An issue that really concerned me was the fact that people drop out of school in a society where school is almost free and accessible to everyone . People in Africa have difficulty just staying alive and they dream about going to school to get an education, yet some people in the Western World can’t even manage to fulfil their societal duties of attending school.

According to a 2008 study in the newspaper ''Le Soleil'', 12% of Quebecers don't have their high school certificate even by the age of 30.1 This number is outrageous considering that we're living in a wealthy country where school is mandatory until the age of 16. In order to help teenagers and young adults stay in school, I think that it would be an excellent idea to identify what the goals are of people who drop out of school. Most of the time, the problem is that people are unsure of what they want to do in life and they have no goals. For example, I've created a list of 100 things I need to do before I die. This might sound odd, but it really gives you me a sense of purpose and a ''reason'' of living. In fact, by creating a list, you realize that you have plenty of things to do and accomplish before you kick the bucket. In my opinion, the lack of motivation is the main factor that influences students to drop out of school.

Another way of helping people to stay in school would be by promoting sports to students. Engaging in sports has been shown to decrease drop out rates because the discipline required to be a part of a team will apply to other aspects of a student’s life, such as school. The discipline learnt throughout sports will be transferred and applied in their studies as well. It was also proved that physical activity increases students’ concentration in their studies. It is not uncommon that students will become close and feel a sense of belonging to their school once they represent it in a sporting event. A lot of athletes will start having a feeling of pride and will want to defend the honour of their school while competing against others. That will also help them to stay in school and improve their academic results.


Having said that and being an athlete myself, I would like to be involved in this project by giving conferences to elementary and high school students about the positive effects sports have on school. I would also dedicate a portion of my conference to discuss motivation where I would try to motivate the kids and/or teenagers to give an incredible effort towards their studies. Finally, I would show them the statistics (from Statistics Canada) that states that the unemployment rate for people aged between 25 and 44 without a high school diploma was 12.2%, while for those whose highest level of education was high school, the percentage was lower (6.8%). I would finish my conference with this quote by Tom Bodett: “The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.” I would add on: ''Unlike a real test, there are no retakes in life. You’ve got one chance, so use all the eggs in your basket wisely and make something out of yourself that you would be proud of with no regrets''.

To conclude and as previously mentioned, my involvement towards my community would be to help teenagers and young adults stay in school by giving conferences about sports and motivation.