The following percentage of people in this program answered yes to each item below in the “What’s your excuse?” exercise:

 

“No one believes in me.”                                       59%

 

“I’m not smart enough.”                                        52%

 

“I’ve been in trouble with the law.”                   31%

 

“I have to take care of a parent or sibling.”   30%

 

“I come from a single-parent home.”               24%

 

“I had a serious illness.”                                        20%

 

“I’ve been abused.”                                                17%

 

“I come from a different culture.”                   16%

 

 

Related topic for discussion:

 

Something to think about: The old sales pitch for staying in school to graduate has changed from how much money you could make with a high school diploma to if you can get a job at all!  With the current employment crisis we need to look at your chances of getting hired at ALL!  People with a college degree are facing 5% unemployment, high school graduates 10% and non-high school diploma = 17%.  The payoff for some college will continue to grow over the next few years; by 2025 66.4% (2/3) of all jobs will require some college.  Big growth areas: biotech and robotics followed closely by research and education.  Moral of the story: Stay in school if you want a job!  Discuss among with an individual or in groups.