STRAIGHT TALK GIVES POTENTIAL DROPOUTS INCENTIVE TO GRADUATE

It is usually best to hear straight talk from someone with experience. When it comes to telling potential high school dropouts what a mistake they would be making, a good person to hear from is Angela Battles.

Recently, Battles told students at the Alternative School in Cape Girardeau that they should make getting a high school diploma a top priority. Students who drop out because they want to earn money at a job realize quickly that their earning potential is limited.

It hasn't been easy for Battles to achieve her own goal of getting a high school diploma. Just 1 1/2 credits short of graduation in 1983, she dropped out when a medical condition kept her away from classes. She tired in 1991 to complete the work for her diploma, but a daughter's accident interrupted her effort. Finally, in 1994 Battles received her diploma from Cape Girardeau Central High School.

She has sage words for anyone without a diploma: "Whatever you want to do in life, that diploma is going to make it easier."

Now that she has achiever her goal of getting a diploma, Battles has set her sights even higher. She wants to develop typing and computer skills and hopes to be accepted at a business school.

The motivation, she says, is simple: It is all a matter of living up to one's potential. For Battles, it was obvious that the obstacles that kept her from getting a high school diploma also were roadblocks in reaching the level of achievement she knew she was capable of.

Battles's story is a positive one, one that bears retelling as often as necessary to motivate any adult, young or old, to set goals and stick to a steady course to achieve them.

Such inspiring stories are a welcome breath of fresh air in a time when so many negative aspects of today's educational system grabs too much of our attention.