One third of our nation’s highschoolers drop out every year. Our inability to educate our youth is more than an “education problem,” it undermines the very fabric of our country. For example, those who are poorly educated and lack the necessary skills are more likely to live in poverty, receive government assistance and become involved with crime, which raise a question we have yet to address.

Why are we having so much trouble educating our children? I believe the answer is revealed in the on-line report, “The Silent Epidemic,” which was sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The reasons most offered by those who failed to graduate were boredom, lack of motivation and not being academically challenged.

From the drop-outs that were interviewed:

  • 88 percent had passing grades, with 62 percent having “C’s and above
  • 66 percent would have worked harder if expectations were higher
  • 70 percent were confident they could have graduated from high school
  • 81 percent recognized that graduating from high school was vital to their success
  • 74 percent would have stayed in school if they had to do it over again
  • 51 percent accepted personal responsibility for not graduating and an additional 26 percent shared the responsibility between them and their school, leaving very few who blamed the school. Nearly all of the students that participated in this survey had thoughtful ideas about what their school could have done to keep them from dropping out. They went on to say that, “They would encourage others who are contemplating dropping out of school, not to do so.”

It’s not just students that are bored, uninspired and are dropping out. Approximately one third of the new teachers that enter the profession, quit during their first three years and almost half leave during the first five years.

Napoleon, the famous French general one said; “The greatest attribute of a soldier is endurance.” I believe the greatest attribute of an educator is their ability to motivate students to discover their purpose, their inner light. What follows is an ancient saying that says it all.

If you bring-out what is within you, what you bring-out will save you. If you do not bring-out what is within you, what you do not bring-out will destroy you. Gospel of Thomas #70/

We protect what we value and there’s a greater probablity that students will value education if we can demonstrate how education will advance…their future self.

To learn of a strategy that has put many students on the path to self-discovery, checkout my podcast video by clicking on I WANT TO KNOW MORE.