Dropping out of school may

SCHOOL’S A DRAG and your grades are no good — so
what do you.do? Some students think that by dropping out
they can have a better stab at work and earning a living.

They think they can be forever
free of deadlines, assignments and
schedules. Or. they can avoid the
problems they have in school.

Well, not necessarily.“

- .. Unless you are a business genius
or independently wealthy, dropp-
ing out cf school could mean ear-
ning less money aad standig in

~ the unemployment fine.

It’s ali in the facts. People who
drop out earn less, change jobs
more often and find themselves

out of work more than those who |

graduate. .

It looks like the little certificate
you get after graduating IS worth
‘ the paper it’s printed on.

Employment . and Immigration -

Canada says. that a high schoul
: diploma will open the door to
“more than 70% of all-new jobs

created between now and the year .

1. °° “Most companies,--with tke

. possible exception of hard labor
jobs like construction, won’t even
Icok at your application unless
you have high school or some type

of a degree,’? say Employment

. and Immigration spokesmen.
‘..-The ‘drop-out: rate in B.C. is
said to be 37%, or 7% above the

By Barbara Black
News Reporter

national average. But in West
Vancouver it is only about 10%,
“We have a graduation rate of
.90%,”” up about 10% over the

“Iast two years, says West Van-

eouver School Board assistant su-
perintendent of programs and ser-
vices Bob Overgaard.

Thinking of dropping out of ©

school? Take a look at these stats
first:

©06 average, drop-outs will eara
25% less than classmates who
graduated. :

@Drop-outs tead to be
unemployed almost twice as often
as high schonl graduates.

- @64% of all new jobs czenied will

require at least 12-17 years of
education and training.

@A drop-out will earn
approximately $55 per week
less than a high school graduate.
If you work 50 weeks a year for
the next 30 years, that equals
$165,000 in lost earnings!

Overgaard. attributes it to a
revamping of the school system in
1987 so that schools offer a wider
variety of programs and career
preparation programs at the sec-
ondary level.

There is SWAP {Sentinel Work
Action Program), where students
who don’t work well in the
mainstream can work in a more
independent. setting and in con-
junction with iocal businesses to
earn their high school diploma.
And there are skill development
centres to help students with
learning problems.

North Vancouver, says second-
ary area counsellor Jay Méerilees,
has a similar program - at
Keithlyzn Alternate schoo! where
Grade 8 to 10. students follow 4
self-paced program.

Also, .at_ the Lucas Youth
Learning ‘Centre students aged 16
to 18 who aren’t finding the regu-
lar school program suitable can
“really get down to business”” and
finish their high school.

“One reason kid: drop cut,’’
says Merilees,: “‘is that they lose
touch with the meaning of school.
with its relevance.’’ But the school
board is addressing this problem
by linking: kids up with the
business community and _ letting
students know that teachers care
that they stay in school. :

"Smoking policy is inconsistent

AT. THE beginning of ‘this school
year, the. North. Vancouver’

- “District: 44° School Board (NVSB)
” instituted ‘a: total ‘smoking ban in

(pe Brounds..°

*: Contributing Writer -..
' Now you can’t smoke, because
the school trustees said ‘‘the

their.” buildings: and on their

ree

-.. school district had a responsibility
-. to try to prevent the initiation and

continuation © of the’: smoking
_ habit.” -- - we :
“= The school district -believes it
- has the right to infringe upon stu-
- ‘dents (who can purchase cigarettes
at 16) and their choice of whether
to smoke. Whether it is inside or
outside, that is not the issue.

The NVSB reasons that, since
smoking is unhealthy, -it_ should
not be allowed on school grounds.

Where was their tremendous
sense of social responsibility when
they rejected condom machines in
school washrooms? —

Last summer there was a heated
debate over condom machines.
Various interest groups par-

ticipated: concerned - parents,
members of the clergy,
staff, and students. oe :
After much: discussion’.’and
many letters to the editor of this
newspaper (for and against), the
NVSB decided against the condom
machines. “ co

.Why? They felt it was not the

school board’s responsibility to
provide a means to safe sex. Their.
role is to educate. .

Then educate! The hazards of
unsafe sex are more dangerous
than the hazards of smoking.
After pussyfooting around the
condom issue, they ban smoking.
Somehow this seems more than
education to me. It is a prohibi-
tion.

Where’s the consistency? If the
school district feels it has a re-
sponsibility to care for the welfare
of its students, where is their con-
cern when it comes to unsafe sex?

