7,000 US High School students drop out every day one every 26 seconds

7,000 US High School Students 
Drop Out Every Day
One Every 26 Seconds
By Frosty Wooldridge
8-30-10
 
John Wayne said, "Life is tough; it's tougher if you're stupid!"
 
An incomprehensible 42 million Americans cannot read, write or perform simple math. Another 50 million Americans cannot read past the 4th grade level. (Source: National Right to Read Foundation)
 
The Foundation reported, "According to current estimates, the number of functionally illiterate adults is increasing by approximately two and one quarter million persons each year. This number includes nearly 1 million young people who drop out of school before graduation, 400,000 legal immigrants, 100,000 refugees, and 800,000 illegal immigrants, and 20 percent of all high school graduates. Eighty-four percent of the 23,000 people who took an exam for entry-level jobs at New York Telephone in 1988, failed."
 
NBC anchor Brian Williams reported that 1.2 million teens hit America's streets every June unable to read or write. Detroit, Michigan epitomizes this country's educational dilemma: 76 percent dropout/flunkout rate. Dozens of cities across the country suffer 50 to 60 percent dropout rates.
 
CNN reported on August 30, 2010, "7,000 American high school students drop out every day; one every 26 seconds."
 
Everywhere in America, we enjoy food-filled grocery stores, roads, homes and schools. In America, most cities function and the majority of people enjoy happy lives-or at least the opportunity to enjoy fulfilling lives.
 
Do you ever wonder why countries like Morocco, Pakistan, Mexico, Sudan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Congo-all third world countries-suffer human misery and failures on enormous scales? Why do 18 million third world citizens starve to death annually? (Source: World Health Organization) Why does India allow 1,000 children under 10 to die of dysentery, diarrhea and other water-borne diseases DAILY? (Source: www.populationmedia.org) Why have 12 million Mexicans illegally ventured northward into the United States and Canada seeking a better life? Why does Asia feature a $7 billion annual people-smuggling trade to Western countries? (Source: Forbes Magazine)
 
The one word that defines third world countries: mass illiteracy!
 
America faces a predicament more profound than anything ever in the 234 year history of this republic. A republic demands an educated populace. Without an educated citizenry, America cannot expect to remain a viable "people-driven" republic. Why? With continued mass illiteracy, a permanent underclass will become intractable. Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison and George Washington understood the need for education. The 'common man' makes a republic possible according to Thomas Jefferson. Without an 'educated' common man, our MOST extraordinary self-governing U.S. Constitution, only 234 years old, cannot and will not function much longer.
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