Customer Reviews

The Last Dropout: Stop the Epidemic!

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4 star:		(1)
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The book is easy to read and provides valuable information every community needs to implement a community driven program such as Communities In Schools. We must provide services to children of all ages in our community that are meaningful and life changing/guiding. This book leads the way. The five basics are, indeed, what every child needs and deserves. I compliment Mr. Milliken for placing a high priority on every child's future and then showing us how to do the same.

The dropout crisis, for me, tends to get lost in the sea of overwhelming social and political troubles that clamor for attention--but this book explains exactly why we need to bring it back into our focus, and lays out the human, economic, and social costs of letting millions of kids fall through the cracks. More importantly, it tells us exactly how any one of us can help rectify the conditions that foster such a high dropout rate and be part of turning the actual lives of actual young people around. And it's a good read. Milliken's warmth, compassion, and common sense inform every page.

I am in the business of trying to keep young people from dropping out of school and I think this is the best resources I've ever read to give concrete ideas and real hope for how the community can help schools keep kids in school. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in improving public education or building a better trained work force.

This book provides prescriptions for the curing our nation's dropout rate epidemic. I highly recommend this book for all educators, policy makers, and student advocates!

[[ASIN:1401919030 The Last Dropout: Stop the Epidemic!] is perhaps one of the most important books published in the last decade. Expecting the usual dry academic format, I was delighted to find this an easy flowing read filled with passion and common sense solutions to an epidemic too long ignored. I would recommend this be required reading for teachers in training, educators at all levels, business people, legislators and parents. "Today's youth is our ONLY next generation" and Milliken addresses protocols that are achievable within the next 5-10 years to wipeout this "killer of our youth".

This book deserves YOU to read it. If you didn't believe you could make a difference-now you should! If you didn't know how to make that difference - now you do! With compassion and aliveness in his words, Bill Milliken's The Last Dropout brings forth the triumphs and perils that laud championing for our youth. At times, I wanted to cry, at other times I laughed, but mostly I affirmed myself to do all I can when I can for our youth. This book is training, and yet a testament to the thousands of foot soldiers disguised as site coordinators, Graduation Coaches, counselors, teachers, and businessmen, who are out there working out those five basics and doing W.I.T. (Whatever It Takes) to help kids stay in school, successfully learn and prepare for life.

This book provides a glimpse at a 30 year movement to help change public schools in America. These simple but challenging principles can help transform communities and schools to not allow kids to continue to dropout of school. You not only get to understand a national organization's plan for change, but you get a glimpse into Bill Milliken's life journey. Fabulous book!!!!!

The Last Dropout by Bill Milliken takes the reader into the world of students and teachers in urban areas. It proposes a model for education that is cost-effective and practical because at its core is the fostering of good relationships rooted in respect for each other. Written in a style that keeps you turning the pages, this book offers urban educators some fresh perspectives on how to engage and motivate difficult to reach youth while also creating an environment that will be life-giving for them.

The first chapter sums it all up; it's not bad schools, but bad relationships in the kids' homes that create dropouts. My parents motivated me to prove my self worth by proving my intelligence. The problem is that in many schools, both in the cities and in the corn-states, schools allow greater emphasis on sports than academics (see the movie GO TIGERS as an example). There aren't enough Americans seeing the value of education, as opposed to rap and basketball.
There are solutions in this book. The author, and others, run programs that encourage kids to achieve. I say good for them. But what about the teachers? There are few people running caring programs, and a lot of exhausted teacher, therapists, and social workers. They're tired from the huge numbers of kids in the classrooms, uncooperative parents, revolving-door rosters, and angry kids.

BIRTH CONTROL is the answer to all our troubles. The author uses an example of a divorced woman with three kids, struggling to balance her job and family. But her daughter has trouble at school and mom doesn't have enough time to deal with it. Why did she have kids in the first place?

Woman need to start taking care of themselves and stop having kids by men who use them and break promises. Before having a child, ask yourself if you can really trust your man. Will he keep his promises? Will he work? Can he control his temper?