Posts
DON’T LET THAT BE YOU!
By Jim "Gymbeaux" Brown & Laura Schisler,
August 15, 2016
It
was the first day of school.
Approximately 500 students all met at the school’s auditorium where the
new Principal was waiting for them to be seated and quiet down. He put both arms in the air to signify that
he would like quiet as he was about to address the student body and faculty on
the first day of school.
All
was going well as he presented his first official new semester welcoming
message when suddenly a student stood up and walked out of the room. Undeterred the principal continued. Then just as quickly a second student stood
up and walked out the rear of the auditorium and he was followed by a third and
then a fourth. In all about 10 students stood
up and walked out on the Principal’s welcoming message. He feared he had bought into something far
more serious than his initial joy of becoming the new principal should have
been for him. The 10 students all left
about 30 seconds apart from one another as if their departure had been
orchestrated by some fringe group to demonstrate their dislike for the school,
the school year, the student body, the faculty or worse the new Principal.
There
was a buzz amongst the remaining students who were all trying to figure out
what just happened. The Principal was about
5 minutes into his welcome when this all occurred; it did not look good. Then just as suddenly each one of the ten
students began to emerge on stage and form a line behind the Principal as he
continued to speak, there were 9 students by actual count. What happened to the 10th
student? As the Principal turned to face
the 9, the 10th student appeared stage right but this student was
wearing an orange jumpsuit one exactly like you might see on a prisoner at the
local jail. What on earth was happening?
The
principal, with 10 students standing tall behind him turned and faced the
student body who by this time were all pretty much in shock over what just
happened. “Class,” he said. “What you have just witnessed is precisely
what is happening in high schools all across America TODAY! Just as these
students left the auditorium every 26 seconds, you, or you, or you, or someone
you know in this class will drop out of high school, 1 every 26 seconds! Don’t let that student be you! Do you hear what I am saying? DON’T
LET THAT STUDENT BE YOU! It is so
important that if you become aware that a fellow student or friend is
considering dropping out of high school, please notify the school’s counselor
as soon as possible.”
“You see ten students
standing behind me, 9 of whom all look like your typical high school
student. But there is one who is dressed
in a prison orange jumpsuit because according to recent studies, 1 out of every
10 high school students that drop out of high school will eventually be in jail
or prison. 1 OUT OF 10! DON’T LET THAT 1 BE
YOU! Did you hear what I just
said? DON’T LET THAT 1 BE YOU OR SOMEONE CLOSE TO YOU! 1 every 26 seconds equals 1.2 MILLION students dropping out of
high school EVERY YEAR! Using quick math in my head if 1 out of every
10 end up in jail or prison, that means that 120,000 high school dropouts will
be calling jail HOME in the very
near future. DON’T LET THAT BE YOU! In
this class of 500 students, 10 percent equals 50 of your classmates who could
be in jail. DON’T LET ONE OF THEM BE YOU!”
“There are 4 words that I NEVER want to say to anyone, especially a parent or friend of a
student who drops out and they are I
TOLD YOU SO! If you read the study, a
high school dropout will earn $200,000
LESS than a high school graduate
over his lifetime. And almost a million
dollars less than a college graduate!”
“I
sincerely want nothing but the best for each and every one of you. More importantly we now have 500 students in
this class and when it comes time to graduate I personally want to hand out 500
graduation diplomas to each and every one of you; WITH NO EXCEPTIONS. Is that
understood? If so, let’s get started…”
I only wish that every Principal would start
every school year with a start like this one.
Students need a wakeup call. When
I see the youth of America rioting in the streets, disrespecting civil
authority, burning buildings and cars all in the name of what? Most of the time they do these things BEFORE an investigation reveals that
the person being arrested was resisting arrest and had a weapon or not; as if
it would make any difference to the people rioting in the streets of our cities. It makes no sense. Have you ever noticed that when a criminal is
arrested the news NEVER comments on
whether a gun used in the crime was legally owned or illegally owned? They NEVER
comment on whether the criminal graduated from high school. They NEVER
comment on whether the criminal had a
job. Do you think a lesson could be taught by
letting the youth of America know what type of person it is who is committing
the crimes on the news every night?
Instead they just report that a person of interest was arrested for
doing the crime. God forbid that a
criminal be shot and killed during the arrests.
