Giving up on School: Student Dropouts and Teacher Burnouts

Students aren't just dropping out of school, they're dumping it. Teachers aren't just quitting, they're running. Each group may blame the other, but they're running from the same problems, not from each other. Both are victims of the alienation process that prevails in schools and is cultivated by conditions within the school, the community, and society at large.

The number of ex-students and ex-teachers is shocking, but even larger numbers remain behind, tuned out and burned out, feeling helpless and trapped within the system. They see themselves as powerless to improve their conditions. Before educators can hope to decrease the amount of "terminal frustration" among staff and students, they must first grasp the underlying problem itself. Giving Up on School provides them with the insight they need.

According to LeCompte and Dworkin, attempts to decrease dropouts and burnouts have failed because reformers have approached them as two distinct problems. The root causes are the same in each and "mandate an immediate and drastic reappraisal."