Cure the Disease – Not Just the Symptom

I read in my local paper recently that there’s bill in the Arizona legislature that seeks to ban 8th grade certification ceremonies (a.k.a. “graduation”). The bill is being presented as a measure to stem the phenomenal high school dropout rate we have in our state. From what I could gather, the biggest argument was that parents were making a much bigger deal about the graduation than some people believe it is.

The article listed things such as limos, formal dresses, big parties, and lavish gifts as some ancillary causes to our dropout rate. Why? Because by making a big deal about it, supporters of the bill claim we’re sending the message to children that finishing 8th grade is “good enough” education-wise. It’s that sentiment that causes these kids to believe that further schooling is useless. That spells bad news for those living in the lower socio-economic sphere. So, basically the argument is that celebrating 8th grade graduation is partially responsible for kids dropping out of high school.

You’re joking, right?

Someone in my state government seriously thinks that by limiting or getting rid of 8th grade graduation, we’re going to bring up the high school graduation rate? I don’t think so! When it comes to the falling standards of public education – this is no easy fix.

The one thing that the supporters of the bill have correct is that the mindset of 8th grade being enough education to get one through life is a detriment. However, what they’re attacking isn’t what the root cause of the problem. There are bigger and more troubling issues than the ceremony.

Low graduation rates are a problem everywhere, not just Arizona. For years those in the primary and secondary education field have fought to keep kids in school and advance to the point where they get their high school diploma or equivalency certification. It’s a battle that has been two steps forward and one step back. While this bill is a nice idea – they’re only curing the symptom, not the disease. Rather than get rid of the graduation ceremony, they should be concentrating on two things:

1. Those affected by the mindset (The Kids)
2. Where the mindset comes from (The Home)

Typically, kids who dropout of high school are from lower income families and – as is the common case here in Arizona -- immigrant families. Because money is needed to keep the household going, education isn’t the highest priority. The moment you can start helping or earning, the better. And these are things that are learned early on and everyday in their lives. We are dealing with an environment and behavior that is bigger than a party.

So you can see why I think this bill is a misdirection of effort. If you eliminate the graduation ceremony, you’re only fixing the surface issue. Sure you don’t get the frills and the feeling of “finalization,” but what happens when they go home? Unless the government has a plan to motivate these kids to stay in school while they work or take care of their families – the plan doesn’t succeed.

A better idea would be to raise the age in which children are required to stay at school. Age 16 is the watermark for most states. But we should use the same logic we have for all legal things in our country. People are not considered adults until the age of 18, so why do we let them decide to leave school before that?

However, this is still only half the battle. Unless we can change the mindset at home we’ll still be hitting the same walls. How we fix that problem is the ultimate challenge. How do you undo cultural lines? How do you cause change to lifelong ideas, prejudices, and preconceived notions without making kids choose?