Everyone knows the hazards of
smoking: lung cancer, tongue
cancer, stunted growth, premature
aging, death, etc. ... yet people
still do it.

Almost everyone knows the
hazards of unsafe sex: unwanted

Last week we asked you if you
thought it was fair that seaiors at
Carson Grahara get to smoke. The
majority thought they should be
able to.

I think it’s fair because grade Lis
and 12s are more responsible than
the rest of the kids. I think it’s
totally fair. But if I went to Car-
son Graham Pd figist against it.

I think everybody should be able

NVSB

pregnancy, sexually transmitted
disease, including AIDS, death,
etc.-... yet peuple still do it.

And there, are a lot more young’
people out there engaging in sex
than there are those who are
smoking. © :
Smoking:.is quickly losing its
appeal. | ,

This is not the case with sex. It
happens. The numbers are grow-
ing constantly, as are the numbers
of North Vancouver youths tested
HIV positive: seven at last count.

Safe sex is a priority.

Schools figure they can educate
about health issues and actively
engage- in prohibitions. They tell
students what that can’t do. How
about telling the what they can
do?

No one can stop young people
from engaging in sex except
themselves. The least the school
board can do is provide the means
to keep it safe.

Ignore this issue, and the NVSB
is going to have more than seven
HIV-positive North Van youths
on their hands.

Today’s advice for the school
board: stop banning, try planning.

to. Bizir, grade 9, Argyle.

I think the grade ii and 12 stu-
dents should be able to smoke
because they’re legally stlowed to
buy them. And siso, if they want
to smoke it wastes all of the
teachers’ time to catch them if
they’re going to do it anyway.
Janice.

Forget it, no way. If they can

smoke we can smoke. No fair.

Has your school

helped you prepare

IDs

for a career?

980-

KAAAABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

not be a great idea

So rather than becoming a or even someone in the field
statistic, think twice before you you're interested in.

throw in the towel at school: Talk

You could save yourselfa lot of

to a counsellor or career advisor time and money. _

beyond high school”

WHEN I graduated, my friends
and I had a term for the future —
The Great Void.

Leaving high school feit like
stepping into a black pit of
unknowns. Many of us went to
university. simply because we had
no clue what else to do. Luckily
we had the marks to get in.

But the attrition rate was high.
Peeple who were ‘‘A’’ students in
high school dropped like flies.
Every time we met for.coffee and
cinnamon buns in the UBC cafe-
teria there was one less ex-Argyle
person,

Why? We weren’t very clear on ~

what our interests were, what
skills we wanted to develop and
what kind of jobs or careers we
were destined for.

Back in the bad old days,
preparing for the work world
didn’t. figure largely in the cur-
riculum. The real world was a sort

of abstract. entity existing some-. ':
halis of -

where wutside. the safe
high school. = ‘

But things- have changed. At
least for Sutherland Secondary
students. .

They will have ‘‘Choices.”*” And
hopefuily when they graduate they
won’t see a black void, but a
variety of possibilities for life
beyond high school. .

Bill Friesen, program directo
for cooperative. education at
Sutherland Secondary School, is

By Barbara. Black .

News Reporter

very optimistic about a new initia-.

tive at his‘school. - et
He: hopes it- will help students

make more informed educational

aad career decisions. = °. . :
The. program ‘is:for students in | -

Grade 10. They ‘will -use: .-
“‘Choices,’”’ a coinputer enhanced.

career decision-making program;. - -
to access what Frieseri describes as.

“‘a ‘tremendous. amount of infor-
mation”’ about careers. _

Then, on November 13 and-14
students will visit ‘a work site-— ..._
including the North Shore News °--

— to get a feeling for the working »
conditions, skills needed, job ‘ex- ”
pectations, salary expectations and.

- whatever else they think they need :

to know. Afterwards comes'a
worker - interview. questionnaire .

“and:an occupational work study...
Some: of. the occupations ‘stu-. | ~
_ dents will. get a look: at -include |

forestry, banking, architecture; in-...
terior design, television arts an

marketing. ~ ;
0? course; nothing is vritt

not to feel you -have: to stick:to
whatever career you picked. The
point is to enjoy the process-of .-
choosing one. ;
_ Now, where would I be if?..

West Vancouver Reergation Centre a0

CRAFT Soe)

Sunday, November [7

iam. - 4 p.m.
780 - 22nd Street
926-3266

Pottery
Weaving.
Jewellery

stone, Friesen says. The point. is