High School Fee

I thought about the blog idea in a dream. I taught Algebra I and Economics at a local high school located in a poor urban neighborhood. The way I treated my students was they were responsible for their actions, their behavior, their attitudes, and their future successes. The students motivated themselves whether they want to learn in my classes. I didn't waste my time motivating students to "get with the program." The students were accountable for themselves. The students must experience being grown ups. Nobody is going to hold their hands.

If the students wanted to drop off and work full time earning money, I supported them and wish them the best of luck. Why waste time learning exponents and supply and demand charts when a student could work as an apprentice or start a business with the potential to make more money than a college graduate. A college degree doesn't guarantee a successful future. However, if a student wants help, then I help the student.

Getting to the point, lots of schools districts have budget problems—even during good economic times. Many districts have money problems to fund sports, extracurricular activities, textbooks, facilities maintenance, computers, staff, and much, much more. My solution is every high school student must pay a $100 yearly tuition fee. All the money must be used for non school administrative purposes and the parents have the right to know how the money is spent. The dropout rate can decrease because the parents are paying for their children to attend high school. The parents don't want the $100 to be wasted and the parents have a reason to motivate their children to stay in school if their children want to attend their classes. Governments can do so much to fund schools with tax dollars. The parents must step up and support their local school and show their children they care for their education.

If the parents can't afford the $100 fee, the children must work at school to earn $100 for the yearly fee. Work and earn. Two key words most high schools fail to teach their students. Kudos to parents teaching their children to work and to earn required for success in life.

I'm growing up Finding Raymond Mar