Let's Get Them To Graduate

The NEA site ( http://www.nea.org/presscenter/actionplan1.html )has some really great initiatives to getting students to graduate high school, to stay when things get tough and the future looks bleek. The statistics on the site were discouraging. For example- In 2000, young adults living in families with incomes in the lowest 20 percent of all family incomes were six times as likely as their peers from families in the top 20 percent of the income distribution to drop out of high school. This for me hits especially close to home. My husband dropped out of high school at the age of 15. He now works as a painter and is happy, but times were not always good. My husband grew up in Newark, Bloomfield and Montclair. Too many houses to count and schools to name. The year he dropped out, he went to 3 different schools. Life was not stable and there were many times that he had to fend for himself and the onyl way to do that was to be on the streets with the older guys. To many moves and way to much time on the streets, caused him to loose interest in school and drop out. Unfortunately, his parents did not see how his education was going to help him, after all there was never any expectation that he would go to college. But as his wife, I can tell you, it is hard to find a job without a high school diploma. Never mind all the tattoos, and the long braided hair (that he finally cut off). In the end, when you strip off all the wear and tare, he is a hardworking and good person. We are lucky that he is a talented painter, cause without that, I don't know what we'd do. This is his story, but he is not alone. There are many children out there that are in the same situation. This is a big reason why I am becoming a teacher, because between my life and his, we have differently made our lives better than what was expected. Sometimes the best way to reach a student is to allow them to know your struggle and pain and to give them the hope to make their lives better. Many people struggle, some times if you don't work hard, you won't appreciate the outcome.