Xequecal wrote:
Is a high dropout rate really the teachers' fault? What are they supposed to do about that?
I would say that as in all things, there are unavoidable failures, and failures due to a lack of knowledge and/or effort.
If a student has to drop out and get a job because the family needs the income they could provide - ok, maybe a teacher would have a rough time preventing that one.
But most other reasons I can think of come down to interest. Do the students feel there is anything in it for them to stay? What did this school have for extra curricular activities? were said activities well managed? promoted? Did the teachers do all they could do to get the kids interested in thier subjects or did they just stand at the front of the room reading from "the book"
Teaching is so much more than disgorging information at the head of a class room - its buildint relationships with the students, getting involved, getting in the heads of your students to help keep them on track. Show them the benefits of a solid education rather than letting it become a chore that cant hope to compete with hanging out with thier buddies all day with nobody to hold them accountable for squat.
John has a video of one of his last days teaching high school chemistry. He is walking up and down the aisles grinning from ear to ear as his kids take a test, because they are doing so well. He rewards them at the end of class with a demonstration under the chemical hood essentialy making things go boom for them and explaining the hows and whys of it all. He was genuinly excited to show his students how things worked chemicaly.
I remember most my teachers who got involved. Heck, two teachers I never even had as teachers ran the school Lit Mag and I loved them! My excited teachers I remember, the boring ones, the ones who droned on and on. . . yeah, I cant even recal thier names, much less what they were trying to teach me.
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