Young people who drop out of high school are unlikely to have the minimum skills and credentials necessary to function in today's increasingly complex society and technological workplace.  The completion of high school is required for accessing post-secondary education and is a minimum requirement for most jobs.  High school dropouts are more likely than high school completers to be unemployed.  Additionally, a high school diploma leads to higher income and occupational status.  Interestingly, many youth who drop out of high school eventually earn a diploma or a GED. One study found that 63 percent of students who dropped out had earned a diploma or GED within eight years of the year they should have originally graduated.

Studies have found that young adults with low education and skill levels are more likely to live in poverty and to receive government assistance.  High school dropouts are likely to stay on public assistance longer than those with at least a high school degree.  Further, high school dropouts are more likely to become involved in crime.

The percentage of children in the United States who are Hispanic more than doubled between 1980 and 2004, from 9 percent to 19 percent, and is projected to increase to nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of the child population by 2020.  Sad to say, Hispanics have the highest dropout rates among high school students: Hispanics, 22.5 percent; blacks, 10.8 percent; whites, 6.0 percent; and Asians, 3.0 percent.

When I was a writer for a San Antonio newspaper some years ago I received a very disturbing letter from an irate reader.  The newspaper publisher asked me to reflect on the reader’s letter.

The reader referred to my writings as typical of a Klansman, Nazi, or Skinhead.  I don’t resort to that type of name-calling.  But when one speaks publicly, or writes for publication, such criticisms do come with the territory.

I was somewhat reluctant to reflect on the reader’s feelings about me. However, on the very day I received his letter, I was also invited by the Fort Worth Independent School District to speak to a group of high school students who were considered potential dropouts.  I agreed wholeheartedly, and my employer acquiesced in allowing me the necessary time.

I was informed that Metro Opportunity School, the facility of the district where potential dropouts and difficult to handle students are sent is located in my old neighborhood of El Norte (the North Side).  The neighborhood is predominantly Hispanic.  I was born and lived there for almost 48 years.  So it would be fair to say that I’m pretty well aware of what has gone on in my old neighborhood.  Having worked with the youths in my church for many years, I felt comfortable in the role I was about to take on - addressing the students at Metro School.

I was assigned to speak to two classes of more than 20 students.  My first impression of the first class, as with the second, was one of disbelief and concern.  I could not help noticing the large percentage of brown faces staring at me.  I began my presentation by asking them if they could remember their first day in school.  Most did.  The average age in the class was 16 to 17 years, which indicated that nine or 10 years had gone by since their first day in school.  I told them then that more than 50 years had gone by since my first day in school, and it seemed like only yesterday. Their feeling was mutual.  I then told them that time flies, and in a short while most of them would be out of school, working, married, and probably raising a family.

“Now,” I asked, “how many of you would like to have a job that pays you $15 an hour?”  All hands went up.  “How about owing a nice auto, nice home, nice clothes for you and your children?”  Again, all hands went up.

“Well kids,” I said, “if you are going to quit school, make bad grades, and not study hard to learn anything, your chances of having nice things range from slim to none.  You’ll probably end up living in a roach-infested apartment, or in a public-housing project.  The auto you’ll drive will be an old clunker.  The clothes you and your family will wear will more than likely be purchased at a garage sale, thrift store, or at a flea market.”

They were stunned.  I proceeded to tell them that I grew up in the Œ40s and Œ50s, when Hispanics were not allowed to cross North Main Street, two blocks from their school.  I then told them when Hispanics graduated and even went to college the only jobs available to us were at the packinghouses: killing cows, cutting their guts out, and sweeping cow manure.

“You are the future of Hispanics and this country, and you are doing a sorry job,” I went on.  “My parents were too busy trying to feed our family during those hard times to be concerned about my grades, but I didn’t give up.  Why are you?” I asked.

“Hey kids!  I make good money; I didn’t let the fools who quit school sway me one bit, even though I felt like giving up many times.  Life in this country is not too kind to dropouts,” I concluded.

As I ended my talk, I noticed that I had the attention of the students in both classes.  In a question-and-answer session that followed, most students wanted to know how long computer courses last, how much money I made per hour, and wondered if it was not too late for them to start with a computer program.

As I left the school, I felt that if I got just one student to change his or her mind about quitting school, then I had done my job.  If my approach was, as the irate reader from San Antonio stated, like that of a Klansman, Nazi, or Skinhead, so be it; that’s not important.  What is important is that I got their attention.

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