Jay Green (Leaving Boys Behind: Public High School Graduation Rates )reported that in 2003, nationally 72% of girls graduated compared with 65% of boys while the gap is larger in minority students. The graduation rate for Black female students exceeded that of their male counterparts by eleven percentage points, while the difference for Hispanics was nine percentage points. When it comes to college, 57% of students are women and the ratio is expected to rise to 75% in 2020 ( here is the whole article).
The consequences are dire. According to The Consequences of Dropping Out of High School male dropouts of all races were 47 times more likely to be incarcerated than their peers of a similar age who had graduated from a four-year college or university. In 2008 the unemployment rate for the nation’s high school drop outs reached a staggering 54%. In other words only 46% were employed. The employment rate for high school graduates was 68%, 79% for young adults who had completed 1-3 years of post-secondary schooling, and 87% for college graduates. And since the drop-out phenomenon afflicts more males than females, the consequences are more severe for boys. According to the same report, their mean cumulative earnings from ages 18-64 have seriously declined, along with their marriage rates, home ownership rates, and their tax contributions (this is where it becomes your problem as well). At the same time, the imprisonment rates rose. Young high school dropouts were 63 times more likely to end up in jail than young college graduates. In 2009 according to the NYT, on any given day, one in 10 young male high school dropouts is incarcerated, compared to one in 35 young male high school graduates.
In the first chapter we discussed the power of society in shaping individual behavior, a process not that obvious to the untrained eye. Some students voiced their opposition to the concept, pointing to the power of individual will to shape fate. But again, is it possible that this power is socially encouraged or discouraged? A philosophical labyrinth many would say… depending on the situation others would add…and everyone would have a point. A good one as a matter of fact. However, we have to try and gain an insight. Surveys may reveal some common characteristics and provide the macro level of analysis but the insiders’ assessments are our zoom lens. You have probably observed kids (mostly boys) in high school drop out. How do you explain this phenomenon?
102 comments:
I guess some boys in low-income areas are expected to help support their families. It could also be that low-income boys get into gangs to find the family they don’t have at home. This I would expect would happen in home with only one parent because the one parent has to work more than one job to survive and are not at home the way they need to be to nurture the child and be a family unit.
Another thing that could happen is that the boy could have gotten a girl pregnant and wants to be there for the girl and the life that he has created. There are so many reasons why boys could drop out of school. I personally know two boys who dropped out because they are night owls and couldn’t get up in the morning for school, but they did get their GED.
test
I guess some boys in low-income areas are expected to help support their families. It could also be that low-income boys get into gangs to find the family they don’t have at home. This I would expect would happen in home with only one parent because the one parent has to work more than one job to survive and are not at home the way they need to be to nurture the child and be a family unit.
Another thing that could happen is that the boy could have gotten a girl pregnant and wants to be there for the girl and the life that he has created. There are so many reasons why boys could drop out of school. I personally know two boys who dropped out because they are night owls and couldn’t get up in the morning for school, but they did get their GED.
Now more than ever, more opportunities are available to women. Women used to not have the access or the same rights as men to go to school or have jobs. Women were more encouraged to stay at home or just be housewives and cater to the needs of men. Women used to support men as they got jobs or got an education. Now, maybe boys feel like they have lost their place. Maybe girls are more focused and have a greater attention span. Perhaps girls are making the most out of opportunites and resources that were not always readily available to them, and as a result are more motivated than boys to stay in school. Society puts pressure on all of us to succeed, and maybe girls are handling the pressure of school a little better.
I believe that while in high school, some males start getting into life changing things: alcohol, drugs, gangs, ect... Once you're in that game, theres no getting out. Getting into those kinds of things early in life is what gets them incarcerated later in life. Some may get a part time job and lose track of their schooling and not be able to get their grades up, resulting in them dropping out of school so they still have that income that they live off of. What i observed in high school is that girls care about their grades much more than guys. Mostly because guys were more worried about girls or where the party was at. Instead of their school work. Not saying girls didn't party too but they still got their work done. I believe going to post-secondary education makes people stronger and of course smarter. They make better decisions later in life. Thats why they dont end up in jail as much.
Damian was sitting on one of the benches outside of art class. I approached him, asking "What's up? What are you doing out here?"
He glanced at me, staring off into space, retorting "I think I'm gonna drop out. I just give up."
I could not believe what I heard.
"Why?? What good is that going to do?"
"I can't handle this anymore. There is too much social pressure..." He trailed off. "Besides, I can't stand being here, its a waste of time."
Try as I might to change his mind, my attempts were futile. To this day I still do not understand it. There were more details, of course, he had a complicated disposition and family life. But this was the last conversation I remember having with him.
I imagine that some guys can't quite see the big picture. In my case, I hated high school as well, but kept the end result in my sights. I knew it would be worth it in the end to graduate. Damian couldn't see past that day. Or that school year. Thus, his life is a mess. (Last I heard.) Its a shame.
Boys tend to give in and give up faster than girls, I believe that is why most boys drop out. If things aren't moving fast enough or if things are not going the way the boy thinks things should go they give in. There minds tend to wander if they have to sitting to long and listen, they become bored. Then it becomes more important to be outside with a friend that is older and makes it look like they are having a better time out there than learning. Most boys that have someone to look up to or mentor them are the ones that stay in school, but there are not many of them around. Most boys also follow in their fathers foot steps. I believe it takes a strong mind boy who steps up and decides they want more in life.
In my opinion more boys drop out then girls because, they are trying to fit in with a certain crowd. Where as girls doesn’t care as much about fitting in, they just want to be successful. In high school there is a lot of peer pressure. If you are hanging out with a certain crowd and they all dropped out of school, you are more likely to follow in there footsteps to feel like you belong. From my own experience I witnessed a lot of my friends that I had growing up fall in to the wrong crowd and drop out of school. Also it is more likely to get arrested when you drop out, in my opinion because you have more time on your hands. While other people are at school you may be filling up your free time doing something that you shouldn’t be doing.
There are many reasons why a a person would drop out of school. It could be for financial reasons or for simply because he thinks hes not good enough. I've seen it so many times where the person just for the simple fact that they are ashamed to go. Their parents cant afford new shoes or new clothes and the harrassment one receives from their peers is just too much to bear. Which would lead a boy to take a "real look" at his situation. They feel that it would benefit their family more to get a job and bring in some income.
Another reason one may choose to drop out is because this child may be in a situation where he has to take care of himself which leads to him making bad choices he may turn to a gang for a sense of belonging that is lacking at home and in order for him to provide for himself and contribute to this new family he is now a part of he must do illegal things to get money which in turn leads to spending some time in jail. Not all situations are like that, but all the men or boys that I know, except one, who have dropped out of high school have done so because there was no family support at home.
Most boys in high school find it stressful to keep up with school and their social life. They'd rather go out and party than stay home and study. When their grades start to suffer they jump to the conclusion that they already messed up too much and it's too late for them to fix it. In other cases; boys that have to support their family find it hard to balance school and work. They think the responsible thing to do is to drop out and have a full time job to pay for expences. Whatever helps them get out of their situation at the moment is more important than the long run.
Anonymous
Who are you? Please let me know if you are a member of your class!
Thanks!
Precious, Jtannebe, Anderson 11, Neither 1, Kriena Lang,JustaGirl, Carpe Diem
It's great that I can read personal observations. Indeed gangs, drugs, or social pressures may have played a role.
I see that you observed that girls may be worried more about their grades, or that boys are more likely to despair if I read you correctly!That is interesting...
Great posts!
PS
Lucretia, welcome back. We have missed your poetry!
