Thomas, yet again, found his thoughts very far from his teacher’s lecture on the Civil War. No matter what Thomas did, he could never focus for more than two strained minutes on any class. His grades had never been good — how could he do well on tests when he never absorbed the information? His mother and father both barely graduated from high school, so they were not particularly interested in Thomas’ education, which left Thomas with hardly any motivation to improve his learning strategy. He decided to replace his homework time with a job, because at least he could make some money with his employment. Thomas is a classic example of a potential high school dropout. With learning disabilities, unhelpful parents and a job, school becomes an impossible task.

Many students at Lawrence High School suffer from learning disabilities. Without adequate help in each class, these students find any type of class incredibly difficult. Without constant prodding and nudging to stay on task, minds wander and assignments remain blank. With these obstacles present, a student’s grades would inevitably slip, and mostly D’s or F’s would appear on grade cards. A failing student, who shows no signs of progress, like Thomas, may decide that school just is not for him, and drop out.

Another major problem associated with dropouts is the lack of parent motivation. If a parent does not check up on their child’s grades, or make sure they do their homework each night, the student would lack a key stimulus to their education. Also, many parents themselves may have not graduated from high school, therefore, the child would be more likely to take their parent’s life as an example and follow suit. Without the support from a parent or guardian, a student has the possibility of losing all his or her educational drive.

Finally, Lawrence, a college town, offers many high school jobs. Even with the drop of the economy, the hundreds of businesses make jobs more accessible. A student may land a minimum wage job and decide that their employment is much more beneficial than school. After all, work brings in a paycheck and the advantages of education mainly pay off in the far future, which is sometimes hard to see. Many students, like Thomas, would see much more value in their jobs than in school, and would find dropping out as an opportunity to make more money.

Though thousands of reasons may contribute to a student’s decision to drop out of high school, three main facts can be pinpointed as the largest problems. First of all, many students suffer from learning disabilities and simply cannot apply themselves to their full potential in a school setting. Secondly, many students come from households where education is not the number one priority; it becomes unimportant and sidelined. Finally, many students put in their hours at a job, and find schoolwork as an obstacle between them making money. While Thomas’ decision and similar choices made by other struggling students may not be good ones, they certainly are not surprising ones.