Tom Watkins, Superintendent of Public Instruction
Michigan Department of Education
March 12, 2004
Characteristics of students who drop out or are pushed out of school include:
- Frustration
- Unemployment, underemployment, constant lay-offs
- Embarrassment due to the inability to read or do basic math
- Low wages
- Time in jail or prison.
Michigan has a law that makes it legal for a child to drop out, or be pushed out, of school at the age of 16. Most 16-year-olds do not have the life skills or knowledge they require to prosper in a complex, global economy.
I call this law state sponsored stupidity, at best, and institutionalized racism at worst. For that reason, I have called for a change in the legal dropout age to 18, as well as for programs to meet the needs of these students. Our current law disproportionately impacts students of color. If dropout rates were at the epidemic proportions in our white, middle class communities, there would be a collective cry for a cure.
A child without a high school diploma will become an adult without hope for a productive future. In the past, a person who dropped out of school could find a decent paying job at Ford, General Motors, or Chrysler. The Big Three have not hired a high school dropout in over a decade. The military will not enlist a person without a high school diploma. Running the family farm requires much more sophisticated knowledge and skills than yesteryear.
Let’s not forget that these dropouts are not just statistics. These students are someone’s sons and daughters. They simply will not disappear. In today’s economy, they will not be easily absorbed. A dropout may come to your place of business through the front door as a customer or to seek employment. He or she is more likely to come through your back door with less admirable intentions.
Governor Granholm values all children. In her State of the State address, she called for six pilot, “Learn to Earn” centers. These centers will give students who have dropped out of school the skills they need to succeed in life and to contribute productively to our economy. Governor Granholm said, “We will not give up on you (children who have dropped out) and you must not give up on yourselves.”
There is a moral, societal, and economic imperative to develop alternative education programs. It is our responsibility to educate students so they can support themselves and their families and be engaged participants in our democracy.
Let’s not forget that this is a social and educational epidemic that has a built-in solution. Under state law, schools are funded based upon the number of students that are enrolled. Every student who drops out represents a loss of at least $6,700 to the school district.
Some folks will suggest that we cannot afford to address the dropout epidemic. If we want to make our urban centers and our state thrive in the 21st century, we simply must tackle this challenge head on.
Tom Watkins is Michigan’s Superintendent of Public Instruction. Since 2001, he has led the way to changing educational policy to help teachers teach and children learn. Learn more about the Michigan Department of Education by visiting its website at www.michigan.gov/mde
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