Whoever said it was in someone’s best interest to point a weapon at a
police officer? Personally I would not
address a police officer any differently than I would my parents or my teachers
with “Yes sir, or No sir!” This is not
what’s happening in America today and it all starts with and will eventually
stop with students staying in school and making an attempt to learn something
of importance that will eventually lead to acquiring a job other than flipping
hamburgers for a minimum wage.
Prayer was removed from schools in 1962. Most Americans have taken sides regarding
prayer in school and I seriously doubt it will ever return. Here is the problem. Taking a few moments to reflect that there
might be a moral high ground by believing in something or someone bigger than
life itself might be the difference maker in teaching our children the
difference between right and wrong. So
many children are now living in single parent homes. Simple math tells me that these children have
HALF of the discipline and moral upbringing that they might otherwise
have. If students are not being taught
AT HOME, beginning at their earliest of ages, the difference between right and
wrong, where is this moral education being taught? No longer in the school systems because of
the law banning such training back in 1962.
If you want proof of this, take a look at this graphic and then you
decide the consequences of removing prayer from schools:
The reason there was a sharp rise in ACT
Achievement Test Scores in 1990 was that the tests were modified to reflect
what students were no longer being required to learn making the tests much easier. Or how about this graphic regarding the
currently high divorce rate since 1962?
One more regarding the increase in violent
crime. These activities do not just
happen by accident. There is an
underlying cause and effect. If students
do not stay in high school, their success in life if they enjoy success will be
more by accident than by design. It will
be far more difficult and the results more disastrous if students fail to
realize the importance of education in their development.
This is what in the military is referred to as
“collateral damage.” There are results,
both good and bad, for every law passed by our Government.
Laura
Schisler writes, while I believe all of
the statistics and circumstances outlined herein are correct, the
solutions must begin with the leadership. ..superintendent /board of education.
The kids can be told not to drop out, but many reasons are behind that statistic
that are preventable starting with the Adults.
One interesting fact is suspension rates. Districts with higher rates
have poorer results even in suburbia. Kids who are out of school cannot learn.
Therefore, if principals can work on solutions to keep students inside
the classrooms, the students can accomplish much more. It's easy to
kick the student out, and many times the administration would like the student
out; less trouble and no longer a drag on the performance of that high school.
She continues: Our district attempted to put into place an
alternative program within the district to address the students who could not
succeed. Their parents were relieved and in tears that for the first time
their student's needs were being addressed. Unfortunately, due to crazy
politics in our district, that program was sabotaged and tossed aside
before it had a chance to be developed or evaluated.
While this Nugget has pointed out truths, and
where and how the kids can be reminded of the importance of staying in
school, the real issue begins with the education leadership, and that is
a complex area starting with local control, as it was always intended to
be. The more the federal government gets
involved, the worse it gets.
Regarding college educations, the reality is that we have fewer jobs
available for our college educated adults causing a back up, per se. The
trades, such as carpentry and many others are putting young workers in amazing
earning positions (not to mention future
business ownerships). The interesting part is seeing how many
college educated graduates are earning around 40-50k while skilled labor is
earning that and far more. When
considering the cost of a college education and the earning power it provides
or not, the relationship to skilled workers income and some college educated
incomes is truly shocking.
As a
real estate broker for more than 30 years, I can personally attest to the fact
that a lot of college educated students, many with degrees, have obtained their
real estate license and have earned far more than they ever imagined possible. More often than not, more than other
professionals, at least in the areas where my brokerage was located. There are definitely alternatives to college
degrees in the world.
This is a link to the report on facts
regarding high school dropouts.
This
is a link to the report on facts regarding the imprisonment of high school
dropouts.
These
are very short reports and should be required reading for every parent and
student attending middle or senior high school.
My advice to students…stay in
school. Work extra hard to learn what is
being taught. Make acquiring a skill of some importance
leading to a goal that will take you to a good paying job. There is no such thing as a free ride. You will only gain what you set out to
gain. Anything more than that is gained
not by design but rather by accident like winning a lottery. How many people do you know who has won a
lottery? Exactly! My philosophy is
first, determine what you love. Then
find a way to make a career out of the love of your life. Love what you do; do what you love! If you do, you will never work another day in
your life because you will be so engaged in doing that what you love to do the
most.
No comments:
Post a Comment