Medford mail tribune., August 31, 1958, Image 28

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Delinquency is 10 timet more common among dropout.
Family Weekly. Augvt it, 19SS
STUDENTS who quit high school become a liability to themselves and
In Russia, education is compulsory, curriculum much more advanced than here.
Frank was 16, a sophomore in a Passaic, N. J., high
school, and the only son of a widowed
mother who supported him by working as a
cleaning woman.
Frank was an average student, but a good son.
Feeling that he was a burden to his mother, he quit
school and started looking for work. Luckily, he
lived in a community that had the conscience to
cope with his problem and the program to solve it.
At the employment office, the counselor, instead
of outlining job openings, tried to persuade Frank to
return to school Frank was shown statistics prov
ing that opportunities were far greater for high
school and college graduates than for dropouts. He
was impressed but adamant. "We need the money,"
he said simply.
Frank took a series of tests which showed he had
above-average intelligence and potential. He was
told that only his attitude toward school his belief
that it was holding him back kept him from being
a better student. Surprised, he agreed to take the
counselor's advice.
The high school and Passaic civic groups co
operated. The school arranged Frank's classes more
in line with his aptitudes. Civic groups got him a
part-time job and found his mother a better-paying
one. His material needs satisfied, Frank returned
to school and later went on to college. He now has
a promising career before him.
Frank's problem is fairly typical nationwide. The
solution, unfortunately, is not. As a result, the drop
out problem is becoming increasingly serious to
the individual student, his community, and the
nation itself.
Take any five students in any high school in the
country. If they reflect national averages, one will
graduate and go on to college; two will graduate
and get jobs as skilled or white-collar workers; the
remaining two will drop out before graduation', ill
trained for anything but the most menial jobs' and
all but useless to the nation in a changing world
that's demanding more and more education.
Therein lies the problem. Business, industry, and
especially national defense are continually growing
more complex. New knowledge, new skills, more
adaptability, and greater flexibility will be needed
by larger and larger numbers of workers an esti
mated 23 million new workers by 1965. But at the
current rate, more than 40 percent almost half
of the nation's future work force will be ill-equipped
to meet the challenge of the next few decades.
The problem is first an individual one. Surveys
show that even in an expanding economy less than
half' of all employers even consider hiring non-high-school
graduates. In one area, of 71 occupa
tions listed with vacancies, all required high-school
graduates or better.
One executive said pointedly: "Our average
worker uses $12,500 worth of equipment. In a field
getting more competitive all the time, we can't
gamble with young people who don't have the back
ground to profit quickly from advanced training."
The worst feature, however, is that the dropout
cuts off his own chances of finding out just what his
aptitudes are, seldom staying in school long enough
to take more specialized courses, especially voca
tional courses, which could help identify them. This,
most authorities agree, is probably the major cause
of the nation's wasted, undeveloped talent.
Those who stay in school long enough to identify
their talents profit most The U.S. Department of
Labor reports that high-school graduates earn an
average of $30,000 more in a lifetime than dropouts,
and college graduates $50,000 more.
The community also has a stake in promoting
education. The government recently sur
veyed 30 cities, in some of which more than
half the population had a high-school education or
better; in others more than half had less than a
high-school education. The survey showed that
sales in the better-educated communities averaged
about $200 more per person per year!
Industry also has an investment in education.
Areas which tolerate lower educational levels will
always suffer lower-quality workers and lower
quality industry or no industry at all. A four-year
study of a chronic dropout problem in Harrison
County, W. Va., showed a direct relationship with
another problem: chronic unemployment
Communities have still stronger motives for keep
ing their teen-agers in school: their tax dollars.
Food Editor; WilliTm A?.t?.r Art Dir-C w-'L Lr?ri Hch O'Rourk.. Adv.rtltlnq Dir.ctor; MiUni. D. Pro.
Jk rw.ThoiMieoniH Alters Auochta Editor.: K.vln V. Irowo.
, onoi. in9r, j,rtY Kltln, Nw York; r.r J. Opp.nhtlmr, Hollywood.