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Dropping out of school

Should we force kids to finish 12th grade?


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Kal'Stang

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Should the ability to drop out of high school be allowed? Or should we start forcing students to attend school until they pass 12th grade? (note: this only applies to 17 and younger as adults should be making their own choices)

Personally I think that we should force them to continue through 12th grade. It is pretty much a requirement in this day and age that people have at least a 12th grade education just to get a job slightly above minimum wage.
 
I think so (not to your headline question, but to the question in your post), but I think we need to pay more attention to what skill sets and information we give 15-16 year olds so they can stand a better chance, so that if they do drop-out, we aren't completely ​dropping the ball with these kids.
 
We don't force them now- at least not in this part of the country.

And no, we shouldn't force them at all. Some kids just aren't going to make the grade, no matter how long you make them stay in high school. That being said, I think it would be great to have more of what we used to call trade schools, where kids who aren't scholastically inclined can learn some useful skills for working a real job.
 
I agree that it's in their best interest to stay until the end of their HS time. But then again, when you force them to stay, they can be disruptive and that would negatively impact the kids who are there to learn. So I can't really say yes or no.
 
Should the ability to drop out of high school be allowed? Or should we start forcing students to attend school until they pass 12th grade? (note: this only applies to 17 and younger as adults should be making their own choices)

Personally I think that we should force them to continue through 12th grade. It is pretty much a requirement in this day and age that people have at least a 12th grade education just to get a job slightly above minimum wage.

Kids should be allowed to drop out of formal schooling at age 16. However, they are first required to find a two year apprentice ship like how Germany does it before they are allowed to leave.
 
Some states require a minor to attend school unless they have graduated. Once they reach 18 the choice becomes theirs to remain in school if they have not already graduated. I personally feel the age in these states should be lowered to 16 I mean we allow them at 16 to put the publics safety at risk but they do not have the maturity to make other decisions for themselves? Seems kinda odd to me.

Edit to add- I think our entire education system should be reformed. I believe if done correctly a person would already have most of the skills they need to function in society by age 16 and should already be in career/interest specific courses (college) at that age.
 
Yes I think we should. I also think we should start giving technical school options once you reach high school. But to answer your question, yes I do.
 
Should the ability to drop out of high school be allowed? Or should we start forcing students to attend school until they pass 12th grade? (note: this only applies to 17 and younger as adults should be making their own choices)

Personally I think that we should force them to continue through 12th grade. It is pretty much a requirement in this day and age that people have at least a 12th grade education just to get a job slightly above minimum wage.

I like it the way it is. Compulsory until age 16. Nothing worse for people who want to learn than to fill seats with people who are just there to waste time or act out.
 
We don't force them now- at least not in this part of the country.

And no, we shouldn't force them at all. Some kids just aren't going to make the grade, no matter how long you make them stay in high school. That being said, I think it would be great to have more of what we used to call trade schools, where kids who aren't scholastically inclined can learn some useful skills for working a real job.

Kids should be allowed to drop out of formal schooling at age 16. However, they are first required to find a two year apprentice ship like how Germany does it before they are allowed to leave.

I like the idea of an apprenticeship at a trade schoool. If they attempt to drop out. Perhaps give them the choice of either dropping out and going to a trade school or finishing high school.
 
I like the idea of an apprenticeship at a trade schoool. If they attempt to drop out. Perhaps give them the choice of either dropping out and going to a trade school or finishing high school.

I would make it a requirement to drop out that you've already been accepted to a two year trade school. Otherwise, you are required to stay in school. It's not a choice, if you want to drop out, you must get a formal acceptance. I think it would do real wonders for lots of kids who are simply not cut out for schooling at the same time not leaving them without skills. Maggie and Lizzie are right that kids who don't want to be there don't help anyone, but at the same time we cannot just let them drop out without any skills.
 
We don't force them now- at least not in this part of the country.

And no, we shouldn't force them at all. Some kids just aren't going to make the grade, no matter how long you make them stay in high school. That being said, I think it would be great to have more of what we used to call trade schools, where kids who aren't scholastically inclined can learn some useful skills for working a real job.

:agree: Many high schools used to routinely offer that option. I don't know how many still do, but everyone is not interested in college, and we still need what I call "trade" people - those roofers, carpenters, electricians, car mechanics. etc. A degree in Theatre Arts is not going to be much help if your garage door refuses to open. :mrgreen:

Greetings, lizzie. :2wave:
 
That tended (and still is) a problem for drop-outs. You ended up finding out about 30 years ago that a lot of drop-outs had just missed out on a large chunk of vocational skills and finance awareness by a year or two. You'd load all (or much) of that in a student's final two years of education, and then you'd find out that these kids couldn't keep a job, hadn't grabbed one, weren't knowledgeable for getting an apartment, etc.
 
