[CALIBK12] [CSLA Research Update] Dropout study

[Joan McCall]

Mary,

I absolutely agree with you. Our education system is designed to give  
kids the chance to "bloom"  late but how many of those late bloomers  
stay the course until they see the point of a formal education? Back  
in the 70's I worked on a Career Education project with Research for  
Better Schools, a Philadelphia R&D organization funded then by the  
Department of Education. We were giving at-risk high school kids the  
opportunity to learn basic math and English skills at their own pace  
and then spend the rest of the day on a job site. Unfortunately, I  
don't think the kids were followed after high school to see how they  
fared.

I see many middle school students, girls as well as boys, who don't  
"get" the value of a high school education. They attend for the social  
contact, occasionally get jazzed by a topic or lesson or teacher, but  
have essentially checked out long before they get to 6th grade. I  
think the apprentice system is still a viable approach to learning  
mechanical skills. Heck, my plumber's hourly wage is higher than mine  
- why not promote that option?

Joan McCall, LMT/Teacher Librarian
Beattie Middle School
Redlands USD


On Feb 7, 2008, at 11:37 AM, burchm at lompoc.k12.ca.us wrote:

> I love being an American for lots of reasons, and one is the belief  
> that all American children have the right to an education.  I wish  
> however, that education was broader so that we didn't lose so many  
> to the streets.  Why do we insist on shoving all kids through the  
> same narrow door?  I think that we could do a lot better job of  
> educating kids if we really believed that mechanical intelligence  
> was as valuable as academic intelligence.
>
> I do not believe in a formal tracking system, but I did learn  
> firsthand while while living Germany that there are certain children  
> who do better if they are taught the basics, and then put to work as  
> apprentices and/or laborers early in their lives.  These people then  
> can begin to earn $$$ at a younger age (and of course in that  
> society they also begin getting vested in a retirement program 3-5  
> years earlier than their peers).
>
> I wish we had more options earlier in life for kids to pursue their  
> futures in different ways.  Also, I wish we valued mechanical  
> intelligence more.  Over and over we tell kids that working with  
> their hands is inferior to working with their heads.  We know this  
> is not true when we are looking for a good carpenter or mechanic,  
> but "Go to college!" is the mantra of America.  So many kids know  
> that college is not for them, and many drop out before gradation  
> because they know they will never go to college; unfortunately we  
> have kids in our system who feel like they have failed just because  
> they want to plant or paint.
>
> Mary P. Burch
> Lompoc High School LMT
> -----calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu wrote: -----
>
> To: calibk12 at listproc.sjsu.edu
> From: Lesley Farmer <lfarmer at csulb.edu>
> Sent by: calibk12-bounces at lists.sjsu.edu
> Date: 02/06/2008 04:20PM
> Subject: [CALIBK12] [CSLA Research Update] Dropout study
>
> Dropouts' interest in school may start waning early on
> Students who drop out of school don't do so impulsively but instead  
> may fall into a dropout trajectory as early as kindergarten.  
> "Educators may be overlooking important developmental trajectories  
> exhibited by students prior to entering high school," said Gregory  
> Hickman, who directed the undergraduate research. "Dropouts miss an  
> average of 124 days by eighth grade."
> Hickman, G. (2008). The Differential Developmental Trajectories of  
> High School Dropouts and Graduates. Journal of Education Research.  
> [in press]
>
> -- 
> Posted By Lesley Farmer to CSLA Research Update at 2/06/2008  
> 04:16:00 PM _______________________________________________
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