If you could speak with a student who was considering dropping out, what would you tell them?

Jamie Morgan
President at The JM Show--LION--MyLinkNetwork.com--jjmorgan13@gmail.com www.thejmshow.com
see all my questions
We are engaged in "Operation Graduation"---helping high school students graduate and go to college. If you could speak with a student who was considering dropping out, what would you tell them?
www.thejmshow.com


Steve Durkee
Market Strategist/Analyst/Executive Director
see all my answers
Best Answers in: Education and Schools (2)... see more, Occupational Training (1) see less
Jamie, Good question and this is something that I deal with regularly in my role with the foundation. Of course we are all individuals so to motivate everyone with a similar message can be difficult. What I have found tends to work well is to educate students about the numbers, with the caveat that it doesn’t mean you will be a statistic, it just means your going to have to work that much harder not to be. From a motivational standpoint I would ask the student(s) to think about how much time you have invested in your education and how close you are. For some of them they have already put in 12 years and all they need are those last couple classes that seem insurmountable. Also, I try to make sure they know about their options after high school. There are fields that they can get into after high school that only require some quick technical training, but you have to have what to get into the program? A high school diploma or GED. From an educational standpoint, it is one statistic that no one should have to be part of, not only are your earnings dwarfed by the rest of societies, you work more to earn less pay, have less time for family or civic participation, and are much, much more apt to be incarcerated. In fact, less than 4% of the US prison population is made up of college graduates...guess what level of education the largest percentage has? If you need some help compiling information, I can probably help. One of the core aspects of the foundation is to look for means of improving areas that are plagued with poverty and typically, many times out of necessity, have high drop-out rates.
posted 5 days ago