Hey teachers! Opinions on drop-out age?

Hey you teachers out there in 4042 land,
I've been reading about the controversy over raising the NC mandatory schooling age from 16 to 18 years old. At first I thought, how could anyone support dropping out of high school, but then I read the arguments about the disruptions that these non-committed student cause.

What do you teachers think? Should the mandatory school age stay at 16? Or be raised to 18? Why?

(Non-teacher opinions welcome too. )

 

Doesnt matter if the age is 12. Once a student has tuned out, there isnt going to be much that makes them work for it. You can force them to stay for the extra 2 years, but they are going to detract from the other students learning.

 

I had problems with the law being changed to require anybody under the age of 18 to stay in school or lose their license. I could see some hardship cases where that could create more hardship. IMO, the 16 year old student who wants or needs to drop out should be able to do so. However, before doing so, I think they should seek assistance from the school's guidance counselers (they still have them, don't they?) to make them aware of the difficulties without a HS diploma, help them with temporary employment ideas and thorough instruction on how to acquire a GED on their own timetable.

 

I was thinking it might be nice to have a module taught in high school, maybe math class, where the student learns to put together a budget.

The student would document how much everything costs for one month - rent, utilities, food, health insurance, gasoline, car payment, cable TV, computer connection, hair care, cosmetics & sundries, nights out partying, etc. Including pro-rated expenses like 1/12 of annual car insurance and 1/12 annual estimate of car parts and maintenance, 1/12 of annual estimate for clothing purchase & upkeep. (This "budget" would include everything to live as an independent adult - sponging off parents is not allowed.)

Further, the student would document the monthly take-home pay for the kinds of jobs that HS drop-outs can get.

And lastly, the student would write a short essay imaging what his or her life is like at 40 years old with no HS diploma and still working as a pizza parlor cook or at McDonalds.

This would be practical educational exercise that hopefully, would support good decisions.

 

That is an excellent idea, AL!! I would love to teach that eye-openning class! Seriously!

 

My 2 cents is NC Schools are driving some kids to drop out. There is SO much focus on college prep and tests. Some have the apptitude and passions for careers that require specialized training but not a four year degree (and society could not function without those people). Yet the schools are pretty much doing away with vocational education type programs.

 

i believe it is a disservice to many students to cut vocational ed out of the high school curriculum -- we have discussed this before in other threads that many of the folks who post here are successful small business owners w/o college degrees -- i believe the solution to keeping kids engaged and in school is to give them choices --- and i too believe we test kids to the point of their disinterest -- accountability is important however there should be a variety of ways to measure it just as there are a variety of learners in this world ---

 

That cirriculum (sp) is already taught in some schools. Junior Achievement is always looking for volunteers.

www.juniorachievement.net

If anyone would like more information, I can get you in touch with the right person.

 

I am at a high that adopted a "Freshman Curriculum" this year to go with our new Freshman Academy. We teach a class in homeroom once a month that teaches exactly what AL talked about. It is very beneficial if we can get the kids to take it seriously. Our class sizes are great, but our homerooms are WAYYY over crowded! I have 30 in my homeroom. It is very difficult to keep that many focused when your doing hands-on activities (searching the N&O for jobs, apts, etc).

As far as teh age goes, I have mixed feelings. I do see kids who don't want to be here a distraction to those who do want to be here. Thats not fair. BUT, legal "Adult age" is 18...you can't vote at 16 yet you can make a decision that shapes the rest of your life? As I said, I am torn!

 

Animal Lover and Clayton Sassy, you both have great ideas! I know Sassy is a teacher; AL, are you a teacher too?

I have always felt there should be some kind of consumer economics class for HS students. So many of them get into the real world and have no idea how credit works, what the impact is of various interest rates, how to budget their money, how much it costs not to have a budget and stick to it. I'm thinking of late fees, overlimit fees, overdraft charges, reconnect fees for utilities. All those things can cost a fortune, and many can be avoided with a little knowledge and a lot of self-discipline.

Kids who drop out of school relegate themselves to the lowest earning capacity, and therefore the highest risk for those problems. When you just make enough money to keep body and soul together, it doesn't take much of an emergency to start a domino effect, putting you behind the 8-ball for months or even years. As a bankruptcy attorney, many of my clients got into their situations in just that way, and continued to get in deeper until there was no way out except through the bankruptcy courts.