High school can be tough when it comes to fitting in and feeling connected. Boys seem to be more shy than girls. In high school, girls seem to fit in and connect with each other more than boys. I believe this is a contributing factor in why boys have a higher drop out rate than girls. Due to fact that boys are more shy than girls, this can cause them to not feel connected to anyone at school resulting in them not wanting to attend school. Not connecting with anyone can also lead to getting caught up with the wrong crowds. If a boy is shy and does not feel connected to anyone and the wrong crowd gives him attention and accepts him, he will take on the bad habits of the crowd due to finally feeling that he is accepted and connected. All of us want to feel connected to one another and there can be many factors that could contribute to why boys have a higher drop out rate than girls. This is one of mine.
Personally my junior year of high school was pretty hard considering that many of my class mates decided to drop out. I remember all the reasons they gave saying that there was a bright future with or without a full high school education. I think there is a big misconception that these boys who dropout don't take into consideration. Going to school, having a job, handling everyday pressure might seem as hard as it gets at the time. I know I did at certain times. Little do we all know that its just the tip of the iceberg. Its hard to see that big picture being in high school.
These friends that dropped out my junior year decided to get their GED and all decided now it was time to go back to school. I think at the time dropping out seemed like a good idea but by the time reality set in they want to go back and continue their education.
Although it may seem that men are the primary income sources in familes, this is slowley changing. As a girl, I feel more responsibility to be independent and make it on my own with out depending on someone else. Young boys might feel more presure to help support there familes growing up and may drop out of school in order to do that. To me, it seems that girls are more concerned about their future where as boys are more concerned about the present.
I feel that more boys drop out of school because they were not raised to handel the pressure of suceeding as well as girls were. The pressure that girls experience help prepare for what might come in the future which may make it harder to give up so easily.
Another factor that boys drop out more may be that there are many more low paying jobs that are suitable for young teenage boys. Making money may seem more important than getting an education at the time. It might seem like a lore easier way out.
All of this is what probablly contributes to the high drop out rates of young teenage boys. The pressure becomes over whelming and it is very easy to find a much simpler way out the getting an education.
Dropping out and getting a GED was pretty common in my hometown, and it did happen more with boys than girls (at least the ones I knew). Most of the guys I knew that dropped out worked or had tough home lives and had shaky grades to begin with. More often than not they would miss more than the allotted number of absences each semester and couldn’t recover their GPA’s.
They figured they could just get their GED at a night school and work during the day, which they would. I don't think anyone could have predicted the state our economy would come to be in, or that having an education would go from being important to necessary.
I think the reasons why boys and girls are dropping out are probably the same.
A family who either doesn't care or doesn't place an emphasis on education, lack of caring on the teacher/faculty's end (I don't mean to imply that they don't care at all but with as many kids as public schools have now it's no small wonder that some kids fall through the cracks), the kid thinks he/she learned all the need to, to make it in the world, etc.
I think maybe the boys have a higher rate of dropping out because they are normally less afraid to take risky chances at that age, where as a girl would probably try to talk herself into staying in school.
I once heard that boys had a brain that could be compared to waffles. The square dips in a waffle would be a compartment where they would store a certain topic such as school, work, or a girlfriend and they can only really concentrate on one topic at a time. So perhaps since teens of both genders can get consumed in work, impressing friends, or infatuation with the opposite sex it is possible for boys to want to drop out. Maybe thinking that a diffrent "topic" is more important than school.In my mind I can not see this problem being resolved at all I really believe that boys get there mind set on one thing. No matter what it is nothing is as important as that one thing. Hopefully for some boys that one thing is school.
It is certainly true, in this case, that the surveys used to support the phenomenon discussed provide a macro level of analysis and make insider assessments a zoom lens. Microsociology, afterall, takes into account small face-to-face interactions to better understand how they affect larger societal patterns, which would be relevant in determining the cause of the larger general high school drop out rate in males versus females.
Micro analysis of more personal interactions seems to hold a very influential factor in behavior shaped by society that doubles as a perfect example - male relationships with parents. It would be foolish to assume that parents do not play a significant role in the future of a child that they have raised, and the workings of more specific relationships such as these may help to draw on the reasoning behind the bigger issue of increased male drop outs. An open class discussion seems to come to mind in which we discussed the differences between the characteristics of males and females in relationships. Females, overall, tend to express emotion more openly and deal with problems directly in that way. This would most likely be the case regarding relationships with parents that are huge motivating forces in their lives. Females, therefore, may also receive the support they seek with future endeavors (Progression through high school, college attendance, etc.). Males, on the other hand, generally don't deal with emotion as directly on the notion that it makes them weaker, and this pattern may become an untouched norm in family relationships. Discussions about important future choices such as completion of high school and beginning college may never take place. Individual relationships, of course, are just that - individual. It may also be said that if generalizations about the way males are in personal social relationships in contrast to females come to mind immediately upon our discussion of it, it just may hold some merit and take place in many homes in America. Such a disappointing pattern in small-scale relationships may truly be in existence, and would also account for the larger number of male dropouts than females on a bigger scale.
In this way, the power of individual will to shape fate may be socially discouraged. Personal determination and desire to become something more can only go so far without the support of peers and stimulation of close-knit relationships. Without any given factor of the needed support, guidance, or presence to make a prosperous future seem attainable, it is inevitable that a male in such a situation would find himself dropping out of school.
Placement in education may speak about job availability on a much more blunt level than the heightened likelihood of incarceration following a school drop out. Yet the concept doesn't seem so hard to follow when we consider the fact that school does more than prepare an individual to become a competent member of society. Simply put, it keeps masses of the youth engaged and off the street for great lengths of time. Time left on an individual's hands without school to take it up could very well, unfortunately, lead to incarceration if it is not avoided.
School drop out rates being higher in males than in females seems to just speak on a broader scale about the characteristics males tend to demonstrate in individual social relationships.
AMRI
The factor of "connectivity" may play a role...
But
Are boys really more shy?
:)
Moneyhoney
Many have concurred with what you say. That boys indeed may believe that there is a great future out there without education. They may cite the example of the ONE who made it and ignore the examples of the thousands who did not.
Lauren PLunk
Interesting observation. Girls are future oriented you say... Food for thought!
Lauren W.
Indeed the power of the family is immense. One of the factors you mention is amount of absences. Absences is indeeed one of the strongest predictors of failure.
Click Clack. Interesting observation and analogy.
Erin Walsh. A very well thought- out answer!
I believe that the drop out rate for male has to do with a single parent household with low income. Most families have only one parent in the household that is caring for more than one child. The single parent has only a limited amount of income that they have to care for their children. The son will feel as if the parent can not take care of their needs and wants so they resort to other means to provide for themselves. While they commit to crimes for money, they’re also looking up to the older male figures that they are associating with to show them how to be a man. Our younger males are learning from what they see. By our youth committing these crimes to keep up with the fashion trends such as the Jordan’s on their feet or the Coogi on their back, our single parents are giving up on their children by not telling them the consequences of what could happen to them. This is why a lot of our youth are in lost in the prison system as convicted felons.
I feel that boys are more likely to drop out of school because they are less patient. Boys, more than girls, want immediate gratification and for that reason, they may drop out of high school. My reasoning is that boys may find staying in school for years and years to get the job they want too time consuming. Instead, they settle for lesser jobs that they can get now because they don’t want to put the time or effort into it. Also, I believe that boys are less likely to even plan or think about the future than girls are in the first place. Boys, in my opinion, live more in the moment. They want to have fun and would prefer to party than to do their work and finish school.
I believe boys in high school drop out more than girls because men focus too much on their image. Guys will always try to be the coolest they can be to impress their peers, whether it is for girls or for friends. Guys also try to be the class clown and do anything to get attention. Boys are also very stubborn; they don’t like to be disciplined by teachers so they talk back and get into more trouble. Guys hate to feel like they are being controlled so they don’t like to take orders and directions from teachers. This leads to them not doing their work or missing lessons because of a suspension. Since guys get into trouble and don’t do their work, they get failing grades and believe there is no point in going to school because they won’t be able to bring their grades back up. Thus, they drop out.
