Happy Sunday, friends! How about another English Essay? As I mentioned last week and the week before, I have been asked by several people to share the essays I wrote for my Eng 101 class. Now that class is over (and I made a 98%!) I feel comfortable in sharing my work.

This assignment was a Proposal Essay! This one was our FINAL! We weren’t given the topic in advance & we only had 2 hours to plan and write our essay.

My score: 96/100

A Proposal to Reduce the Number of High School Dropouts

a proposal essay by: Bunny Cates
copyright: May 06, 2014
Plagiarism is shitty, do your own work!

A young woman waits in a crowded office patiently for her turn in the interview room. As she waits, she goes over the interview in her mind. She knows she has all the right answers, and is more than qualified for this position. For as long as she can remember, working in a daycare has been her dream. She has spent the last five years babysitting. She has taken all of the community child care classes that are available. She has gotten herself certified in CPR. She donates her time at the local shelter caring for children in need. Today is the day she has worked for. Her name is called and she enters the interview room with confidence. She smiles as she answers all of the interviewer’s questions. The man on the other side of the desk smiles back. When he finally stands and holds out his hand offering to shake hers, she is certain she has gotten the job. As they shake hands, he thanks her for coming in and clears his throat. He continues on to inform her that even though she is everything they are looking for, he cannot hire her. He explains that a diploma is a requirement the company has for all employees, including the childcare staff. She smiles as she thanks him for his time. She leaves knowing that this is another job lost because she dropped out of high school. She also knows this will be another month on welfare. She realizes that the chances of employment without a diploma are few and far between.

The above scenario isn’t just a work of fiction. People who are high school dropouts are passed over for jobs every day. It doesn’t matter if the candidates have years of life experience. Some company policy, written by some staff member who will never meet the applicant, will dictate who is given the position. Now more than ever, we need to find a way to convince our children to stay in school until they graduate. The best way to do so is by offering graduates a tax credit.

For years we have watched our government misuse funds by spending the funds on programs that do not benefit our society. We see and hear constant complaints about the management of our welfare system. Additionally, we see more of our youth having to enter the welfare system due to the difficulty of finding employment after dropping out of high school. Why not redirect some of those misused funds and invest in our children’s futures by offering a tax credit for graduates?

Offering a tax credit for graduates reinvests government funding back into the community. The promise of receiving free money will entice students who are considering dropping out of school to stay in and earn their diploma. Those who stay in high school and earn a diploma will more easily find employment. Graduates being able to find work will keep them out of the welfare system. Investing in graduates via tax credit will lessen the burden on the welfare system. Therefore, it will not require additional funding rather a redirection of the funds already being used.

One popular alternate solution to keeping our children in school is withholding the dropout’s license until the age of 21. This solution sounds good in theory, however, it will further burden the already pinched welfare system. A person without a license will have a harder time locating employment due to the lack of transportation. The job pool is drastically reduced when the job hunter can only seek employment within walking distance. This will leave even fewer jobs available to the dropout, and thus increase the need for welfare. Admittedly, this solution could potentially lower the dropout rate by keeping those in school who wish to obtain a driver’s license, but more than likely will just further burden an already over abused welfare system.

Providing high school graduates a tax credit will lower the dropout rate. Failing to find a way to keep these children in school only adds more stress to an already over stressed welfare system.  Ultimately, investing in a tax credit for graduates will cost initially, but it is only a fraction of what not investing burdens the welfare system.