I think students should be encouraged to stay in school as long as possible, but requiring them to stay two more years will create more problems. Especially now, when the state is removing vocational ed from the high schools, what do they think, they are going to turn all kids into college material by changing a few laws?

 

Don't they at least have to get a parent's permission to drop out before they reach 18?

 

Nevermind my comment was ugly :evil:

 

All kids should not be able to "drop out". Take their driving privileges. What is wrong with parents that cant get a hold of their kids. ughhh.

Parents that let their kids drop out, teach them to be quitters. Just my opinion. Did anyone see in the news yesterday where the Gov. wants to offer kids to stay in school one more year after graduating, then give them an associated degree.

I LOVE THAT!!!
I may have to go find a link on it. WRAL.

 

first off no child should be made to stay in school if they are getting in trouble, my brother was an example of this. He was always in trouble and hated school, so my parents told him if he dropped out he had to go get his GED which he did, he now has a great job making good money. I think it all depends on the child and the parents on what is best for them not the state.

 

Absolutely! Kids are not all alike, and cookie cutter solutions are not the answer to every problem.

 

What were the consequences of him getting into trouble? Parents just told him to quit school.

I am sure he is a good person and maybe successful, but I just don't agree on giving up and letting a CHILD (yes, 16 is still a child) quit school. G E D or not.

I mean no disrespect to you or your brother. Just a different look at it.

 

So you would let your kids "drop out" because they get into trouble?

If they get into trouble, you work harder to get them through school. Even if you have to follow them around. Do some tough love. Something. Anything but let them quit. My opinion.

 

So many threads, so little time. Where does one begin?

What really drives my feelings on this is deciding on the age of majority. Is one an adult at age 18? Or 21? Or 16?

Please correct me if I am mistaken (as I'm sure someone will happily..lol) but I was under the impression that with parental permission, a 16 year old can quit school. Upon reaching age 18, they decide for themselves.


1. Students deserve the best education we can offer them. Whether it's vocationally oriented or college prep is immaterial. One thing upon which we can all agree is that the rapidly changing technology of today and tomorrow will require investment.

2. No child has the right to disrupt the learning of other children. If your child is incapable of restraining himself, alternatives for your child should be addressed.

3. We do, and should, demand the utmost from the education system: teachers, support staff, and administration, alike. At a minimum, they deserve our respect and admiration for doing what many of us can't or won't do. Our children deserve the best we can do for them, from helping with homework, reading, etc, to demanding the best from the educational system for them.

4. For some, quitting at age 16 is the terminus of education, except from the school of hard knocks. Students who have no desire to be in school and are disruptive to others should be allowed to quit, and pursue a GED. They should understand that their privileges, (driver's license, etc.) would be restricted until age 18.

5. I support accountability for teachers. I also feel that if we are going to hold teachers accountable, we should hold parents accountable. We do not. So, by default, we get to blame the education system for failing our children.

6. I have no faith that No Child Left Behind has done little more than require teachers to "teach the test." And that is just the ultimate extension of the old saw, "we do best, those things the boss checks." Fortunately, when I was in school, teachers taught what we needed to know, not just restricted to passing a test, but the biggest test of all..functioning well in life.

7. FWIW, the most immediate impact we can all have is to engage with our schools and the teachers to help them.

 

If #4 happens then you go to #2. Find an alternative. No QUITTING. That falls on the parents.

I agree with almost everything that you said.

No one said raising children is easy. When the kids get into trouble you DEAL WITH IT. You just don't say "well, little johnny cant behave and he wants to quit so just let him"

Let my kids skip, do drugs, get into trouble and watch the ***** come out of me. :evil:

I have a friend who has let a child quit. She was to lazy and just lets things roll. I don't understand why she wouldn't make her kids go and finish. They only had a year left. The kid was to busy with boys and smoking and the parent didn't even care to push her in another direction.

My kids will graduate and go to college, I made that known from day one of school. Said it many times since then......

There shouldn't be a quitting age, then the kids know they can quit when they get to that age. Correct?

 

That would be the only reason. NO I TAKE THAT BACK..... I would get 10 jobs to keep them in school if need be.