As we discussed in class the more wealthy the family the much greater the chance the child will succeed in school. As for minorities they as a group see much higher rates of poverty and hardship. As it seems to me it isn't cool to do well in school for boys and especially in the less well off areas of the nation. It seems to be "cooler" to try and be a thug and make money by participating in illegal activities. I use the word "seems" because personally I do not know but this is an observation I make. I read a article off New York Times that listed quantitative data for high school graduations. 53 percent of inner city school kids in the biggest 50 U.S. cities were graduating compared to 73 percent in their counterpart suburbs. That is a huge difference and yes I believe that our society affects that a lot. Listen to a rap song. Yes there are many of great people coming from the "ghetto" but a majority unfortunately are not. But it is not just a localized problem when those percentages account for a million people not graduating high school. How will we stay competitive with the rest of the world?
If we are to examine how society influences the individual, we would have to determine how society now views academic success. Somewhere along the line, it became “un-cool” to be educated. Individuals in their teens are subjected to videos, music and movies that exploit get rich quick schemes that place street knowledge over academia. More specifically, the male is depicted getting his success from serendipitous gains, illegal means or get rich quick schemes. Take Hip Hop for example. This was once a creation of social and political disenchantment and disenfranchisement of African Americans. It was a catalyst for change and progression; all of which could be obtained through enlightenment or education. Today, all you hear in Hip Hop is how much the rapper is worth or how many ladies he can obtain. Baseball players, rappers, singers and actors are the individuals we most value monetarily in our society. Each of these areas doesn’t require academic success. Since we are a capitalistic society, it stands to reason that individuals would seek the occupations that most reward them financially; thereby, pushing academic goals to the wayside.
When it comes to a family crisis or other life conundrums, more often than not it is the males that end up giving up whatever it is that they had planed out in life, including school. This thought process probably comes from a long line of tradition with the male being the religious head of any given situation. I also believe that there isn’t as much pressure on boys to go to school as there are on girls. With the outside influences of television, radio, and music indirectly telling males that they just have to be the physical strength of any given situation dilutes their minds from seeing education as a necessity. If you look in the past where men were the only ones given the right to go to school, you could probably see why some women find going to school so inspirational. I also believe that the new revolutionary, independent woman finds that staying in school and getting an education makes her more likely to provide for herself if she ever needed to. You can also analyze other races as well, such as African American or Hispanic females that are more determine to break the mold and stereotypes thrown upon them. It is also very easy for someone to drop out of school. The safety net in getting a GED is biblical to some and the majority of the times find out later on that it may be harder to get and are left with nothing. I believe that it is this thought process that allows boys to make the phenomenon a reality and the emphasis on education and the opportunities that it provides don’t exist.
I have to agree with most of the bloggers. To add, i think a big part of teens dropping out (mostly boys) would have to do with families. Nowadays, most teens have split homes, not even that, parents are not showing a proper example they should be. Also, parents do not expect much from there children. Parents expect them to do just what is required of them and nothing beyond that.
I typically think woman are more motivated because they want to prove to some individuals that they can accomplish their own desires. With that being said, teen boys today are lacking that. I personally think its because they do not have anyone pushing them to strive for their very best. In addition, if teens do not have an example from parents, they will look for there friends guidance which these days, is skipping classes, doing drugs, and going to party's.
test
I believe the reason that kids drop out in high school, is that they feel like they could be doing something more better with their time. To some it may be joining a gang, hanging out or even exploring different variety of drugs, their also situations where some kids come from families who is suffering a financial crisis. That may require the kid to work while there in school so they could help support their families. Eventually those kids may feel like school is just a burden to them and slowing them down from making more money. The reason that the dropout numbers are higher for boys is that most boys are easily influenced and tend to get caught up in the wrong crowd.
Scrappy Doo
Single parenthood often translates to lack of supervision. However even two parent families now fail to supervise.
Nadia and Garrett, very interesting points!
Alex and lbrown
Music at times does transmit negative messages. I was just listening to a speech by Bill Cosby making this very point!
PaviElles and KP
You have a point there!
Silk
Gangs... that is a sore topic.Yesterday I was reading that now in LA tourist tours charge you $65 to take you to the gangland of LA. They say that one can observe many postive things as well as there are gang members that try to break the vicious cycle of gang life and convince others to go back to school.
We'll discuss it in class!
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I believe that education starts in the home. Single family homes are one examples that lack the attention that is needed to enforced education on kids. Most single parents have one full-time or two full-time jobs just to make it. Another might be a no good role model that high schoolers can relate to. If you look into todays celebrities you would find a dramatic story of drug addiction, acoholism, and jail time that makes dropouts feel they could follow the same path and do okay. To me it sounds as if becoming rich and doing drugs can ensure fame and popularity. I believe that ignorance cost too much and education is free. It all boils down to how one were raised and what is instilled in a person. we choose our own way.
I agree with Anonymous,some boys in low-income area are likely to help their family.I know someone myself that doesn't go to college beause he has to help support his family while his sister goes to college and gets education.
Another reason could be that boys can be involved in a gang.They wouldn't really care about having an education and actually having a name for themself.I know another guy that drinks,sells and does drugs,goes to parties, and doesn't care about education at all.All he thinks about is getting money,and going to parties and getting wasted.I belive that going to school is the most important thing in life.Without education you won't succeed in life.
Please do not post as anonymous!
The common misconception in some urban areas is that an educated male is weak or soft. That contributes to less obediancy towards teachers and faculty and an over all lack of interest in schoolwork. I think that the decision to drop out is one of short sightedness they fool themselves into believing that they can make it through life without school never fully comprehending that if they are not educated that they will have to work very hard and very long for the rest of their lifes. Another contributing factor could be a lack of male role models in todays society, divorce is more common nowadays and more times than not the father is not in the picture anymore a male needs a positive example to follow.
In the fifties, it was commonly accepted for women not to worry so much about careers. Back then, finding a good husband and starting a family was top priorities for most women. Over the last few decades society, has helped push women into wanting careers. I think it is both good and bad. (I would never want my daughter to have to depend on a man for survival.) I do believe however, that with more women with careers and now more women not at home to raise kids, we as a society have created a weak link in a very delicate chain. Boys who won’t ask for help in a school setting most often have no one to turn to at home. Girls mature earlier then boys, so they develop study skills and grasp academics quicker. With most higher education institutions offering more and more help and encouragement to women the boys are being left out. We need to find a way to encourage everyone to further his or her education and find ways to make it easier to spot troubled boys while still in elementary school, and then help them develop a good foundation. Once some of these boys enter high school without the foundation they get discouraged and drop out.
The pressure that males have to take care of their families isn't easy. I think that some males drop-out and get a job to get fast money to quickly help instead of completing their high school career. They focus on being the man and getting money maybe to also impress a girl they may like at their school . Or maybe they do have a girlfriend & are expecting and he feels forced to support the girl and the child. Some do go back though and work on getting their GED. Boys are more likely to join gangs at school and lose focus on what's important and that is their education.
Another reason, peer pressure. Boys are always trying to look "cool" in front of their friends and tend to foloow what they do instead of actually speaking up and being smart.
I think the dropout rates for students are sad, period. I think this because 28% of girls and 35% of boy who don’t graduate are huge problems. On top of that, the statistics for minorities are lower? We should do what we can to improve the overall average all together. The more people who graduate the better off the people will be in the future. As we talk about these rates just think about the people in the World who don’t even go to school. The more future leaders we have the better. Lets keep our precious children in school.
I think it is important for boys to be involved in group activities while in high school. I observed that if a boy was involved in activities such as: football, basketball, band, track, or some club they were less likely to drop out. I feel like it has to do with accountability. They didn't want to let their teammates down. Therefore, making them more likely to stay in school.
