The Wawascene was created by Dr. Mark Stock, former Superintendent of the Wawasee Community School Corporation. Due to its local popularity, Dr. Stock has left the blog site to future Wawasee administrators.

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Monday, March 06, 2006

Dropouts leave because school is "boring?"

Why do almost 30 percent of our students drop out of school? According to the Christian Science Monitor...
Now, a new survey, released Thursday, suggests that the problem, while deep, can be fixed. Most students don't drop out because they can't do the work. Nearly 90 percent had passing grades when they left school, according to the survey of dropouts by Civic Enterprises. Their major reason for opting out? The classes were too boring.
I suppose in our MTV, iPod, DVD, Hi-definition, instant gratification world called middle-class life in 2006, listening to a lecture could be considered less than dramatic entertainment.

But that doesn't mean it is not important.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Follow Purdue's lead. Put the class lectures in iPod format for download.

Instant gratification for everyone.

Anonymous said...

I say let's make the classes more challenging - and less busy work. My two high schoolers get so tired of that stuff. And how about as much attention for academic achievement as is given for athletic achievement.

Anonymous said...

not all students have ipods to learn off of. i think that most classes are challenging enough just not interesting enough. there is plenty of busy work too. i also think that athletics seem to be held higher than academics. stock, don't lose faith in the younger generations. not all of use are obsessed with laguna beach and the o.c. i really think mtv is more popular among middle schoolers than high schoolers.

Anonymous said...

Intersting point about middle school, etc. Most of our kids drop out way before High School. Not a blame on the Middle School, but just something as a public and as law makers we should not forget. The issues of why kids drop out need to be addressed in all arenas K-12 and in the home, not just the High School. High School certainly should do what they can as well. We need to work together. It does take a whole community to raise a child.

Anonymous said...

You didn't tell us what your previous offenses are. I find it hard to believe you were kicked out only that incident. Was it the straw that broke the camel's back?

Anonymous said...

No one gets kicked out for missing 15 minutes of one period. The policy states that a persons 4TH truancy in any trimester is when they are released. Doing well in life includes following directions and rules. You will be fired for the same in a real world job.

Anonymous said...

that's just it. school isn't a job. do we get paid? with an education maybe but not anything we really want. if we got paid i bet you a million bucks we'd all show up. school is almost a full time job.

Anonymous said...

Here's the problem we face: We continue to point fingers at the students instead of ourselves as a school community. Why don't we look at how to help alleviate the drop out rate and students struggling? We are the adults and professionals here with the expertise and certification. It's time we take a hard look at what we could change to help students instead of being reluctant to change or accept responsibility.

Anonymous said...

no matter where we're at there's always going to be some dropouts. maybe for more reasons that we can understand. not just because it's boring. life is boring! i was a struggling student at the beginning of the year and i wanted help. it took me seriously 2 weeks to get a meeting with my conselour. how can i get help from tutors if i can't even get it from those whose job it is.

Anonymous said...

Somewhere along the way, kids have lost the drive,determination and perserverance to dig their finger nails in and do what they have to do to better there own lives. The "boring" statement is an example of that. No one will entertain them in real jobs or life. You get what you put in. Kids want everything handed to them. Teachers will never succeed with a kid that has no desire to try.