School District Superintendent Carlos Lopez, of York, Pa., intends to issue "undiplomas" to potential high school dropouts. The undiploma is a document resembling a high school diploma, but informs students of what they have to lose by dropping out of school.
Lopez feels the undiploma will make students take into consideration the inevitable results of their decision, such as the loss of earnings over the course of their lifetime due to the inability to secure high-wage jobs. However, what Lopez sees as an eye-opener for adolescents is more a message of spite and unnecessary childishness.
Schools should make more of a personal effort to prevent students from dropping out. Issuing an undiploma is impersonal and may give the impression that the schools do not care for the welfare of the students. Many may see the undiploma to be the school's final documentation of the students' abandonment of education, which can be detrimental to the mindset of the potential dropout.
A better way for schools to help wavering students is for a guidance counselor to meet with the potential dropouts. By doing this, there is an actual face associated with the desire to help the students find their way through school. With the undiplomas, there is a mechanical aura similar to the pink slips of major corporations, which give a sense that a single person is disposable since there are more than enough people to take that individual's place.
A guidance counselor provides a helping hand for those uncertain of their need for education. A friendly face and a willing adviser can do more to help discover the reasons why a student wants to drop out, and in that way provide the best help a student can get. By not projecting an air of authority and forcing a student to believe that dropping out of high school will lead to a life of failure, guidance counselors can help to see the problem at a more personal level. Students do not need a dictating document to brand them and say how their life is going to end up; moreover, there are no guarantees in life. A high school diploma, regardless of what Lopez believes, is not a guarantee of a rosy future; nor does dropping out of high school guarantee a useless and unproductive life.
However, no matter how convincing a counselor's argument is, the choice is still left to the student. Teachers, parents and even the media remind us how damaging a lack of education can be, yet they must remember that there may be uncontrollable aspects in students' lives that make dropping out the lesser of two evils. For example, many teenagers who become pregnant often opt to leave school to care for the coming baby. The father of the child may also decide to leave and find a way to help support the family for which he has taken responsibility. Family troubles could also be the cause for many to drop out of high school; many individuals believe it is their duty to aid their families if troubles arise, be it a death or financial concerns. Decisions to drop out, therefore, may be temporary, since these former students can complete their education when time permits by getting a GED and even making their way through college.
What the undiploma inadvertently does is imply that these students will never try to pick up their education. The assumption made when distributing the document is that every student who drops out of high school does not care about his or her education and that they are taking the easy way out. The undiploma will be a negative last memory of high school, and the arrogant notice will not lure past dropouts back to school.
The undiploma is a childish way for schools to battle dropouts. It is also contemptible to believe that students don't already know that dropping out of high school will hurt them in the long run.
Although it is commendable to see a high school pay attention to the students planning to leave prematurely, Lopez' undiploma is not the way to approach the situation. "Sometimes, you have to hit people right between the eyes that this is a life-altering decision," stated Lopez. The last thing a potential dropout needs is an authority figure attacking him or her and claiming his or her failure in high school will translate to failure in life.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