Versus someone who doesn't belong to any extracurricular activies are more likely to drop out because they don't have to answer to anyone other than their parents.
osmar
boys have a higher tendency to giving up. it is more easier for a young boy to get influenced by his peers to do things that are wrong than it for a girl.Girls usually think things twice before making a decision. forinstance a boy gets this weird idea and instantly decides to act on it.Athor reason maybe if a child coms from a single mother home he is expected to support the have when it comes time.
Well, I personally work at a High School where I can see these young boys struggling to succeed every day. Kids these days have a lot of peer pressure to commit any kind of crime. Also, a lot of Spanish boys with single mothers are forced to drop-out school to go out and work when mom income is not enough. Another reason for a boy to drop-out school is the requirements that the state have in order for a student to graduate. FCAT (reading and math), FCAT Writes, GPA of 2.0 are example of requirements that students have to achieve in order to graduate and when these student do not pass these requirements most of them get frustrated and quit. They give up because they see it as a waste of time to be in school when they cannot meet does requirements.
Boys are likely to drop out of high school more than girls because boys are not as strong willed as girls. Boys tend to fall under the influence of peer pressure more than girls and will risk more so they can be seen as cool. Also, you find that there are a lot of single parent household with mothers playing the role of fathers, and boys have no role models. A woman cannot teach her son to be a man, and boys tend to look for guidance from a man. A boy is not allowed to express any emotions especially if they cry. They may be labeled as weak, and so they will in turn try to find a manly way for dealing with their problems. How often do we see a boy failing high school math ask for help. Instead of asking for health, they would rather not show up for class and will end up not showing for school. Reflecting on these reasons, one can see why boys dropout out of high school than girls.
I think that at least a part of the problem is that girls are being pushed to succeed in our society like never before. Now, all of a sudden, a young girl is expected to get a good education so that she can have a successful career and in doing so live "the American dream". Before, these girls were encouraged to simply marry a man who was taking care of these things for her. Now she is supposed to do it herself.
Meanwhile, the role of men is changing dramatically from being the primary source of income and provision, to a sort of backseat role of simply helping the wife as they BOTH provide for and run the household.
Besides the element of gender roles changing, our culture is also experiencing divorce rates like never before. Many children are growing up without their fathers, and the example that they have to learn from is not a positive one.
So between these two main issues, I think that boys/young men simply do not have the social pressure to "do well" like they used to, and perhaps it is because of these reasons that they tend to resort to things like alcohol, drugs, "giving up" etc. that lead to them dropping out of school.
In this age there is so many things that happen at an early age to young men and women; they have to face drugs, alcohol, and unplanned pregnancies. Sometimes that is the reason why boys are dropping out but I think the main reason is because they don't have the self motivation to keep going, and when a party or something more fun comes along they are gonna do that instead of going home and studying. Once that starts its just a down ward spiral and end in dropping out.
I think that the drop-out ratio between boys and females are due to the fact that boys tend to hang out with the wrong group of people. Boys have this mindset where they have to be the bad boy or the rebel that they see actors portray on the big screen. Also if the group that they're rolling with causes violence and does drugs they're most likely to do it too. Not because they think it's cool, but for the mere fact of being accepted.
See with girls they don't have this problem and I'm not saying that all of them don't, but most of them don't because parents are usually more strict on their daughters versus the boys.
I was watching a documentary on the National Geographic channel about the greater L.A. area's gang issues. A trend that I noticed between each family interviewed was the parents of the active gang member dropped out of school. The majority of drop outs even mentioned that their parents dropped out of school as well. I truly believe the actions of the parent or guardian will determine what the child will choose to do. They will follow what is accepted in their culture. Look at military families, usually at least one offspring goes into a military service. It is the surrounding of the family; it is their way of life. On the other hand, if a tragedy happens in a family the boys are the ones who feel they have to step up and help the family survive. Usually in those cases the child does not choose to just drop out they feel obligated to help.
I do agree with most of the others about family life, more boys feeling that they may to help support their families and also a lot of boys that I knew in high school felt that having a job and their own personal income was more important than going to school. High school can also be a really tough time for many students these days with social groups and bullying, some kids may not feel they fit in with the others and drift into the back and disappear without anyone noticing. Boys also have an image to maintain of being tough and being the manly men they think they are so when it comes to going to school they probably feel that their to good for it and that they don't need something like education to get them through their lives.
I believe the main reason why boys drop out of high school more than girls is because of their involvement with sex, drugs, and gang related violence. From my expieriences in high school, boys related to these activities tend to give up on their education and only attend school as a place to hang out with their friends. Sex can be a factor because a lot of teenage girls are getting pregnant and the boys need to support their child by working full-time. Also, kids who drug deal have a mind state of "Oh, I don't need school, I can make money by selling drugs." Or, they think they're too cool for school. Their mindset is set to where they think doing good in school are for "nerds" and because of that, they don't try.
To sum it up, I personally think that boys that drop out of high school are due to sex, drugs, and violence.
I think that boys in low-income areas drop out of high school more than girls because they are expected to take care of their families, where life is tougher. Putting food on the table is much more important than having a diploma, which could take several years and lots of money. When it comes to other areas that are a bit better off, male drop outs could be because of the fact that most boys tend to think only of the current situation instead of planning for the future. Girls tend to begin planning their lives ahead of time and applying the possible advantages of education to the quality of life in the years to come. It is very common to notice that girls are better able to focus on the long term rewards rather than instant gratification. Boys are more prone to trying to fit in the crowd and be cool. I remember in high school, it was not cool for a boy to be smart and if he was, all the other boys would make fun of him by calling him a nerd. As a result, that boy would never apply his full knowledge and would eventually feel hopeless enough to drop out. Society does play a role in this drop out rate, especially when it comes to celebrities. One example I can think of is Kanye West, who was a college drop out that believed that college is not the only way to success. Many boys would look at this and truly believe that dropping out will bring fame and fortune along with a “prestigious” life. Reality doesn’t settle in until unemployment becomes an issue and then the realization that school was a better choice hits.
To all
Lack of role models, gangs memebrship, drugs, single parenthood, high interest in sex, turning school into a place for hanging out, considering studying to an "uncool" activity, copying the behavior of a parent who also dropped out,higher motivation for girls, changing gender roles,... you have captured quite a picture!
In todays society most boys who drop out have alot of reponsibilities at home. It can be very challaging when you have to work full time to help support your family and keep up with school. especially since most schools have a traditional system meaning you take seven classes all year round. So at the end it easier to just drop out of school and get a G.E.D. Also a lot of boys fall into peer pressure of joining gangs and fitting into the crowd so that they can look cool.
There are many reasons people will drop out of school. Some people will blame it on the fact that guys can only focus on one thing or that they get into things like gangs and alchol which can ruin there lives and cause them to drop out. However it seems to me that while sometimes it is related to getting your self mixed into harmful things it can also be related to money. As ive read some of the comments i notice alot of people mentioning that the boy will drop out to bring in more income while Im sure that is part of the problem it is not the entire problem. Both my brothers considered dropping out of school. My older brother considered it because he moved three times during his high school careers and because of that some of the credits he should have had werent transfered. this caused him to be on a dangerous path to not graduating so he decided that it would be better if he dropped out and joined the military. Not because he didnt have money but because of the fact that he moved alot. My younger brother is also considering dropping out his reason however is he gets bored in class mainly because hed oesnt feel challenged so he stops caring and his grades start to suffer. I mainly wanted to mention that neither one of my brothers were into any thing that were harmful, and they are both really smart. This just shows that you cant really say its all because of money or getting into trouble, even though thats what the article mainly focused on. I also wantec to mention that girls do drop out for various reasons as well.
Male high school dropouts are not viewed as a big deal to the student in many cases. There are many reasons why someone would drop out of high school. It could be as simple as they don’t want to go to school, they are supporting themselves and remaining family, or they need to support a new family on the way. To them dropping out and going to work is the best choice they have at the moment, and may not be thinking of their futures when doing so. Many times teens drop out of school to support their families and to allow their younger siblings to further their education.
