<p>The majority of the problem with kids dropping out and doing poorly is with the parents. They either don’t care or they don’t take an interest in their kid’s education. And no, you can’t start taking an interest when they are 10 years old. You have to take an interest when they are 5 years old on the first day of kindergarten.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if I was “Fortunate” to have experience urban schools or not. I started off in schools in New York City. Yes, they started with “PS”. Then big times hit; we moved up in the world. Moved to Jersey. Let’s hear it for Newark and Jersey City. Eventually, we moved to a more suburban part of New Jersey. So, I’ve seen a few different types of schools. But it didn’t matter. The kids that tried, stayed with it, and didn’t drop out were the ones who parent’s cared and was involved. The one’s who didn’t succeed, were the one’s who’s parent’s didn’t care or weren’t involved. There is no rationalizing here about single parent, working all the time, no time to help the kid, bla, bla, bla. The truth is, if you’re the parent then you make time. End of that discussion.</p>
<p>My mom was a high school drop out. Had me at 15 years old. I think the greatest influence in my education above ALL other influential people, was when I was in the 3rd grade and my mom started helping me do my homework. She didn’t know the answer to some of the questions I had. She cried a lot, but Instead of her quitting, she read with me and learned. By the end of that school year she had registered to take her GED. Which she passed the following year. I was very proud and very impressed with my mom.</p>
<p>Kids don’t know that life sucks at 5 years old. Kids don’t know that because they are a minority that they can’t succeed at 5 years old. At 5 years old, a child will believe and trust anything mom and/or dad tell them. The problem is, too many of the kids go to school in the poor urban schools not to learn, but as a form of baby sitting for the parent. They don’t motivate their kids. (Because they are still trying to blame society). Therefore their kids don’t know the importance of education. Granted, when I graduated High School I had very limited choices. But I DID have choices. We all do. My mother CHOSE to get knocked up at 15 and have me. She CHOSE NOT to have an abortion. She CHOSE to make sure that I had better choices or at least a better attitude towards life than she had. She CHOSE to get her GED. Many of these parents CHOOSE to send their kids to school as a baby sitter service. Many of these parents CHOOSE not to impress the importance of education on their kids starting at age 5. The list goes on.</p>
<p>Now, does that mean we forget about these kids? No. But you have to get them to make the choice. In high school, we had an English teach; Ms. Howe. Everyone had her sooner or later in their 4 year time of high school. She made it clear that we got to choose our future. We could choose to drop out of school, bum the streets, get into drugs and gangs, and choose to even die. She said that she wouldn’t even miss us because there’s too many kids that choose to succeed and she has to concentrate on them. We also could choose to learn what was being taught. Learn discipline. Learn the “Game” of life. Graduate. And then CHOOSE to make something with ourselves. Either there in our neighborhood, in college, move away, join the military, whatever. The point was, we were forced to choose. We then realized that it didn’t matter how good or bad the teacher was, we could CHOOSE to learn and succeed. Didn’t matter if we were poor, black, white, PR, etc… we got to choose. We could even choose to use our economic handicap as a means of getting to college. Unfortunately for me, even though my mom and step dad did enforce the importance of a high school education, no one in the family had ever thought of college. So I never had that as a dream. I did as an adult where I now have 3 degrees, but not as a kid.</p>
<p>So, if we want to fix the problem, we have to get the parents involved. The hardest part is to look them in the face and tell some of them; “Yes, your life sucks. But do you really want this for your kids when they grow up”? Unfortunately, if the kid is 10 years old or older, it’s a little hard to do it. Even if the parent tried to get involved, they would have to be very persuasive. By the 4th-5th grade, a lot of these kids have already been influenced by the other negative kids in the class. Get them at 5 years old, let them know what they are going to expect, and they can deal with it.</p>