to the welfare of the country; what can be done about this pressing problem ?
by Kevin V. Brown
Changing world requires many more technical skills.
Dropouts invariably swell the welfare rolls or,
worse, the police blotters. Unskilled workers are
the best candidates for relief payments because of
their inability to find steady employment. Sociolo
gists also admit another startling statistic: juvenile
delinquency is 10 times more common among drop
outs than among all other teen-age groups combined!
The dropout 'problem, however, involves more
than finding jobs or saving taxes. It involves the
nation's security!
Russia's recent scientific achievements shook
many Americans' complacency. Used to being No. 1
in everything, we wondered, "How could they do
it? How could a nation that was almost illiterate
a generation ago get ahead of us, the greatest coun
try on earth?" A simplified sketch of the differences
between the two systems may help explain it.
In Russia, the individual's wants are ruthlessly,
subjugated to the needs of the state; yet it's no
secret that the Reds place great emphasis on edu
cation. The U.S. Office of Education reports the
average Russian child gets twice the education of
his American counterpart, studying up to 12 hours
a day, six days a week.
Under a controlled curriculum, every Russian
pupil gets mathematics starting in 1st grade; biology
in 4th; physics, algebra, and geometry in 6th; chem
istry in 7th; astronomy and calculus in 10th. The
upper 30 percent go on to college and are paid for
it! While American industry cries for more techni
cally trained workers, Russia produces nearly a
quarter of o million physicists, engineers, and other
professionals annually.
Now, no American is going to say that Russia's
system is better, bu it has one frightening feature:
no one is overlooked who can contribute anything
to the state. Yet educators here feel that our system
is better. It just hasn't been exploited properly.
Actually, we have compulsory attendance laws,
too those requiring students to stay in school past
a certain age or grade but they aren't always
enforced, often with reason.
Charles M. Allen, principal of the University High
School of the University of Illinois and an expert
on the dropout problem, says, "Compulsory attend
ance has little relationship to the number of stu-
How Can
We Keep
in
Them
School ?
dents who drop out, but only affects the time they
withdraw. If the laws are rigidly enforced, a heavy
concentration drops out at the close of the com
pulsory period. . Meanwhile, enforced attendance
doesn't make school more meaningful."
That, in brief, is the difference. Russia enforces,
we encourage. And educators here insist that the
student who completes school voluntarily is better
educated than one who is forced.
LJow, then, are more volunteers encouraged?
By the same methods used in communities
that have already tackled the problem: under
standing the dropout, making school more attractive
for him, relieving his outside problems.
A description of the "typical" dropout was made
after a study by the Tucson, Ariz., school system:
"This mythical person is 16, comes from a large
family which lives in a poor neighborhood. The
breadwinner is an unskilled worker, and the home
may be broken by death or separation. The student
makes below-average marks and may be overage
for his grade. There isn't sufficient money, or
enthusiasm, to stay in school, so the dropout quits
to go to work. The cultural pattern of the home is
such as to give little or no encouragement to return."
Thousands, of course, don't fit this pattern, and
some communities go to extremes to make sure no
one is overlooked. In Quincy, 111., cumulative rec
ords are kept for evidence of irregular attendance,
tardiness, gradual lowering of grades, and consist
ently poor achievement. Other research finds any
financial, social, or emotional problems.
Whatever methods are used to spot dropouts, the
second step is encouragement. Parents, of course,
have prime responsibility here, but others, notably
schools and churches, can help. Just one enjoyable
class, or one sympathetic teacher or spiritual ad
visor, often means the difference between a young
ster's making an extra effort to stay in school or
giving up.
Even classmates can help. A committee in Grand
Rapids., Mich., reported, "Among the hundreds of
school-leavers we interviewed, only a few had been
active, accepted members of any school club, team,
or social group." Friendly invitations to shy class
mates to join something can be vital, because the
adolescent urge to "belong" is very strong.
It's in the area of outside problems, however, that
the community at large can play its most active role.
Samplings from three cities that fought the dropout
threat are representative.
In Sacramento, Calif., an intensive part-time em
ployment program for needy students was inaugu
rated by representatives from labor, management,
PTAs, schools, and the employment-service office.
The group incorporated permanently, soliciting jobs
not ordinarily handled by adults for after-school
hours and week ends. Within two years, 3,000 place
ments were made.
A similar program in Boise, Ida., used existing
agencies but depended on widespread publicity to
promote part-time jobs for youngsters. The YMCA
offered its facilities as headquarters for the project
and the Idaho Statesman donated free advertising
space during the campaign.
One of the most comprehensive programs was
undertaken in Tampa, Fla. Low finances caused
most dropouts there, but teen-agers were not even
considered for jobs unless first cleared with the
schools. Employers, parents, and school officials dis
cussed each student's problem individually, re
arranging his courses, if necessary, even to the
extent of letting him work days and complete school
at night. Lunches and clothing were the chief finan
cial burdens, so some students worked in the lunch
rooms in exchange for meals, and the Junior League
arranged for free clothing. Other agencies even
provided needed medical care, glasses, and dental
work free of charge.
The seriousness of the dropout problem cannot
be overemphasized, and it hasn't escaped notice in
Washington. U.S. Commissioner of Education Law
rence G. Derthick summed it up: "Pioneers got
their education from life itself. As youngsters, they
learned most of what they needed by meeting and
solving daily problems with their parents. But in
the highly dynamic social and economic order of
today, the youth is lost who does not have formal
schooling, as much and as good as possible.
"Along with the individual, society also suffers
when the education of youth is neglected."
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Family Weekly, August 31. 19SS