I feel that the income class that the boys are raised in make up a large percentage of the reason why so many drop out of high school. I would assume that families that have a long lineage of low to poverty level income would instill the idea of only needing common sense, not necessarily needing book smarts, to make it in life. Boys tend to be pressured at an earlier age to join the working class and to learn look out for themselves. My father did not finish high school. My parents married in high school because my mother got pregnant. My father had to drop out to support her. Rising teenage pregnancy rates are a factor. I've notice that in teen pregnancy it's not only the pregnant female that has the issues with continuing education but the boy who fathered the child. In most situations the family of the teens will require the teen father to work to support the girl and the new baby. You see a lot of programs for pregnant teen mothers to help them get their high school degree, or at least their GED, but never any programs for working teen fathers to finish their education.
I believe that although there are many ambitious males and females out there, females may feel more compelled to perservere. This would be due to the fact that for such a long period of time ( and is still existent in many places), a female was expected to be a housekeepeer and basically a "babymaker". Education after entering marriage was not expected for females and even when females began to continue their education, the male society expected them to fail and "return to the kitchen". Therefore, I believe that although there may be many aspects that play into this such as gangs and income problems, females just may be more motivated then males because they feel the need to prove society wrong. However, that is not to stereotype all males(:
I think the reason why people drop out is that they think that its an easy way out and will ease whatever problems they have in their lives. Education probably isn't a priority in their family or it's importance isn't preached as much around them so they believe that the earlier they can work the more they can accumulate. Also, with the introduction of new pressures: drugs, alcohol, pregnancy, of high school some kids just succumb to the pressure. And, during high school years teenagers become somewhat rebellious and believe they can determine their own future by their own decisions, which most of the time is the wrong one.
When I was in high school, I only experienced one male dropping out. His reasoning behind dropping out of high school was that his girlfriend was pregnant and he needed and wanted to provide money and proper care for her and their baby. Though, months later they broke up and he never made the decision to go back to high school.
I think that reasons like these are more common in males then females, because males think that being a “man” means they have to be in charge or higher than the females in their life, and to them being in charge or having power means making more money. Though, in the long run, if they stay in school and get a degree they will have more opportunities to provide for their family and will be able to support them better, but they do not think about the future as much as they should when they make the decision to drop out.
While living in a third world country for 12 years, i noticed that boys and girls were taught that education was a top priority. Our cultures taught us that education is the only way to succeed. In my country, boys take school more seriously than girls because they are the main provider of the family while girls usually stay home and take care of the house. I came to the United States 7 years a go and i have been noticing that boys tend to be the one to drop out more than girls. I do not know the real answer to that because i feel that everyone has his or her own reasoning behind it. It could be their family financial problems which causes them to drop out of school in order to get a job right away in order to support their family. I once knew a boy who had no interesting in school because the people he hung around with thought that they were too cool for school. Once he was involved in a better group of friends who value their education, he started to enroll himself in school again. He told me that through out his whole life, neither his family or the friends he hung around taught him the importance of education. He also said that ever since he witnessed many of his friends going to jail for abusing and selling drugs, he knew that he has to be the one to turn his life around in order to live. It was quite a sad story. I told him that i will help him. I introduced him to a few people and got him to be interested in school. Once he was back in school with good friends by his side, he took school seriously and graduated a few years later. Now, he is a teacher at a middle school.
Due to that event, I feel that the boys who dropped out of school do not have good influences around them. They do not have people to remind them how important education is to their life. There are people who are successful without education but thats a rare case.
Tierra D
At times the family encourages them too...
Mike B
I do hope your brothers come back to school. Girls drop out as well but the numbers are worse for males.
Pricethepig2002(what a display name! :))
Indeed... the "moment" factor!
Tori
Thanks for sharing the personal story.Some do indeed drop out because of pregnacy. On the bright side, it's great to have you around! :)
Mariana Yarleque
Female motivation....a good point!
P ewalk 3
I think we did mention that the strongest predictor of academic success is family background.
Kimberly
You have a point there about power and making more money! For a short while I guess as low wages won't get you far.
GoGreen
In third world countries the differences are stark.Indeed the emphasis on education can be great and truly it is boys who saty in school, not girls... mainly because female literacy is not considered important.
As many other commenters are bringing up - income is always an issue.
Here is the way I see the income problem: If the family (boy or girl student) is more wealthy, the child most likely will just have less stress in general. However, in a low income family, where I come from, things become a child's problem, when they shouldn't be. Such as bills, repossession of vehicles, and groceries. Nonetheless, having to watch your parents suffer because of all the income related problems. I believe many drop-outs of low income families do drop out for the option of their own income to help the family out, or even just to pay their share of the bills.
In other cases, I do believe it has to do with fitting in. That is what high school is all about...right? Whether you drop out because you don't fit in, or you drop out TO fit in. Either way, they are dropping out.
Then again, like @Precious said, boys may be dropping out to support their own familes, after impregnating a girl. On the opposite side of that, I also feel that is a major reason of the female drop out rates, as well.
I agree with GoGreen, I also lived in a third world country and we were taught that education was a top priority. In my country, we were taught that we cannot be successful in life unless we have at least a college degree. I came to the United States after I graduated from high school, so I haven't experienced any one dropping out. However, there are a lot of reasons for males to drop out. As most of the bloggers said, some boys might have to support their families and can't have a full time job and keep up with school work at the same time. They might also want the easy path and just want to make money without putting their efforts in studying and school. Moreover, some boys might not be ambitious enough to set academic goals for themselves and their families did not encourage them to go to college, so graduating from school isn't their top priority as they don't see why they have to get a high school diploma in the first place.
For a lot of males they feel they must be there to provide for their families. I believe this is one of the top reasons for more male drop outs than females. In high school a lot of boys tend to try to fit in with the crowds and can get into early age drinking or even drugs. There are lots of places to go and activities to do outside of school that most boys enjoy to partake in. While in school most males don’t take their work seriously, they aren’t worried about getting good grades or passing tests. I feel as if they are more worried about how they want to make their money, most males want to make money as fast as they can and feel high school is a waste of time for them. Unfortunately they do not realize how important high school is for their future. As for females, they are more into earning their good grades and passing test scores. It seems to be easier for females to finish their homework or get a good grade on a test. Females have become go getters over the years and new opportunities are growing for females everyday. They want to succeed and have a successful future. Unlike males, females have more common sense to know a bright future starts with graduating high school.
It has been twenty years now since I was in high school, but even then, I noticed there were a couple of dropouts in my class, one male and one female. If I remember correctly, the male dropped out due to his partying ways, and the female dropped out due to pregnancy. Since then, I know that the dropout rate has dramatically increased, unfortunately. Many teenagers succumb to the peer pressure from others, use drugs, and lose their goal of success in school. Many teens find it necessary to quit school in order to work. I see this happen quite frequently in the migrant poor families.
There are so many different reasons teenagers drop out of school. Immaturity, lack of self-worth, pregnancy, drugs, crime, finances, and even a lack of popularity are all reasons that teenagers choose to drop out of school.
It is so very sad, these kids do not realize how imporant an education is. Even if they are going through a difficult time in school, they need to realize that it is only a temporary situation, and things will get better. Help is available, whatever the problems are.
This article shows a scary trend in society today. Being from an older generation, my first thought is that this is caused by a breakdown in family values. Since there are no laws requiring children to stay in school until they graduate, the responsibility falls upon the parents to make sure their children stay in school. With the economy just about requiring two income homes in order to survive, there is not a parent primarily responsible for child rearing. In my opinion, the feeling of parental responsibility has deteriorated drastically in the past 20 years. So many parents have no idea what their kids are up to at any given time, as opposed to when I was growing up. There are so many outside factors that affect kids these days and their willingness to stay in school until graduation; parents need to be the more influential in order to guide their children down the right track.
