In America or any other country do you beleive kids should be allowed to drop out of High School?

No, I don’t think kids should drop out, but I also don’t think it is entirely the kids’ fault they feel the need to stop going to school. Our education is suffering in this country not because the students don’t want to learn, but because the quality of education that they are receiving is dismal. You have these kids in the inner city who go to school to try to get a good education, but realize they are not. For whatever reason: the teachers are no good, the challenge isn’t there, other kids. And these kids (many of them) feel that their time would be better spent going to work and making some money to try to support their family. And the same thing happens in rural areas. Dad needs help on the ranch = screw sitting in this awful classroom, I’m going to work. I think that we first need to figure out how to get the kids interested in what they are learning. Once they sit through an interesting physics class and an inspiring English class, then they may change their minds about dropping out.

Don’t most, if not all states require school attendance
What’s the point of handcuffing them to the chair
You can not make someone learn; they have to come to the conclusion that learning has value. As les said, if they think their time is best spent elsewhere (though some have to leave school for bare survival reasons), mandatory means nothing.

Think of your own history of teachers. How many of them really inspired you to want to learn? As with any career, people can choose to teach for all the wrong reasons. I believe that teachers need to be held to some level of responsibility that relates performance to pay.

I agree with Les. Our education system in this country, overall, is dropping dramatically. The quality is not what it used to be and honestly, I don’t think dropping out compared to staying in school will be much different in the years to come. Even kids who stay in school aren’t doing well. Compared to other industrialized countries, our testing scores and overall knowledge are considerably less than other nations.

Maybe the kids will be convinced to stay in school when all of our leaders – from the teachers, to the leaders of our nation and all the way down to parents – actually convince kids that they’re worth it. Right now, the message is that their future doesn’t matter. And while the young people’s test scores are dropping, they are not so stupid to realize that they’re being given up on.

@ jvgr In many states it is legal for teens of the age 16 to drop out of school with parental consent. In all states( correct me if I am wrong) are allowed to legally drop out as they are adults. So yes to a certain point they are forced to go to school, but once they hit that certain age bam its out of our hands. But I do also believe that teachers should be held responsible in some aspects. Trust me I have had my fair share of low life teachers not there to teach you, or there to inspire you to learn.

@Drastic Dreamer I highly agree with what you are saying. I was put through a tough time in my earlier high school and even middle school days. At points it would have been easy to have just given up, because it indeed felt like I was being given up on. Not a lot of kids have that strong ambition to see past all of that and to except that they are indeed better then what they think. They do not have to be the people around them that are letting them down. Most just need the inspiration and guidance to go on, that is where teachers and counselors come in when the parents can not. And sometimes kids have to make them selves stronger on their own. It is not easy but it is a possibility.

if you drop out of school you automaticly drop into two years of military service. Any bullshit you become a custodian assitant at the school you dropped out of. Stay in school.

I’m with srtlhill. If you leave school early that’s fine with me
But you must go
Straight to 2 years of military or some type of civil service where it would in turn be their responsibility to make sure you get life training. If you jump shift you are shot in the back of the knee and forced to limp the remainder of your life.

I agree with jvgr. Of course, I hope that kids don’t become so unengaged in school that they want to drop out, but the thing is, forcing kids to stay in school isn’t going to do a damn thing if they don’t care about it. It’s very easy to sleepwalk through classes and not do any homework, and it amounts to dropping out even if they can’t legally do so. The only difference would be that they spend six hours of their day in the school building.

@Les – While I agree that teachers should inspire kids, you come off as though you’re blaming the teachers. There are some awful teachers out there, but there are some great ones whose hands are tied by awful systemic problems and who become jaded by the apparent lack of interest that students show (a lack of interest that comes from a lack of engaging schooling, which comes from the way the whole system is set up. It’s one hell of a vicious cycle).

@hobbes: My mom is a teacher and I hope to be a physics teacher in a couple years. I realize there are incredible teachers out there (probably more than there are bad ones), and I apologize if I sounded like I was blaming teachers only. What I do not agree with is the “teach to the test” mentality that, unfortunately for our teachers and students, does not allow for flexibility in the curriculum, thereby disillusioning the students and teachers alike.

No, and I don’t think college should be a “disiccion” [sic] either. 18 year olds do not yet have the life experience to decide that they don’t need to go to college. I believe it should be mandatory. No matter what path a person chooses to pursue in life, a college education is a beneficial experience.

I don’t appreciate parents who force their children into a certain life path, and I’m not encouraging that. If I have a child, I will allow her to choose her own interests, but no matter what they are, she’ll be going to college. She has a passion for ballet and wants to dance for the rest of her life? Fine with me. There are many 4-year colleges with a dance major.

Not only should kids not be allowed to drop out of high school; they should also not be allowed to not go to college.

Mandatory college?
Bit of a waste of time for the many who want to pursue a trade or other vocation.

I do not think kids should be forced to go to college. College is not for everyone, I learned that this past year. I do not like it or agree fully, but I am growing to understand that. There are other options out there for those who do not want to go. Although I think everyone should give it a shot, never know until you try. But to not finish high school is ridiculous to me.

@all: jvgr got 2 lurves, but I got 0? (Over the mandatory college issue.)

I think that college is a necessary life experience even if the knowledge accumulated during the time period is not relevant for a trade or other vocation one wishes to pursue. If one wishes to pursue a “trade or other vocation,” he/she should attend college first and then pursue that goal. Why not major in business, in that situation? Whatever the vocation, a business degree could come in handy. But even if not, it’s the experience of college I consider a necessity.

education is shown to be one of the strongest factor in bettering people’s life (economically and mentally).

but there are also many reasons why someone would drop out of school. for example there are many kids that are maginalized by teachers. one of my friends dropped out because she was very outspoken and the teachers didnt like that. they wanted her to be one of the sheep, so she gave them the big “fuck you” and left. she is exteamly smart and has gone on to do quite well for herself.

my point is there are many factors that go into dropping out. i do think that education should be free though, so the kids who do want to go can.