Dropout Nation is part of a big CPB American Graduate initiative, fyi. I don't think there are any drastic changes going on, but part of what I heard last night is that the numbers are really hard to get, because different people count things differently, and districts try to keep the dropout numbers as low as possible.

I hab a code. And I think I won't go to work tomorrow. On the plus side, I did go to the Red Sox game, and it was fun! They had players from the 2004 team there, and we saw them outside, and one threw me a little baseball because I waved at him like a dork instead of screaming like other people were doing. We had a Moment. Good times.

I actually think the dropout rate (in real terms, whatever that means, whether it's kids enrolled in 9th who don't graduate or kids enrolled in 12th who don't) has probably decreased. Legislation now legally keeps kids in school longer (in CA it's until 18 not 16) and there are fewer blue collar jobs. Probably in the past 70 years it's gone down. Just not enough. (College grad rates have also gone up in that time frame, to over 25% which is still mindboggling that a college degree is still a minority).

I'm not in a good headspace today.

I think the definitions are part of the conundrum. OTOH, I heard that the rate of started-but-failed-to-graduate college has gone up in the US in comparison to the rest of the world. On NPR somewhere. Waving hands.

Kat, Hubby had the shockwave lithotripsy many years ago. It went easily, until the hospital we were in closed the recovery wing he was in without checking that there was anyone still in there. But he got a t-shirt out of it!

Yeah, unsurprisingly, dropout rates on the reservation are exponentially worse than the norm.

Kat, you have had a seriously shit month.

OK, this Tammy Taylor-clone totally moved one of her students into her house after he asked.

(in CA it's until 18 not 16)

Yeah, I was surprised to hear that.

I think the definitions are part of the conundrum. OTOH, I heard that the rate of started-but-failed-to-graduate college has gone up in the US in comparison to the rest of the world. On NPR somewhere. Waving hands.

Yes. this stat was on last week's TAL, but it is a standard stat in education. It's a bad situation that could be improved if colleges spent more time an effort on the problem. IMO.

Oh fuck. I bought a jumbo bag of cough drops this morning, but left most of them in the office. I can't decide if I should set my alarm for the morning or just try to sleep. Ugh.

...and totally the kid pulled a Riggins. Yeah.