The Alabama legislature may consider raising the mandatory age students must attend school, according to a recent article in the
Alabama School Journal. The bill, sponsored by Senator Arthur Orr of Decatur, Ala., would raise the mandatory attendance age to 18. Students could no longer drop out of school at age 16, but could still drop out between 17 and 18 with written consent and a conference between school officials, parents, and the student involved.
The purpose of the bill is to reduce drop-out rates and increase graduation rates.
What do you think of this idea? Think about both sides. How do you think students can be encouraged to stay in school? Why do you think so many students drop out?
Remember to proof your responses very carefully. Often very good responses can not be posted because there are far too many grammatical and spelling errors (which your moderator can not correct for you).
Raising the mandatory attendence to 18 has its pros and cons. I don't think that the students that want to drop out when they're sixteen, but can't until they are eighteen, will really even try in school. I believe these students will just go through the motions. However, the students that actually try while they are in school may go ahead and graduate, since it would only take around one more semester to graduate. This would definitely help them get work even though it will still be very difficult to find work.
ReplyDeleteI don't really know if there is a way to encourage students that want to drop out to stay in school. If there is, it would be by showing them the poor quality of life that most high school drop outs have to endure. I think many students drop out because of the lack of a home life or they do not realize how important that it truly is to get an education. I really believe there is nothing the state can do to help the drop out rate in our school systems.
Ashley Yates
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Feb. 26, 2009
The Alabama legislature may consider raising the mandatory age students must attend school from sixteen years old to eighteen years old. Raising the age could greatly increase graduation rate and decrease drop-out rates. A sixteen year old is not as mature as an eighteen year old; therefore, if the age was raised students, being more mature, would make better choices and see the importance of staying in school. Also, by the age of eighteen, students are more likely to have a job and see how much a high school diploma can open up their job choices. These students would have more knowledge about the “real” world and see the benefits of getting a high school and, even, a college education, and they would see the importance of starting a career.
Students can be encouraged to stay in school in numerous ways. Many teenagers strive for their parent’s approval. If they are encouraged by their parents they will most likely stay in school. A student’s friends can also help encourage them to stay in school by their attitude toward their schoolwork. If their friends care about their schoolwork and stay in school they will most likely encourage that student to stay in school too.
There are many reasons why students drop-out of school. If the student’s parents don’t care or don’t set a standard for the student to live by the student is most likely not going to care either. Students may also drop-out because of peer pressure or because of drugs and gangs. Altogether, raising the mandatory age of school attendance would benefit the students. They will be more mature and less likely to drop-out because of their parents lack of approval or because of drugs.
Legislators, are you listening?
ReplyDeleteLaw makers are considering raising the mandatory attendance age to eighteen years old. This would be helpful in that it would reduce drop out rates and increase graduation rates. On the other hand, it would be unfair to the students that care about school and want to move on to college.
ReplyDeleteRaising the mandatory attendance age would benefit those who plan to drop out at sixteen years old because it would make them wait another year and maybe then they can make a more mature decision. For the students who plan to graduate, it would be unfair because they might have to stay in school longer on behalf of others decisions. If a student wants to drop out it is their decision and that should not be a factor because they are in control of their life and they can do what they want with it.
You can encourage students to stay in school by offering more hands on classes that are fun, interesting, and educational. You can also encourage student verbally but other than that it is their choice to stay in school.
I think many students drop out because they don’t have a good home life or any family influence. Their parents may not care and that would make them not care. They also might drop out because they can’t keep good grades or maybe they get made fun of and picked on a lot.
As teenagers we often group people into a certain category based on our opinion of who they are: smart kids, nerds, populars, normal people, druggies, drop outs, etc. One of these often ridiculous stereotypes is the drop out. The kid who does not think that they can finish, or makes a decision that places them in a circumstance where they simply cannot. Recently, there has been discussion of changing the drop out age from 16 to 18, where the student can also drop out with parental permission at age 17. This is a great idea for American students today as we are faced with numerous scenarios where more and more students continuously drop out every year.
ReplyDeleteIf there was a survey to be conducted on students who enjoy school vs. students who do not, it would more than likely display the simple fact that school is not the choice location for the majority of teenagers. However, school is currently our main daily activity, and we really do not have any choice in the matter of whether we go or not, up until a certain age. Some students are never going to be pleased, however, there are some students who simply see school as a boring burden that they have to endure for 12 plus years. One possible reason that students think this way is how their teachers portray their views on school. Five year olds are not the only ones who learn from example, and if the only view shown to students by school staff is discontent and aggravation then they will acquire the same attitude towards coming and applying themselves every day. We all have our off days, but if the teachers could even pretend to love what they do it would greatly affect some students’ opinion of school.
