Intro Episode

There’s a lot of conversation about the dropout rate. The young man who shot me was a dropout. Other people that we see who did not finish high school, they dropped out. It puts all the onus on the students and does not take into account the actual experience that they had. Did they drop out or were they pushed out?

If I’m feeling oppressed constantly, through the violence, through the marginalization, and I decide not to engage in that entity anymore, is that me dropping out or is that me protecting myself? Is that me saying, 

“This is not made for me.”

Too often our students are pushed out. They’re pushed out through being overly disciplined, they’re pushed out because they never see a connection between them and the other adults in the building. They’re pushed out because they don’t see themselves in this educational system. It’s the difference between receiving an education that’s quality or receiving schooling. Many people won’t stick around for schooling.

There’s not a child born that doesn’t yearn to learn.