In my opinion there are many reasons that can constitute to high school kids dropping out. Some of the reasons are that they live in a low income family and have to leave school so they can get a job to help their family with bills. For this reason, that is why you see more boys dropping out of school. They drop out because they are the looked at as the more capable gender to leave school to get a job. Besides the reason of having to drop out to work some kids just give up because they have no support at home to motivate them to do well and the kids just quite. The final opinion I have is that the students just don’t like school and have no expectations to do well so they just stop going. These are all my opinions on the matter of hwy some students drop out of school.
It is a viscous cycle. Low income families have to rely on their children to help support the family. Being a male, especially single family homes, tradition is the male is the person that is supposed to be the leader for the family. It is hard when the economy is low and there are so many lay offs. The teenagers are expected to help financially. Unfortunately most of the time it does come down to the male. Once a child drops out of high school it is hard to find a job that is legal to be able to produce enough money to sufficiently help the family out. That leaves illegal options.
Today's requirements for employment are you not only have to have a high school education, but a 2 or 4 year degree as well. If a male is trying to help his family and cannot find employment where is he going to turn to? Gangs, selling or producing drugs, robbery, theft, etc. Some men are left with no other options.
The problem is even if they have to drop out there are enough programs that they could get their GED and finish their education. The family as a whole needs to support, encourage, and drive the importance of education for the future of their life.
I've witnessed some people drop out of school. One reason people(mostly males) drop out is, because they find something more interesting to them at the time. Some might see their grades slipping and instead of pulling them up, they get more hours at their job and are more interested in making money at the time, so they start working morning shifts and little by little they go from missing two days a week to missing the whole week. After a while the person might realize that a high school diploma or further education can make them be more successful especially if their interest is making money, so they might go and get their G.E.D
I actually remember back in high school I would find that a lot of my male class mates were dropping out and taking the easy way out by getting a GED. It was mostly because of issues at home or because they got mixed up in bad situations. Which makes sense, because I believe its more accepted for males to drop out of school and help support their families in need. Maybe because their father is not around and they need to be the man of the house and get a full time job or their father is around but they cannot live on his income alone. Or they may get a female pregnant and feel that they have to step it up and get a full time job while the female stays in school. Also I believe there are more job opportunities for males that do not require high school diplomas. Another reason I thing males drop out of school is because they just get caught up in bad situations dealing with drugs and violence. When males are in that type of environment dealing with gang activities and have friends who do not care about school they will probably feel the same way and hang out with them instead of going to school.
I believe more boys drop out of school than girls due to the resposibility some cultures carry toward males. I know in my culture a man is suppose to support his family in everyway no matter how hard it may be. A male playing a big reponsibility in their culture causes them to drop out of school in order to support their needs for the family. Another reason may just be peer pressure. Males are more welling to follow others footsteps then do females. They may think dropping out of school empowers their stand as a man.
To go against social norms is highly discouraged. Being a young male of 15 years or so to break that bond is difficult because one would be going against everything they hold as truth and everything they live by. I believe the point on male dropouts all depends upon ones social class. In majority, if one is from a higher ranking class it is socially encourage to be in school and continue the family legacy. However, such pressure can cause one to rebel against the expectation and fall short, thus, dropping out. Whereas if one is from a lower ranking class their society would pressure that individual to believe over time that education cannot necessarily bring success but quick and fast cash is the only way. This perception may not even come from family and/or friends but from the lifestyle and environment. The hardship they face in living day to day can cause such beliefs to rise. Especially if such habits (pursuits for quick and fast cash) is promoted from neighbors.
I think a reason behind boys in high schools dropping out has to do with them feeling like they have nowhere to go in life. Maybe they've gotten into gangs, drugs or their families just don't care about them. Being on your own so young, or at least feeling like it is an easy way for someone to get lost in life. Some boys don't show their feelings as well as girls do, so when it comes to needing help they feel as if there is no one to ask. Maybe they don't what to do after they graduate so they figure why not just leave now and find a job. which usually doesn't work out they way they dreamed.
Each person has a different reason for dropping out. One may say “I cannot balance between work and school while supporting my mother, six brothers and sisters and me”. Boys tend to try and support the family when it’s in trouble. With divorces and families members sometime one income isn’t enough. By the time a person gets to homework school is just about to start and as time continues the stress of work and school eventually overloads them. In order to keep their family together they quit school so that their brothers and sisters can get a good education.
Some others may have chosen partying to either relieve stress or have a good time. During the parties people may get drunk and one thing may lead to another and someone just became pregnant. When faced with the decision sometimes the guy may decide to help the girl whom he got pregnant. He quits school and finds a job to support them. If the guy doesn’t choose to help the girl the girl would be left alone and may have to give up her future goals and dreams in order to raise the child. Each situation is different with every person, but the decisions made by ones actions or another’s can result in the difficulties they face.
I have never really notice that a lot of males drop out of high school more than females. But after reading about the information I thought of ways why this could be more common in males.
A lot of our male society are growing up in a single households: meaning just a mother to look up to or even just a mother to talk to. We should ask our selves if these young males are having manly problems in school, how is just a mother suppose to handle the situation?
Another reason why I think males are greater is because there aren’t a lot of positive male models to look up to. Not trying to sound bias but there are more drug sealers in males than females. A lot of times our younger males are influence by the older males in the streets; in which those are not good role models, well at least to me they aren't.
Overall, I look at the situation as these young males aren't having positive role models to help guide them throughout life. I leave you with a question if our young males can't talk to their mothers or better yet there fathers who is also a male, who can they talk to for manly advice?
Personally, I feel that drop out rates are continuously increasing because students have become less motived. Coming from a smaller highschool I would say about 10 percent of myclassmates dropped out. Their reasons for dropping out ranged from being arrested, getting pregnant or just not wanting to apply themselves. But what they don't realize is how important having a high school diploma is. In this day of age many jobs require somekind of college education. What this means for those who couldn't finish highschool, is they will have a harder time finding a decent job. This is why I tried to encouraged my friends who were considering to drop out to hang in their because it would be very beneficial.
Growing up in a neighborhood of boys, these statistics kind of hit home. It seems to me that boys are more likely to be influenced. I simply mean that they have this sensation to "impress" their buddies. I feel like society somewhat encourages students to drop out. Look how easy government money such as food stamps, or unemployment can be accessed. All you hear about these days is how hard college is to get into and that you have to keep your grades up etc. etc. Some students just discouraged early on and never see the real meaning behind the public education system. The reason I think this is more dominant in males is the simple fact that they have a lot to live up to. All a girl's life they hear people tell them to look for a good, rich husband who will take care of them. GUys hear this to but its more like, "you have to get a job to support your family boy." If they can not keep something as simple as a high school gpa up, they may feel discouraged and hopeless when it comes to the rest of their lives. Maybe it is just the simple fact that girls adapt a little better to change than guys. Sometimes girls are hard-headed and maybe this is working out for the good.
I believe boys are more likely to drop out of high school than girls beacause they are not concentrating on school work while in school. Most high school boys pay attention to girls sports and social activities more than anything else while in school.These boys are of course more likely to flunk out because they can not keep up with their grades. Another reason they may have a higher drop out rate could be their life at home. Families are more split this day in age mom and dad both have to work and kids come home to empty houses and no one to push them to do their school work or study. Instead boys go out and play, or play video games, surf the web, and other such things. A better environmentat home or after school programs could help lessen the drop out rate of high school boys. Girls I believe drop out less because they are sometimes held to a higher expectation. GIrls are taught more so now that they have to work hard to fet anywhere in life if they want to succeed in this world run by men they have to do the same things they can do if not better. So girls go to school excel and go on to college to make mom and dad proud and get a good job make plenty of money and never have to depend on a man.
