Friday, November 13, 2009

Drop Out Now


The Daily News is outraged because NY State ranks last in passing GED rates. And for good reason. What sort of high school dropout are we aiming for? Shouldn't our high school dropouts do better than, say, dropouts from Mississippi? After all, when Bill Clinton ran for President, he was able to proudly declare that his state ranked only 49th. Yet we don't have that luxury.

Perhaps we need to develop a better class of dropout. The kind of dropout who can pass that GED exam. What we need to do is target our high-achieving students to start dropping out of school. They'll pass that test in a flash, and they won't even have to study for it.

So I'm asking you, New Yorkers, to make that sacrifice for your beloved state. If you're in high school, drop out. If you have kids in high school, urge them to drop out. Sure, they won't get into those hoity-toity colleges you had your eye on. But what's more important--the individual or the state? This is a sure-fire solution to the problem, and it's time we put an end to it once and for all.

The problem is particularly egregious in the city, so this is where we need to concentrate our efforts. To placate his good buddies at the Daily News editorial board, Mayor-for-life Bloomberg must focus his efforts. Perhaps it's time he got his buddy in billionairism, Bill Gates, to surreptitiously back another ad campaign. "Keep dropping out, New York." Perhaps he could even open a non-union, sweatshop-style charter GED training center for dropouts. He could pay the kids who pass the tests, just like he does in regular schools.

And anyone who disagrees--all I can say is you're clearly opposed to truth, justice, and the American Way.
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