Cause of College Drop-outs - Essay Example

Cause of College Drop-outs Introduction Education is viewed as an essential component to human beings. The many nations around the world have focused on building the building education systems with the aim of reviving, maintaining or improving their economic levels. In this case, education is linked to the economy of various nations around the world thus making it an essential aspect in human survival in many regions worldwide. However, there are numerous aspects that keep people out of school. Despite the fact that education is highly valued globally, many people as well as communities are illiterate as a result of several communal perceptions about education, religious cultures, peer influence, financial status, mental value of education, job status and medical attributed factors and geographical locations. This document focuses on the factors that keep people out of school. School is a place wheel people go to acquire education. Many communities in Africa South America and Asia countries have been left behind development wise because of lack of education value due to the communities’ traditions as well as cultural points of view (Leonhardt, 15). These communities concentrate more on the economic activities that was passed on to them by their forefathers for survival. The communities do not embrace technological changes and its influence to human activities and survival. As a result, many children in these communities drop out of school after the second phase of education curriculum which is the primary school system, to carry on their family businesses. the Bahai community of Lesotho in southern Africa and the Maasai and Samburu communities in Eastern Africa are among the communities where children drop out of school and shift to pastoralism activities. In these communities, pastoralism is the basic act of survival as the communities believe that their forefathers survived as a result of pastoralism. ‘Andy Blevins was a student at Radford University who made a big decision big decision in life as a result of financial setbacks but end up regretting in future’(Leonhardt, 15). College dropout boom presents a case that explains the reasons why many college students tend to drop out of school without fully completing the degree or diploma course. Many students in college drop out of school due to the idea that they can as well survive without the college degree certificate. This is the perception that Andy Blevins had when he dropped out of school while pursuing his college degree. Many college students find it normal to drop out of school during the normal scheduled curriculum and thus prefer joining college after they have settled down in order to finish pursuing the degree program. Andy Blevins quit school and ‘felt like it was a normal thing to do’ (Leonhardt, 15). ‘He believed in handwork that was done well’ (Leonhardt, 15). In this case, he preferred working hard and earning from his handwork. This notion made him quit school on the aim of making money then returning to collage at a later stage in life. He chose to drop out of school with the aim of returning to study at a later time and continue with his job which earned him a paycheck at the end of every working month. Life in collage can be hard if a person does not have full financial support from parents, guardians or sponsors who fund his or her degree program. This aspects make the students uncomfortable in school thus leading to their decision to quit school and get employed in order to earn money that may keep them comfortable when the decide to continue with their education. ‘Andy Blevins was the first child to go to college in his family’ (Leonhardt, 15). His parents were not stable financially to fully support him with his expenses in while pursuing his degree program. This was one of the main factors that made him quit school and join the group of working-class adults in America. Many college students quit their degree programs as a result of a hostile environment in school which is generated by the inability to stay comfortably in school due to financial strains. A good financial capability acts as a motivation to performance in college. ‘Andy Blevins got Cs and Ds in during his time in college which was not an appealing performance’ (Leonhardt, 15). This was because of his commitment to work. He focused more on work than education which led to his low performance in class. College student find it hard to study and work at the same tome. This aspect leads to many of the collage undergraduates quit from their study program as they tend to focus on the side that provides for their basic needs at that moment. College students will tend to quit school because of their love for money. ‘Many student view the education curriculum as a waste of time’ (Leonhardt, 15). This is one of the major causes of college dropout cases among students. ‘Andy Blevins earned $6.75 an hour from his job which he described to be more than either of his parents earned’ (Leonhardt, 15). This was enough reason to make his drop out of school and focus on making more money. The economic status of most countries also contribute to this factor as the high rate of unemployment tend to scare the youth from spend much time in pursuing a course in which they might take a longtime to get employment. As a result, many you prefer working in order to get a starting point in their live and pursue their academics at a later stage. Most of the students from poor background have this phobia instilled in them thus they fear completing their higher education system before establishing their lives. The bridge between the rich and the poor is another factor that leads to the idea dropping out of school. Children from rich backgrounds have a propensity of studying hard because of their inherited meritocracy. ‘A large number of them stay in school because they have goal set for them by their parents’ (Leonhardt, 15). a failure to meet these goals will act as a form of embarrassment on the family name. ‘Children from rich backgrounds stay in college because they can hardly imagine the thought of quitting school’ (Leonhardt, 15). On the other hand, children from poor families may not have a legacy to protect which makes it easier for them to make important decisions such as quitting school without the consent of their parents. Many children from poor families drop out of school without telling their parent due to the fear that the action might demoralize the efforts of the parent. Conclusion Education is an essential tool in life. Despite the economic status of a country, education is termed as the greatest investment. This is because it acts as a security and a reference o a person’s mental capability. Therefore it is better to be safe than sorry as “dropping out of school with the aim of completing the course being pursued at a late stage can block several opportunities that an individual is likely to encounter in his or her future” (Leonhardt, 15). Andy Blevins can act as a perfect example to demonstrate this notion as he “says that he too knows the importance of a degree, but that he did not while growing up” (Andy) (Leonhardt, 15). Work Cited Leonhardt David. The College Dropout Boom: New York. New York Times publishers. Published: May 24, 2005. (Retrieved: April 5, 2014). 2005. Pp 54. Print Read More