There are many reasons that boys drop out of school. It could be economic, environmental or in other instances, the parents are not paying the attention or just don't care about their kids. Above all else, society has accepted this type of behavior. From an economic side, there are more single parent households than ever. If the single parent can't make it on their income, or if they were to become sick, then it could be that some males drop out to take care of the household. From the environmental side, young males are more influenced by friends to be in the "cool" crowd. This "cool" crowd influences the need for expensive clothes, cars, money, drugs and alcohol. From a parents side, many are so involved in their own life that they don't always put their children first. My parents had my younger brother ten years after me. As a sibling to a brother who dropped out at the age of 15, I am witnessing this trend firsthand. I am now dealing with trying to get him on the right path, because my parents did not.
There can be many reasons that boys drop out of school more than girls. One reason that may be directly attributed to this ever increasing trend is lack of guidance from parents. More emphasis may be placed on girls by their parents to focus on education, be self-reliant, and have their own identity. Boys on the other hand, may not have as much guidance placed on them, thus leaving them to find their own way to becoming a man.
Financial distress in the family can often be another reason for this trend. With the divorce rate at 50% and single parents attempting to do it all, some boys may feel an obligation to get out and help out the family. This can especially be true when a single mother is raising children and the oldest child is a boy. This can lead to a unique dynamic of the eldest boy needing to help provide financially and become the man of the house as soon as possible.
It seems every year the rates of teenagers dropping out and not completing high school is greatly increasing. My personal beliefs on this is because of poor family values,unmotivated students, or lack of self goals. Although some reasons can be considered as understandable such as an unexpected death in the family or a possible illness. I believe that most students who choose to drop out choose so because of their own desires. This is upsetting to see because the only option that person has after making that choice is a dead end job and no bright future. Education is a process that everyone needs to go through in order to get where they want to be in life.
It seems every year the rates of teenagers dropping out and not completing high school is greatly increasing. My personal beliefs on this is because of poor family values,unmotivated students, or lack of self goals. Although some reasons can be considered as understandable such as an unexpected death in the family or a possible illness. I believe that most students who choose to drop out choose so because of their own desires. This is upsetting to see because the only option that person has after making that choice is a dead end job and no bright future. Education is a process that everyone needs to go through in order to get where they want to be in life.
When it comes to hardships in life, boys usually are the ones to drop everything and take the role of being the man of the house. In order to help out their family, if for instance the father passes away or there is a financial crisis. The boys are the one who feel responsible to take care of everything for the family, so thus leading them to drop out of high school or college and find a job to support their family. In other cases now a days there are many boys who grow up in a harsh environments and getting exposed to gangs, drugs, and alcohol. People in general get involved with these things because of either peer pressure or just wanting to fit in. There is also the reason of not wanting to deal with school, homework, and teachers. Some boys tend to not have a good attitude towards school because they think it is too much and they don't want to put forth any effort. For some reason, girls tend to focus more on school than boys. I mean I am not saying all girls focus on school and all boys do not focus on school but I am stating a majority of the boys do not. This phenomenon has endless explanations that most people would have to look at a list of things in order to understand why.
In today’s society, many teenagers are dropping out of high school for various reasons. Maybe it is because of a girl getting pregnant or a boy who turns to drugs. In my high school years, there were many pregnant girls. I knew two of them who dropped out because of their pregnancy. Having child when you are a kid yourself is difficult, especially with no support from family and you are on your own, you have no choice. As for boys, many are related with drugs. Selling drugs and using the substance. Selling drugs makes them a lot of money which puts them in a different perspective in life. Getting money may cause them to want more and make it a full time “occupation” than attending school. Overall, many teens are dropping out, whether is a pregnancy or drug related.
Megan Biretz
That is an excellent point. Indeed in low income families the financial problems are often not only shared with the young but to an extent are shifted to the young! Great post!
Nermin Mohamed
Again the differences between the US and a Third World country when it comes to emphasis on education can be striking. Not that in the US we do not emphasize it (because we do) but parents after a certain age lose their power on the kids and they are free to drop out…
Monimar 9302
More common sense? That is an interesting argument. Or maybe girls see multi dimensions in a situation, many colors, many shades?
Moonbeam
It has increased dramatically. More than one third of our students drop out. The most dramatic rates are within the Hispanic community.
Dawn Shepperson
That was a very good point. Even when we have two parents, we are not guaranteed supervision. How can parents become mre influential? Start supervising…. The old way !
Gearld Dodd
Indeed they are looked at as the superior gender, the ones more capable of making it. But also, when they don’t do well, they lose all sorts of motivation. Which is sad, because we have all sorts of afterschool free tutoring programs. There is no excuse for not getting help.
Dawn Drake.
You are right about the vicious cycle. However, in a recession, the college enrollment shoots up. Since our economy melted down, we have a hard time accommodating students here at HCC. My bet is that when things improve, we will start losing students.
Goodfella
Good point. You start missing one day, then two days and the road all of the sudden becomes way too slippery!
Magnolia
Indeed the male role model is vary important. When it is missing we end up with serious problems. The reasons why a male’s presence is vital are many. Even a lousy father is better than no father at all.
Thaer
At times they believe this empowers them. In certain instances males compete as to who is going to collect most Fs.
Antayisia
Correct. Drop outs mostly come from the lower classes.
Ashley Alexander
Good points about not showing feelings. Remember Durkheim?
Engineer09
The rates are very high among the Hispanic community and indeed this is the argument many give. They have to help support the family.
Latifah Aziz
Good points about having too many negative male role models out there…
Lindzy 22
You will see that even low end jobs in the future may require a college education.
Destinee Perez.
“A lot to live up to”. Good point. It has been written by some that dropping out is a way of justifying failure.
Mellow yellow.
At times girls are held to higher expectations because they don’t get as often in trouble.
Sean 1391
The “cool crowd.” Boy, have I seen it! Good points.
Justfish 247
Lack of guidance is to be partially blamed. Many parents (not just single parents but married couples as well) have stopped supervising and worse have stopped disciplining.
Skipper J
I am glad to see that education is being appreciated by many. Yet, we lose 50% of our students in college. Which means that appreciation is theoretical and in practice they don’t put any work into it.
Nga Nguyen
You covered many angles. Good post.
VivianLe
Pregnancy and selling drugs can be strong motivators. We will talk about teen pregnancy later in the course.
DO NOT POST ΑS ANONYMOUS PLEASE!!!!
I believe the phenomenon to stem from family settings and influence. Many young men are lacking the focus and discipline they need to move forward in life because they are not encouraged to do so and don't believe they can. Lack of a male's influence that is positive is one of the reasons why I believe drop-out rates are so high among male students. Most of these young children are being raised by one adult or a group of women who can not teach a young boy how to cope and deal with the woes of the world because she doesn't completely know and fully understand the male perspective. And I strongly believe that outside influence is lacking, the saying goes "It takes a village to raise a child". No one says anything nor do they take time with a child who is failing or getting into things that they know are wrong because they say it's not their responsibility. I'm not one of those type of parents who just look away. I'm going to encourage a child as much as I possibly can and if I see a child do wrong i'm going to correct them and bring it to their parents attention and hopefully steer a child in the right direction.
When I was in high school I observed boys dropping out more then girls. I think in high school girls look more at the future where boys are more focused in the now. For families who struggle to make ends meet I believe the family expect the boys of the family to step up and work to help support the family. In the end that leads to boys dropping out more then girls. I also think because boys are in the "now" moment and since their focus isn't on school they just don't care. Its easy for them to give up or possibly they get involved in the wrong crowds, gangs, drugs, alcohol. That can lead to skipping school which means they are failing classes and are told they wont be able to graduate so they just quit going all together.
I have two best friends, both male, who dropped out of high school. Coincidentally, both of them are also best friends with one another. I’ll refer to them as Michael and John.
Michael comes from a single-parent household with two younger siblings. Michael, although extremely intelligent, dropped out of high school between his junior and senior years at the age of 18, because he wanted more control of his life, didn’t want to follow rules imposed upon him and wanted to move out of his mom’s house. He needed to work full-time to support himself, and could therefore not handle going to school and working two jobs at the same time. Two months later, he completed his GED and joined the U.S. Navy. After serving, he plans to go to law school and study business law.
