Many students have claimed that school isn’t “interesting” enough for it to be worth their time. The Washington Post’s Valerie Strauss speculates whether the Common Core standards will double the high school dropout rate. The Core are a collection of standards considered to be more rigorous than most states had before adopting them. What logic is there in making the coursework more difficult when students are already discouraged from doing the original …show more content…
Poverty and dropout rates are directly related in the three main setting that affect the development of a child: families, schools, and communities. Family poverty can contribute to a number of problems including insecurity, chronic absenteeism, and misbehavior in adolescents. According to the American Psychological Association, these characteristics are precursors to dropping out. Poverty stricken schools and communities also contribute to the low number of high school graduates. It’s evident that schools in the U.S. are separated by income, social class, and race/ethnicity. In 2009-2010, 21% of Black and Hispanics attended high poverty schools as compared to 2% of Whites and 7% of Asians. From that information, one can safely that the environment a child grows up in has one of the largest influences on how well they will do in …show more content…
When dropout rates are the highest amongst minorities, one has to question whether they are being given equal opportunities as their white counterparts. In 2014, the dropout rate hit an all time low for every race, but Hispanics still remained in the lead for highest dropout rates. Why? A large number of them may not be fluent in English, and because many of them attend poor schools, the school may not have the resources or the patience to teach them a second language. Along with Hispanics, Blacks have some of the highest dropout rates. Questions should also be raised about this fact also. It is important to take into consideration that not all Blacks in the United States are African-American therefore they may not speak English as a primary language. Aside from language barriers, the negative images of people of color that are seen in society and in the media contribute to the dropout rate, whether the U.S. would care to admit it or not. There are stigmas against minorities that may label them as “thugs”, “terrorists”, or any other derogatory name that could translate over into the way a teacher treats the student and they may not even realize it. This could instill insecurity in the child and make school a problematic borderline toxic environment for them. Race should not determine the type of education a person deserves and it cannot be an overlooked factor in solving