SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
What pushes a teenager to suddenly drop out of high school? The answer: any number of very stressful "trigger" events that occur in their final few months in class, researchers at Université de Montréal's Public Health Research Institute have found.
In fact, adolescents exposed to severe stressors are more than twice as likely to drop out in the following few months compared to similar schoolmates who are not exposed, says the study led by UdeM pyschoeducation professor Véronique Dupéré.
The stressors are not always school-related. In fact, most occur away from school and can involve family members (divorcing parents, for example), conflicts with peers, work issues (being laid off), health issues (a car accident) and legal issues.
[...] "These findings show that the risk of high school dropout is not predetermined over the long run," Dupéré said. "Rather, it fluctuates and becomes higher when adolescents have to deal with challenging situations in their lives. School personnel thus need to be aware of their students' changing needs in and out of school to provide them with the right kind of support at the right time."
What has been your experience?
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/04/170410123935.htm
[Source]: What triggers a high-school student to suddenly drop out?
[Abstract]: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cdev.12792/abstract
(Score: 4, Insightful) by kaszz on Wednesday April 12 2017, @05:45AM (14 children)
Schools actually care?
If they do, they will have to provide some kind of bubble protection for students as long as the school last or time off to deal with the issues. This will conflict with hidden societal norms that everyone should manage themselves. So either schools takes care of students personal problems so they can focus 100% on studies or have the consequences manifest even if they are not supposed to do that.. according to norms.
Clinging to societal or political norms = "impossible" to fix
Solve the problem, and give a shit about what people think = fixed.
The core of it is to free up the students to focus fully on studies and do whatever it takes to accomplish that. Of course if the objective of the school is something else, well then it can't be fixed.
Divorcing parents - second home to distance oneself from the chaos.
Conflicts with peers - change class or school, or learn to manage some types of people. (again break norms)
Work issues (being laid off) - provide parents with unconditional economical support, ie break whatever right wing capitalistic dogma.
Health issues (a car accident) - Shrink? Second home? depends.
Legal issues - Pro Bono lawyers provided by the school or county.
Chaotic home environment or long distance home - second home.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 12 2017, @05:57AM
The reasonable way to handle all these things: let students fall back a grade as needed, preferably not a whole school year.
School isn't a foster home or orphanage, and it isn't personal private tutoring. Being these things is not reasonable for a school.
What is reasonable, at least in large school districts, is flexibility. (not going to work in a school with 100 kids)
(Score: 0, Disagree) by qzm on Wednesday April 12 2017, @06:45AM (4 children)
So, I notice that your solution to most problems seems to be.. to break up families?
Great, like that thinking. You came from a broken home yourself, I am guessing, what why should anyone else get any better?
As for all the rest of your rather nonsensical handwaving.. it seems to indicate you have very little actual life experience, and
are in the middle of a rather angst-driven anti-society phase, most probably you feel you are special, but that society does
not appreciate you as it should (damn those norms).
Dont worry, in time you will get over this, realise that actually, shit happens. Not everyone actually has to follow a single typical
path (oh dear, is that a 'norm'?), and actually kids 'dropping out' because of reasons is always going to happen, as is very far
from the end of the world, as actually a lot of them will find they land on their feet and take another, often very positive path.
The sooner the US gets over its view that a 'higher education' (in just about any throwaway subject) is REQUIRED to be a meaningful
member of society, the sooner this will be a non-issue.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 12 2017, @08:54AM (1 child)
Considering that most school dropouts are male children, that male children are predominantly being judged on their capacity to sit still and behave like little girls and being increasingly diagnosed as suffering from ADHD, and that most kids who dropout are actually raised only by their mother owning to our current custody laws, I will say that breaking of families is pretty much THE cause of dropping out.
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Wednesday April 12 2017, @02:28PM
Or the father dies and the mother has to take over the bread winning duties as was my case. Didn't drop out but lots of summer and night school helped me squeak out right on time.
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Wednesday April 12 2017, @02:24PM
(Score: -1, Failed Reading Comprehension)
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Wednesday April 12 2017, @02:35PM
So, I notice that your solution to most problems seems to be.. to break up families?
You did notice something which isn't there.
Sometimes one can need time of while problems are dealt with. Kind of like when you turn off your computer to remove dust or upgrade hardware. It doesn't mean you hate electrical power. It just means it needs to be switched of for a while.
Shit happens but the consequences can be minimized. And time is usually of the essence when a teenager so it may pay of to keep on track. If one feel that something else is better, well go for that. The point is to not be derailed against your own wishes.
Higher education is a necessity in many complex engineering tasks. That a specific school system got it wrong and focus on wrong things using bad methods won't make the need for knowledge and analytical capability go away.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Wednesday April 12 2017, @03:51PM (7 children)
My youngest daughter dropped out about a year after her mother left us. But she had even greater stressors at school, including bullies and especially a vice principal who hated white people and girls.
The good news is, she got her GED and is now Phi Beta Kappa at Cincinnati State, while working full time and carrying a full time student load.
Carbon, The only element in the known universe to ever gain sentience
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Wednesday April 12 2017, @03:58PM (6 children)
How did she handle all these problems to get a GED and college?
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Friday April 14 2017, @06:15PM (5 children)
She started working when she was 14. She's smart and determined. Just heard yesterday she's getting an award at school today for leadership.
Carbon, The only element in the known universe to ever gain sentience
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday April 14 2017, @06:29PM (4 children)
How did she get a handle on bullies and a anti-white vice principal?
(I presume the principal was black?)
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Saturday April 15 2017, @04:08PM (3 children)
She evaded it by dropping out. That vice-principal was later fired after the school's getting so many parents' complaints.
Carbon, The only element in the known universe to ever gain sentience
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday April 15 2017, @04:13PM (2 children)
How did she get the GED ?
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Sunday April 16 2017, @09:34PM (1 child)
Went to classes and took a test.
Carbon, The only element in the known universe to ever gain sentience
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Sunday April 16 2017, @09:54PM
Sounds almost like a by the book plan to screw the school *system*.
*thumbs up*
She gets the education and the grades but the school is denied the opportunity to mess with her.