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Dr. Universe: Why Do People Drop Out Of School? \u2014 Edgar, 11, Virginia<\/p>\nDr. Universe: Why Do People Drop Out Of School? \u2014 Edgar, 11, Virginia<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dear Edgar,<\/p>\n
I like school so much that I live at a university. But I know that\u2019s not true for everybody. School can feel great for some kids and really hard for others.<\/p>\n
I asked my friends Brian French and Paul Strand about it. They\u2019re psychologists and researchers at Washington State University. Their team developed WARNS. That\u2019s a tool to help identify kids at risk of dropping out\u2014so adults can help them. They told me there are lots of reasons kids miss school or decide to drop out. Some reasons have to do with the school or community. Sometimes students don\u2019t feel welcome or safe. They may not see how what they\u2019re learning connects to their real lives.<\/p>\n
For some kids, just getting to school is tough. The walk might be long or unsafe. Buses might not come regularly.<\/p>\n
Other reasons have to do with what\u2019s going on in the student\u2019s life. Some kids feel anxious about school or get overwhelmed. Others have big responsibilities\u2014like working or taking care of siblings. If they know someone who dropped out, it might feel like it\u2019s no big deal.<\/p>\n
Money problems can make all this harder. About 35% of students are from low-income families. That means millions of kids may not have the things they need\u2014like clothes that fit, hygiene supplies, or reliable electricity and water. If they miss the bus, they may not have a car or parent available to give them a ride. That can make life more stressful and school extra hard.<\/p>\n
Missing school a lot can add up. \u201cIt\u2019s a path that sneaks up on kids,\u201d Strand said. \u201cThey drop out because a bunch of factors slowly worked against them.\u201d That\u2019s a big deal because finishing school helps people. Graduates are more likely to be healthier, earn more money, and have more choices.<\/p>\n
Schools want to help. Some offer free meals to all students, so no one feels singled out. Others provide clothes, supplies, or even a place to shower. Public support helps schools get those services to kids\u2014so they can focus on learning.<\/p>\n
The first step is knowing who needs help. That\u2019s why French and Strand created their tool. \u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do with WARNS is focus on giving students and counselors or administrators information,\u201d French said. \u201cSo, they can start a conversation with the student to figure out what\u2019s going on\u2014and help the student move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
They\u2019re even working on a version for elementary schools. Because the sooner adults notice a problem, the easier it is to help kids get their paws on a life-changing education.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
Dr. Universe<\/p>\n
Ask Dr. Universe is a science-education project from Washington State University. Visit AskDrUniverse.wsu.edu to read more Q&A\u2019s, or to send in a science question of your own \u2013 or that of a kid you know \u2013 for a chance to be featured in a future Q&A. Or you can write to: Ask Dr. Universe Washington State University ITB 2013B Pullman, WA 99164<\/p>\n
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This kind of graph is called a scatter plot. It has a red regression line on it to show the overall trend\u2014or big-picture pattern. This scatter plot shows that teenagers are more likely to drop out in states where some people have a lot of money and others have very little, even when they all work hard. \u00a9The Spirit Level, Wilkinson & Pickett, Penguin 2009<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dr. Universe: Why Do People Drop Out Of School? \u2014 Edgar, 11, Virginia \u00a0 Dear Edgar, I like…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216180,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-216179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}