Hi my name is Fred I live in Canada, I’m studying sciences at College Lionel-Groulx. It’s my last semester there since I was admitted at University McGill in the program I wanted to go, which is Mechanical Engineering. From kindergarten to today, it's my fourteenth year of study in school, and still, I have plenty more to do. I am not discouraged by this situation, because I know it is important to have a good education and this can only lead to a better future. Somehow, some youth are not as motivated as I, and more likely to drop out of school. They do this without thinking of the consequences of their acts, affecting their lives and the society.
In fact, dropping out of school is not only a plague for people's future, but also for the society they live in. Young people that drop out of high school may lack of educational basics. These people are less likely to find a job that provides them financial and social security. But the students are not the only one to blame. There are many risk factors of dropping out, and most of them come from school or from the parents support. Indeed, it may be due to an ineffective discipline system, a negative school climate or a poor parent-children relationship.
My goal here is to raise students, parents and academic establishments awareness, to help youth making the good choices in life, by showing the facts, numbers and statistics that people may not know. By posting a blog on Taking It Global, I hope I will do my part in convincing students to stay at school.
According to Statistics Canada: "A high school diploma is very important. Not only can it provide entry to postsecondary education (college or university), it sends a strong signal to prospective employers. In 2004, the unemployment rate among people aged 25 to 44 who did not have a high school diploma was 12.2%, while for those whose highest level of education was high school, it was much lower, at 6.8%. Moving to higher levels of education, the unemployment rate continues to drop, although not to the same extent." This example shows directly how school is related to work and future life. If a student decides to spend one less year at school, maybe he'll save one year studying, but he will definitely loose more than a year trying to find a job or to compensate for the lack of education.
Fortunately, the dropout rates has declined over the past years. Parents can do their part by listening to their child problems and try to solve it before it is too late. Educational system should adapt to students that have problems and support them trough the process that is school! Studies have proven that men were more likely to drop out than women, but both of them have seen their number of dropouts reduced significantly.
An other consequence of dropping out of school affects the society. In fact, if dropouts do no find a job in the following months of their abandon, they become a burden for taxpayers. Unemployed people cost a lot for the community they live in, not only because they don't pay taxes, but also because they may require financial help from the government eventually.
Finally, it's not everyone that has the opportunity of going to school and study at least for eleven years. In some countries, youth can't even finish their 3rd grade because school isn't accessible or simply isn't there at all! Here in Quebec, education is not much expensive, and very accessible. That's why we should take advantage of it. You can have a better job and live happy! Dropping out of school may ruin your life! So, this being said, do you reconsider studying a bit longer?