John has two younger half-siblings and lived with his mother and stepfather while attending high school. I would have to say that in John‘s case, his failure was due to unsupportive parenting. After his mother remarried and had two children with the new husband, who didn’t care much for John, he began looking for acceptance and support from anyone who was willing to give it, consequently from unsavory individuals. In an attempt to impress his new friends, he got involved with drugs and unlawful activities. After getting in trouble with the law on school property, he was given the option of either being expelled or dropping out. He was later arrested on felony charges and is currently unemployed.
I’m not saying that independence and bad parenting are the only contributing factors to more males dropping out, or that they are the majority of the cases. I would, however say that more males than females drop out because of American society’s pressures on males. Disadvantaged males, such as John, are able to gain acceptance and peer status through acts of stupidity and violence, which inherently affects future academic progress. Female students, I feel, are more likely to gain acceptance from their peers through other, more acceptable forms of "accomplishment". Males are driven by society's view that boys should be tough, should be "real men".
The comparison to girls and boys high school dropouts are significantly different and can be due to many reasons. Boys may drop out and may want to defend their country, joining the army or navy when their sixteen or seventeen. Another reason is that their grades might be too low to graduate high school, therefore, they drop out because they don’t see the point in sticking it out. However, what they don’t think about is their future and they probably don’t care while girls on the other hand analyze the past, present and future and makes sure they are doing the right thing, most of the time. One more reason is that their family may need them to work instead of going to school because the parents cant do it on their own.
Boys face different pressures from girls in High School. Peer pressure from their friends to drink, have sex and be tough and this isn't saying that girls don't have this pressure, but where there is pressure for girls, there is usually somewhere for them to go and talk about it. Boys typically don't have this release because they're told to 'man up'. High School can be seen as a waste of time by boys, especially kids in low-income areas. They see their parents and the people who are around them, a mixture of having a High School diploma and being a drop out, and being at the same financial level, so they see no point in pursuing their education further.
There is also the problem with gangs. Boys are attracted to gangs more due to the manly image you gain and the family feel that you may not have at home. They feel that they will be fine with their gang and don't need school.
The reason I believe there are higher incarceration rates for boys without their diploma or GED is because they are expected to provide for a family and are therefore will turn to crime to make the money they need.
I suppose it has to do with many things, depending on what's going on in that persons life and around them. It may have to do with it being acceptable in some families for males to quit school early and work to support their family. I know a few males and females (mostly males) who dropped out of high school, but none of them for that reason. All dropped out because they found parts of their life more important than going to school everyday. Getting their GED seemed like an easier alternative, and that's what they all got. Maybe girls have more ambition to stay in school, and think more about the future and the goals they set for themselves.
Boys tend to drop out of high school in larger numbers than girls due to low-income,and lack of family support.
Having a low-income affects the boys because they are encouraged to help and be the man of the house with their father or in many cases single mothers. They do not want to see their family struggle. So they step in and fill in his role in the family even if it replaces school.
Another issue is the lack of family support. Which causes boys to believe they are not capable of success in many cases, mainly low-income families. I am not saying that all family's discourage their boys; however, many do not support school because they find helping the family with bills is more important and also they may have never attended themselves.
Boys may also make stupid decisions based on friends, gangs and girls which may cause them to drop out.
I think the reason why most of the high school dropouts are males is because of what is going on in their life. Many boys are taught that when they grow up, old enough to be able to sustain a job, that, that is their main priority. If they are being raised by a single parent, or even a single mom, they are expected to work and help pay bills. Another reason why they drop out of high school is because they don’t have the support of their parents to help them succeed. A lot of parents, especially from the lower class, weren’t able to go to school to get an education, thus going straight into the labor force. Because the parents didn’t go to school, many boys don’t take it serious and, therefore, decide for themselves that they are not going to go to school also.
In my opinion girls look more towards their future than the average fifteen year old boy would. That explaining why there are more boys dropping out of highschool than girls. But i also do believe that boys dropping out of school has a lot to do with society and what the people around them are doing, if a friend drops out and gets to sit at home, watch television, play video games, etc. of course that sounds a lot better than sitting in a classroom all day so they tend to follow in others foot-steps. But there are different cases with different families that could cause a boy in highschool to drop out and get a job to help his family and with kids having babies so young these days that could be another reason for dropping out and getting a job, other than society.
I believe that there are many reasons as to why males and females drop out of high school. For example, some males need to help the father support the family and might drop out to do so. Another reason is some males try to fit in, but get rejected. As a result, they tend to lose courage and give up on being successful. Females on the other hand, some are expected from family cultures to not get and education and become a house wife and learn how to cook. But one good thing about female students is that they do not get discouraged so easily. Depending on how your family brings you up, society can alter your life or not. Some are focused and strong, but some are weak and gullable.
I think every student is different. When it comes to drop-out rates for boys, its hard to pin point it all on one reason. If i were to guess, i would say it's the econimic strain. Boys usually feel the need to help out their family in financial distress. Usually once they get a job, school no longer becomes a major priority. As time goes on, school becomes a nuisance. Once their grades start to fall, they begin to give up on themselves. Boys will most likely drop out shortly after. I think in most societys, males feel obligated to be providers for their own families
I think that middle school and high school puts a lot of pressure on both boys and girls. Everyone is trying to fit in. Most kids are really excited to start high school and they want to be a part of everything. I think there's a lot more girls who focus on getting the good grades to go on to college. I believe that every person is different and I don't know a lot of statistics besides what I read here but they're saying it's more likely for boys to drop out and I can understand that. The guys are always trying to get into things whether it's playing football or partying with the boys. I agree with a few of these other comments saying the boys feel the pressure to help support the household. They go out and get jobs so they have money in their pocket, to pay for all their activities, and help the family out. Dropping out of school cuts back a lot of their oppurtunities to progress in the world. Most of their jobs are minimum wage maybe even just in the fast food industry. They become stuck in this world of just getting by and they turn to drugs or even a gang to have a sense of belonging. This leading to incarceration just bringing them down even more. I've seen guys, particulary my cousin, drop out of high school because of stress and just getting mixed up in the wrong things. He got his GED and I'm sure there's more guys like him out there. The statistics state the facts but once again, I really think it all depends on the person.
I feel that students are dropping out more rapidly than in previous years. Statistically we understand that certain minorities are accounted for dropping out more than others. I feel that no matter what minority one is it could either be a personal choice or the environment the student grows up in. Generally it is young boys who drop out of high school more so than girls. I believe this could be because of many reasons yet one that struck me as not so obvious is that a lot of young boys like to hold a certain reputation. Males are full of testosterone which leads them to be aggressive in sports and to appear tough on the outside. The main reason for them dropping out could be for reasons such as drugs or peer pressure yet what makes it OK for them to drop out might be that as a boy they are still seen as tough even after dropping out. Boys at a young age feel that they can take care of themselves in certain circumstances when they don’t realize in the long run they will struggle to get by with limited education.
I actually wrote a paper on this a couple of semester’s back and the rates really are staggering. The reasons do vary and I think it’s a little bit of everything really. A lot of young male have dropped out of school because a lot of them has started a family in a way, a lot of them have to become fathers at a young age and take up jobs to support their new family cutting away from school time thus eventually causing them to dropout. And of course, I feel like the media had a huge part to do with that, I definitely think it plays a huge role in anyone’s attitude really and it is very much glamorized to not go to school and work and make money and such. A lot of people as well, have dropped out simply to drop out, I have a couple of guy friends who simply feel like they don’t need the textbook education. There are many reasons for it and I don’t think no one reason can pinpoint it exactly. Its very American!
-Manouchka Silgnena
M,W 4P-5:15P
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