Beauty School Dropouts

Imagine either Megon or me sitting in one of our respective high school classrooms. It’s a Monday and we’re there to observe an English teacher who is scheduled to give a lesson to, let’s say, 30 students in the 11^th grade (the final year of high school). But plans have changed. Instead of a lesson, it’s picture day. Not for the yearbook, but for graduation. It’s an important day for most students, especially the girls, who want to look their best for photos that will eventually be framed and hung on the cement walls of their parent’s homes forever.

As students wait in line, they look in the mirror checking for the slightest hair out of place or consulting their friends on which smile suits them best. The time and preparation put into these pictures is impressive. I remember just how important my senior pictures were to me too; my Parchment Panthers baseball jersey positioned just right, corduroys perfectly smoothed, hemp necklace centered exactly.

Sitting back in that Costa Rican classroom, we wonder, ‘How many of these students will actually graduate?’ Well, one day Megon and I wanted to find out so we had Ken, our friend and closest Peace Corps Volunteer, do some number crunching for us. Here’s what he came up with: According to his research, the graduation rate in Sarapiquí (our county) is a mere 17 percent. Statistics are better if you look at the country overall, with 34 percent of its student population graduating from both private and public schools.

So what does this mean for this hypothetical group of 11^th graders? Let’s imagine that when they entered high school there were about 60 of them. But over the years a lack of motivation and other factors have caused about half of them to drop out, leaving only the 30 in this room. So statistically speaking, if only 17 percent of that original class graduates, only 10 of these 30 will actually walk out the door with a diploma.

These numbers are alarming, especially for a country that prides itself on not having a military so it can spend money on more important things such as education. (Incase you’re wondering, the overall graduation rate in the U.S. is 87 percent.) So who’s to blame for the lack of diplomas? Ask teachers and they’ll likely blame students for being lazy or a disorganized school system. Ask students why and they’ll probably say school is just so boring and they’d rather be elsewhere. Ask principals and they’ll surely blame time and resources, and the lack thereof. But the reality here is that everybody is to blame.

The question we asked ourselves was, ‘What can we do as teachers to improve the graduation rate?’ Well, months ago Megon and I decided we should start a prep course for the English graduation exam called the Bachillerato, which is a set of exams covering each of the major subjects. Students must pass each exam in order to graduate. The English Bachillerato is a reading comprehension, multiple-choice exam that consists of 14 subjects, all of which are part of the 11^th grade curriculum. The questions can be challenging, especially for those students who have a limited English vocabulary.

We’re now four weeks into the nine-week course, and so far we’re seeing mixed results. We have 13 students, which is fewer than we were expecting, considering there’s an estimated 150 eleventh graders between my high school and Megon’s high school. But then again, the course isn’t for everybody. Yes, it’s for every student who wants to attend, and it’s free. But it’s a commitment – a 4-hour class offered every Saturday, starting from Sept. 3 and ending Oct. 29, one week before exam week begins. We give reading comprehension practice as homework and lots and lots of vocabulary to study. So that’s what I mean by ‘It’s not for everybody.’ We create materials thanks to the stacks of old Bachillerato exams one of our English teachers gave us. It allows us to teach actual vocabulary students will see on the exam and give practice tests that look like the real thing.

The other day I saw a picture on the Anchorage Daily News’ Web site that inspired me to write this blog. Hundreds of students gathered at Begich Middle School one day in a United Way-sponsored event to form the numbers 90 and 2020 with their bodies. The numbers stood for a goal to reach a 90 percent graduation rate by the year 2020 in the Anchorage School District. It’s a lofty goal but certainly achievable, I think. That picture made me think Megon and I should bring our camera to a Saturday class and ask our students what numbers they think are possible.