Teenage Pregnancy and Dropout Rates free essay sample

In today’s society the pressure put on young adults to receive a good education is increasing every year. Despite this pressure many adolescents are dropping out of school in large numbers. Whether its high school, community college or a major university the number of kids who manage to complete their education from start to finish is getting smaller. In a school setting pressure is applied to young adults to succeed from a very young age. From the time children enter grammar school they are being molded for success. Kids are being told that in order to get a high paying job in today’s society they will need to receive a good education. When I was younger I remember my second grade teacher Mrs. Renfrew telling me â€Å"all rich people have attended college. â€Å" This was something that stuck with me for the better part of my childhood. The first thing my home room teacher Mr. Spears told me when entering my freshmen year of high school was â€Å"Look at the person to your left, and the person to your right. By the time graduation comes only one of you will be walking on stage to receive your diploma. According to the National Center for Education Statistics they had calculated that the national Graduation rate to be 73. 9 percent. It is much higher than my homeroom teacher had described. The Graduation rates can fluxuate quite drastically depending on where you live. According to the â€Å"whatever it takes† article from 2005, graduation rates were exceptionally high in the state of New Jersey at 87% , while in a state like South Carolina the graduation rate was a paltry 60%. Areas with high poverty are also prone to having higher dropout rates. According to the Council for Exceptional Children there are many different reasons that kids chose to drop out of high school. Many kids feel they need to drop out of school because they have to get a job. With the country under tough economic stress many kids are taking jobs to help support their families. I personally know many people who are choosing to obtain GED’s and enter the work force instead of completing their education. Another contributing factor is teenage pregnancy, especially in women. Many women are getting pregnant and choosing to finish their education later. Due to a lack of funding there are few high schools that offer day care. The majority of schools do not allow women to bring their children with them to class with them forcing them to become stay at home parents. According to the Council for Exceptional Children the biggest reason that young people drop out of school is because they were failing. There may be many reasons that this could be taking place. Some of these reasons are lack of focus, excessive absence, high graduation requirements, and unhelpful teachers. Parents may also be to blame. Research shows that parents who take a direct involvement in their child’s education are much more likely to succeed as opposed to a child whose parents are not academically involved. Kids who drop out of high school are less likely to succeed later in life as a result of the choices they have made during their high school careers. In a recent MSN. com article titled â€Å"U. S. High School Dropouts See Big Pay Gap† , Kids who drop out of high school will typically make sixty five percent less than a peer who received a high school degree. According to a MSN article, â€Å"No other country had such a severe income gap. † , said the Associated Press. The article also stated, â€Å"On the other end of the spectrum people who receive a degree from a university earn 72% more than a person who only completed high school. According to a US NEWS article titled â€Å" Dropouts loom large for schools† author Mike Bowler said, â€Å"Thirty percent of college and university students drop out after their first year. † President Barack Obama has produced a 12 billion dollar initiative to increase the number of college graduates by the year 2020. â €Å"That looks like it will be a steep hill to climb considering that more than half the students who enroll in a community college won’t graduate. With jobs requiring more skills it would be essential for to increase college graduates to help sustain a hungry workforce. According to an Associated Press article from 2005 titled â€Å"US College drop out rate sparks concern â€Å"the AP said, â€Å"only 54% of students who enter a 4 year university graduate with a degree within 6 years. † This isn’t nearly as high as the community college dropout rate but considering the financial cost of a four year university and the student debt that could possibly be incurred the effect it could have on a student could be more detrimental to a university school dropout than a comparable student who may have dropped out of a community college. Although there are ways for students to help their situation if they drop out at any point in the process statistics continue to show that students to drop out are more likely not to go back to school. With the job market demanding more skills and willing to pay less salaries the need for education in the United States is becoming increasingly important. In today’s society there are many different ways to obtain a GED . With a rapidly evolving job market they are demand more education and more skills and often are unable to offer high rates of pay https://www.usnews.com/ http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14801366/ns/us_news-education/t/us-high-school-dropouts-see-big-pay-gap/ http://pregnancy.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Category:About_Pregnancy https://www.cec.sped.org/