Why not end compulsory education?

[SayMyName]

Agreed. The time for compulsory education has passed. The harvest schedule that placed kids into schooling to provide educated workers for American industry and the military of the late 19 and early 20th century no longer applies. Now, so many rely on the local public school as more of an offspring depository during the daylight hours while they go about any business of theirs other than raising their children by multiple fathers.

You will find schools immediately improving once it is valued...and made a privilege.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

"Unfortunately, in this system, teachers rarely receive meaningful support or engagement from parents and occasionally face retaliation when they attempt to hold a child accountable for bad behavior or poor academic performance."

http://www.senatesite.com/home/compulsory-education/

A reader's comment to the article:

"As a recovering public school teacher, I can’t tell you how enthusiastically I endorse this proposal! Any honest teacher will have to admit that the learning of the entire class suffers from the distractions caused by the few students that don’t give a damn about their education and don’t want to be there.

As teachers, we can’t kick them out because the school needs the money, so, everyone is unhappy, the student who hates school, the teacher who has to try to control them, and the other students who have to wait for the teacher to deal with the disruptions. Everyone would be better off if those who hate being in school were allowed to leave and go out into the real world and realize they NEED education.

Compulsion kills incentive. The old Soviet Union’s economy PROVED that. Why do we think it will work in education?!"

Seems reasonable enough. Why not give it a try?

Because it isn’t ‘reasonable,’ it's short-sighted and ill-advised.

Because we’re an advanced, enlightened society.

Because children can’t be held accountable for the bad acts of their parents or guardians.

And because children lack the maturity and experience to make serious, life altering decisions on their own.