Dropouts and their effects on us all?

Question

One third of our kids drop out of school now, and many of these people require government assistance to feed their families.
I worked as a cashier while going through school, and I saw a huge huge amount of people receiving government assistance, including every person that worked with me.
What do you think of this, and what do you think we should do to improve the situation? Should we increase the amount we spend on education to the level we spend on financial assistance? Throw your Ideas out there for me.

Should have made it more obvious that the people Im talking about were almost entirely dropouts.

Answer 1

Have you considered that if everyone were to get a college degree, there most people would be overqualified for necessary jobs, such as cashiers, garbage pickup, gas station attendant. It would create a different problem.

As for government assistance, people will always need it as long as employers pay the same amount. Even with a high school diploma, the same jobs should pay the same amount.

Although, maybe if some people stayed in school they might be less likely to have children before they're ready.

Either way, I believe getting kids to stay in school will take much more money than giving financial assistance. They might actually have to pay good teachers a decent salary so that those who can teach don't need financial assistance themselves. (Better teachers might encourage students to stay in school)

Also, looking at other countries, the education system here is horrible. I think spending a lot of money on some serious reform would help the situation.

I'm sure with enough money and some common sense the drop out rate could be decreased but it seems in today's world the gap between the rich and the poor keeps increasing. So, there will probably always be people at the bottom who will need assistance, whether they have a high school diploma or not.

Answer 2

I'm not sure what can be done to correct the problem, but I do agree with you that it is a source of many of the social problems plaguing our country.

Some of this is also tied in with kids engaging in sex at a younger age and becoming parents before they are ready. A girl who has a baby while in high school is very likely to become a dropout. And--if that happens--they will almost certainly wind up on welfare.

The only way I can see to possibly fix this is to change the minds of as many kids as possible. Abstaining from sex, or practicing safe sex, are certainly a big part, but we also need to find a way to attract kids to staying in school.

If I knew a quick and easy answer, I'd certainly post it. I think a lot of it starts with better parenting. Too many parents haven't really grown up themselves.

At least one school district in the San Antonio area has tried setting up classes in a shopping mall. This seems to attract youngsters who don't like the school environment. Long-term we'll have to see how this goes, but the best answer might very well be to rethink education methodology.

I agree we don't want everyone to be a college graduate, but I do think we should try to get everyone at least through high school.

Answer 3

make it a requirement to actually graduate highschool or obtain a GED to qualify for government assistance. Should also force drug testing on them too. let the ones already getting it contiue because it was normal not to graduate highschool in the old days when people married real young, but these days people have enough opportunities.

Answer 4

It comes out of taxpayers pockets and REALLY affects those people who really need it (like my parents, who are borderline POOR but can't receive a single cent of assistance!) They still pay a huge amount of taxes...

Answer 5

nuke the stupid?