How Education Affects Poverty

Francia Encarnacion

Instructor: Leanna Brunner

 English 1150 Comp. 1

February 18, 2016

Education Affects Poverty Status

3, 030, 00 high school students dropped out of high school. Meaning that per week, 8,300 high school kids drop out (Statistic Brain). Education plays a key role in being successful and staying out of poverty. Many people that are in poverty do not have a college degree let alone a high school diploma. Not everyone that is in poverty is at fault for not having an education because some people were born in the cycle but many people had the opportunity to get an education. Not many jobs will let you work without a high school diploma that is why it is very important to get an education.

Kids and teens that are always food insecure and hungry at school will have a harder time focusing at school. According to (Poor Kids) “One in five children live in poverty or 16 million children is in poverty.” With kids having an empty stomach in the classrooms this causes them to not reach their full education potential which in the long run could affect them from graduating high school or even get a chance to go to college. “In the United States 21 million children received free or low cost school lunch (Poor Kids).” If more schools could have more programs in feeding breakfast in the morning or having snacks during the day to those that do not eat much at home or nothing at all then this could improve their academics at school.

In the United States  90% of jobs require a high school diploma meaning that only 10% would not  require one (Statistic Brain). If you do not graduate from high school then the likely hood of you being in poverty is much higher. According to (High School) “During the 2009-10 school year, 78.2% of high school students graduate on time, which is a substantial increase from 73.4% recorded in 2005-6.” Even though graduation rates have increased by almost 5% in five years, still about 22% of high school kids aren’t graduating. That’s almost one in every four high school students will not receive a high school diploma in the United States because they dropped out and gave up on their future.  It is very important to have a high school diploma because it decreases the chance of living below the poverty line. According to “(Family Homelessness Facts) 53% of homeless mothers do not have a high school diploma.” Finding a job without graduating high school is very difficult to anyone causing those single mothers to have a challenging time to support their children(s).

The absolute way to avoid poverty is by going to college. People who graduate just from college make more money than people who just graduate from high school. The odds of people who have a college degree to be in poverty are very slim. People with no high school diploma only make about $24,787. People with only a high school diploma make about $38,976 while people with a bachelor’s degree have an average income of $75,568 (Median Income). Going to college will have a great effect on people’s life because that could be what separates from them being in poverty to staying out of that poverty side. Anyone that has a chance should take the opportunity to attend college and then graduate because it will enhance their life.

One of the key factors determining if you live in poverty or not is your level of education. It all begins from when you are a child because if you are living in poverty and are always foods insecure then you have a much difficult time paying attention in class. Schools should have more programs to feed their kids in order to improve their academics and them staying in school. The next thing is if you do not have a high school diploma then you are at a higher risk in being below that poverty line. Many jobs require a high school diploma and with that you will have a harder time finding one. The last thing is if you graduate from college you will make more money than just graduate from high school. This drastically decreases your chances of being poor and you will be successful. In the end people will hire people with the most education and experience. If you do not attend school then you will have a low income level. Although many people are not at fault because they were born into being poor there is still a great number of people that have had an opportunity to avoid that.

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