglect touches on the lives of almost all the people in the United States because it affects the national economical status. Dropouts suffer from reduced earning, higher economic costs and lost opportunities. Dropouts earn $260,000 less than graduates earn in a lifetime (AEE, 2010). • The Unites States saves up to $17 billion in healthcare services provided by Medicaid for every class that graduates from high school. If colored students were to graduate at the same rate as whites, the country would increase the economic value of the country by up to $310 billion • Other nations such as the United Kingdom are in a dire situation as it tops the world in having the most high school dropouts. There are large numbers of youths between the ages of 15 and 19 who are unemployed (Loveys, 2011). There are more unemployed youth in Britain than in other nations. Mexico, Brazil and Turkey have more youths in the similar age bracket as UK unemployed. • The higher number of dropouts in the UK is attributed to the little support that the students get from the welfare system in the country (Loveys, 2011).

9. Causes of School Neglect • Socio-economic background is highly influential in the rate of dropouts in high school. This is because it affects how they adapt to the high school environment and how they deal with the possible challenges (Drapela, 2006). • The nature of social upbringing affects the social skills that a student possesses. In addition, economic context will affect whether a child can afford the cost of learning and prevailing living standards at school. Low-income households have more dropouts than their counterparts. • Other issues that contribute to maladjustment in schools, and they include domestic violence, single parenthood, separation, child abuse and divorce (Drennon-Gala, 1995). This is because children from these families will need additional help and moral support from teachers. If they do not receive this extra support, they are likely to drop out of high school. • Without this additional support, such students are unable to cope with issues out of the classroom. Aggression, Low self-esteem and other disciplinary problems accompany these students, and since most schools lack effective guidance counseling services, the students often deteriorate (Drennon-Gala, 1995). They are expelled or suspended since no one is there to help them solve their problems.

10. Methodology • In order to analyze the cost of high school neglect, a group of 10 high school dropouts were identified using online social media. Following this, they were probed with a questionnaire on the reasons for their failing to completed high school. Goggledocs was used to administer the questionnaires, and responses and replies were recorded in a table.

11. Discussion and Conclusion • The results from the analysis showed that all the victims had dropped out of high school owing to combination of at least two factors in their lives. The greater number of dropouts gave the reason that they just disliked school. Other reason that also topped the responses included that they had poor performance in academics. • Poor relationships with teachers and students was also another reason given by the respondents. It was found that all the students who abused drugs in high school also had disciplinary problems and had a higher likelihood of dropping out. • An unexpected but noteworthy reason was that few of the respondents had chosen to drop out to marry or so that they could get married. About 30% of the respondents said that they felt unsafe in school. It is also noteworthy to mention that those who felt unsafe did not have poor relationships with teachers or students. This means that their feelings of not being safe therefore originated from other different sources such as poor learning environment, health issues and unfavorable weather.

12. Discussion and Conclusion…Contd. • Seven dropouts stated that they disliked schools, and five out of them also had poor grades. Out of the five, two of them had poor relationship with teachers and students. Of the respondents who mentioned drug abuse none of them made the decisions to get into marriage or employment. Seeing as how the group is also associated with disciplinary issues, they are most likely the same lot that get into juvenile delinquency and land in prison. • High school neglect is a major problem that poses serious challenges to victims and the entire society. Since it is a multifaceted issue, there are many causes are many. Thus, it is important for high school teachers, administrators and parents to work together when offering support to students so as to reduce the rate of drop out.

13. The solution My toolkit • According to the study carried out, most of the students who dropped out of high school were influenced by more than one factor to make that decision. • My toolkit idea for preventing and reversing the high number of high school dropouts is to address the issue using a holistic approach that is representative of the multifaceted nature of the causative factors. • These approaches are meant to show the student that there are other options of dealing with problems besides dropping out of school. • Students needs to learn of the effect that dropping out will have on their future • Efforts made by teachers, parents and other relevant parties should be inclusive of aspects that will address these factors

14. Toolkit Materials My toolkit will be inclusive of: • Materials meant to educate teachers, parents and administrators on how to give support to students such as: • Training sessions • Parent-teacher meetings • Professional facilitators • Counselors Books and texts that will instruct them on possible ways of dealing with scenarios

15. My toolkit…contd Toolkit box contents The most effective way to avert high school neglect is to use different ways to show the students that high school is important There is a chance that underlying problems with each student may vary, but teachers should be equipped with effective skills of providing social support Since there are varying causes of dropping out of high school, It is essential for high school teachers, administrators and parents to work together in supporting students in order to reduce dropout rates.

16. References • Alliance for Excellent Education (AEE). (2010). High School Dropouts in America. Retrieved from http://www.all4ed.org/files/GraduationRates_FactSheet.pdf • Drennon-Gala. D. (1995).Delinquency and High School Dropouts: Reconsidering Social Correlates. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America. • Drapela, L. A .(2006). Investigating the Effects of Family, Peer, and School Domains on Postdropout Drug Use. Youth & Society, 37(3), 316-347.Sage Publications. Retrieved from http://yas.sagepub.com/content/37/3/316.full.pdf+html • Loveys, K. (2011). Britain's Neets shame: New study reveals UK has one of worst dropout rates in developing world. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2036973/UK- school-dropout-rate-worst-developing-world.html