:agree: Many high schools used to routinely offer that option. I don't know how many still do, but everyone is not interested in college, and we still need what I call "trade" people - those roofers, carpenters, electricians, car mechanics. etc. A degree in Theatre Arts is not going to be much help if your garage door refuses to open. :mrgreen:

Greetings, lizzie. :2wave:
Heck, even at my age, and being college educated, I am seriously considering learning a trade myself. I just need to find someone willing to let me be his apprentice. :mrgreen:
 
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everyone should have to at least finish high school with some rare exceptions.
 
Should the ability to drop out of high school be allowed? Or should we start forcing students to attend school until they pass 12th grade? (note: this only applies to 17 and younger as adults should be making their own choices)

Personally I think that we should force them to continue through 12th grade. It is pretty much a requirement in this day and age that people have at least a 12th grade education just to get a job slightly above minimum wage.

Umm - yes.

I think you're looking at dropping out in this way: Kid doesn't want to go to school anymore and drops out / Adult decides child doesn't need to go to school anymore and drops out. . . and both of these are done to do things like get married or whatever. No further education is expected or planned.

But in order to move or just transfer schools you must be able to drop out of one school system and enroll in the next.

And some drop out to enroll in private schools, be home schooled. ETC.

Setting arbitrary age-limits also holds back and anchors down children who are exceptionally advanced and don't need to stay in school until they're 18 - because they're advanced and it's just not necessary.
 
I like the idea of an apprenticeship at a trade schoool. If they attempt to drop out. Perhaps give them the choice of either dropping out and going to a trade school or finishing high school.

Greetings, Kal'Stang! :2wave: Long time no talk to you..

The thing that disturbs me is that Home Ec is no longer offered in many schools. We still need to eat - which sometimes requires cooking - and we should all know the basics of sewing in order to repair clothing...or make new. There is a great community need for these skills, and I see it as a problem coming up in the future. We're raising a generation of people who have never been taught how to do these things, and that's not good, IMO.
 
Eighteen-year-old youths can have the knowledge, empathy, and reasoning skills of a full-grown adult--but not the judgment skills. Giving them the freedom to screw themselves over for life is absurd.

Let's have the conversation about different kinds of education, such as trade schools, not whether they should be in school in the first place.
 
Heck, even at my age, and being college educated, I am seriously concerning learning a trade myself. I just need to find someone willing to let me be his apprentice. :mrgreen:

My mom at one time decided she wanted to learn how to reupholster furniture. She was an excellent seamstress, and she was unwilling to pay someone to do something she felt she could do. Darned if she didn't find an ad that a community center was offering to teach people for a very small charge. Veni Vidi Vici! She got so good at it that a friend of mine had her completely redo all the cushions and seats on his boat! She wanted to learn for herself, but she could have had quite a business if she had wanted to - but she didn't. She just wanted to know how, but us kids kept her busy reupholstering for us! I suspect she had days when she wondered why she ever wanted to learn in the first place! :lamo:
 
I have to agree with the others in this thread, if you want to drop out you have to be accepted for a trade or another option. Though I would not do it at any expense of the intellectual education and development of the knowledge economy.
 
Should the ability to drop out of high school be allowed? Or should we start forcing students to attend school until they pass 12th grade? (note: this only applies to 17 and younger as adults should be making their own choices)

Personally I think that we should force them to continue through 12th grade. It is pretty much a requirement in this day and age that people have at least a 12th grade education just to get a job slightly above minimum wage.
I think nobody should be considered a full citizen until they pass a test proving they learned what they were supposed to learn in the 12 years of normal education.
 
Should the ability to drop out of high school be allowed? Or should we start forcing students to attend school until they pass 12th grade? (note: this only applies to 17 and younger as adults should be making their own choices)

Personally I think that we should force them to continue through 12th grade. It is pretty much a requirement in this day and age that people have at least a 12th grade education just to get a job slightly above minimum wage.

If we're going to force them to attend then the indoctrination centers known as public schools need to be entirely revamped. I mean, making someone do something against their will while indoctrinating them at the same time is akin to police state tactics.
 
Yes I think we should. I also think we should start giving technical school options once you reach high school. But to answer your question, yes I do.

I mentioned this in another thread, but when I went to high school, we had two paths we were required to follow. We were either on the academic path, and had plans to go on to college, or we were on the technical path, and had plans to learn a skill for a job after high school. Our schedules had to reflect either one, or the other. There was no way around it.

I don't know if they still do it that way, but if not, it should be. Don't just throw kids to the wolves without them having some general idea of how to support themselves, or at least where they are going with their lives.
 
I mentioned this in another thread, but when I went to high school, we had two paths we were required to follow. We were either on the academic path, and had plans to go on to college, or we were on the technical path, and had plans to learn a skill for a job after high school. Our schedules had to reflect either one, or the other. There was no way around it.

I don't know if they still do it that way, but if not, it should be. Don't just throw kids to the wolves without them having some general idea of how to support themselves, or at least where they are going with their lives.

My school also offered a similar path. I think all schools should offer the same path.
 
If the schools can't be made safe and worthwhile for everyone (which let's face it, many are not), then forcing the kids to remain is just imprisonment. Schools, parents, and taxpayers in general should be more concerned with K-12 being tolerable and adequate enough that the kids will want to attend.
 
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