The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently ran an editorial noting that Georgia has a lower high school graduation rate than other states and labeled it a “crisis†because those with limited educations are “poorly equipped to compete for the high-skilled, knowledge-driven jobs.â€Â
However, perhaps part of the problem lies in the entire concept of the “dropout.†Different people should complete their formal educations at different levels and, for some, the tenth grade might indeed be that level. It is also reasonable to suppose that different people should enter the workforce or marry at very different ages.
The contemporary trend has been to extend education, and to a large extent the nebulous state of “adolescence†with its peculiar combination of rebelliousness and financial and emotional dependence, through older and older age groups.
Any diploma or degree is to a large extent a “signal†of a person’s competency. If everyone gets a particular type of certification, it ceases to have any real meaning.
The AJC quotes Diplomas Count researcher Christopher B. Swanson as saying, “If you do not finish high school, you are relegated to the worst jobs in the economy.†A host of unexamined assumptions lie in that statement. What determines the “worst jobs� Paying jobs need to be performed even if they are menial or involve manual labor or do not pay well. All honest work should be regarded as having dignity since some people must take those jobs if the economy is to function.
Perhaps what we need to do is to re-evaluate our entire approach to the subject of education. Instead of calling someone a “dropout†we should talk about the particular point at which he or she completed formal schooling. We also need to see it as a matter of course for those who wish to enter the “real world†of work when they are young to pick up their formal education later if they so desire. The GED should be regarded as just as good as the high school diploma. It is at least conceivable that mature people with some years in the labor market under their belts are more likely to benefit and really learn from formal education than frustrated teenagers who are in high school marking time simply because they believe it is expected of them to be there.
Those in high school, like those in college and other educational institutions, should be there because they want to learn the sorts of knowledge and skills being taught and are open to doing so. Young people who are bored in high school are unlikely to learn much. They are apt to spend their time watching the clock, ignoring the teacher, and razzing other kids. Having a large group of students who are learning nothing and would rather be elsewhere is not profitable for them or for society as a whole. Indeed, it may even be lethal to pressure youths to stay in school if they hate being there. Wouldn’t Columbine High School have been a lot better off if Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had simply left a place that had become a pit of torment to them?