As teenagers we are just one big blob of mixed up hormones, crazy emotions, and attitudes to top it all off. We are our worst critic, and some students have such a negative opinion of themselves that they begin to believe that they are never going to finish school, so they throw in the towel. This is a sad fact that some teens have so little faith in themselves that they give up so quickly. Other teens get into situations where it is difficult for them to finish school as planned, such as a teen pregnancy or the death of parents where the oldest child has to take care of the younger ones. Some scenarios are not the fault of the student, but some are. Giving teens help and promoting school in a positive way would help the dropout rate decrease dramatically, and help give more students the chance for a good education.
The Alabama legislature may consider raising the mandatory age students must attend school to 18. I think this will help the number of students graduating go up. Why would you drop out if you only had about eighteen weeks left of school? Though some students have dropped out with that little amount of time before graduation, it will encourage those other students to keep trying.
ReplyDeleteIf someone wanted to drop out, that school could set up a meeting between that student and someone from the community who has dropped out of high school. The person from the community can tell the student why they dropped out, how their life was affected by it, and anything else they think might be important. This will get the student to understand the importance of school and their education. If that helps them to change their mind on dropping out, it might also encourage them to do better and maybe even try to get enrolled into a college.
The reason most kids drop out is because they are failing and they do not want to deal with the embarrassment of repeating the same grade over, or go to summer school, but they are too lazy to try harder so they do not have to feel like they need to drop out. Maybe they are failing and the classes are too hard for them and don’t want to tell a school counselor because they think they’ll get put in a special ed’s class and get made fun of for the rest of their life. Maybe their parents did the same thing, or they think the job they have flipping burgers or stocking the shelves is good enough, not thinking of how tired they’ll get of the same old boring thing. Maybe they are a pregnant teenage girl, lost and confused, and think that they’ll have to take care of their baby anyways, when their grandmother, mother, or some other person would be happy to take care of their baby while they are at school. They might be a drug addict and they would rather be at home getting high all day long.
Raising the mandatory age students must attend school to 18 will help the number of drop outs go down. The students by that time will be more mature and think more clearly about their decision. It will not guarantee that all students will decide to graduate, but it will raise the percentage.
I feel that if Legislators raise the mandatory school attendance age to 18 it will be both beneficial and harmful to students.
ReplyDeleteI know that at sixteen many students are tired of school and feel that they are wasting their time and could do more if they did not have to attend school but many times these students end up getting into trouble. I think that it can be harmful for the students to have too much free time and too many freedoms. What I am trying to say is that sometimes you find trouble because there is nothing else to do. At least if you are in school, you are learning, your mind is growing, developing, you are improving yourself. Even if you decide to drop out at 18 you will have completed more school and you are closer to being an adult.
It is also harmful when students drop out of school at sixteen because many of these students are unprepared to face the workforce. Many jobs will not hire someone who does not have a high school diploma or at least a GED. There are alot of jobs that you can not work at 16 but these jobs may hire you when you turn 18.
School prepares students with necessary skills needed to help them suceed. Those two years may ultimately make the difference in a student's success.
I don't really know if the Legislature raising the school dropout age from 16 to 18 will stop kids from droping out, but hopefully those two years will make a difference and many would be dropouts may decide to stay and complete school.
The Alabama legislature is considering raising the age limit to drop out. I believe that this is an excellent idea. The problem is that the kids will decide to not care about their grades, so they won't do anything. Kids drop out because they don't care about school, or they need to get jobs to support their family. Kids should be encouraged to stay in school because they need the education succeed in life.
ReplyDeleteIts my personal opinion that raising the mandatory attendance age is a good idea and should have been put into affect long ago. Illiteracy in America is a notable issue, as well as an easily avoided one.
ReplyDeleteTo be completely honest, at 16 students have a lot to learn. At that age however, the "I'm mature!" mindset overpowers logic and reality and students begin to believe they really know whats best and that opposition is clueless. Raising the age to 18 gives those students who think dropping out is a good idea at 16 a bit more time to mature and really think about what they're about to do to their life and what they've spend the last eleven years working for.
Also, as far as education goes, classes like government and economics that aren't take until a students senior year are absolutely necessary in order to educate the public on the current government system. I don't find it very wise to give people the power to vote who don't even understand the basics of the system and what they're voting really means.
Not to mention the current job situation in the nation...
So many people are complaining about not being able to find a good job, yet skip around the fact that, because they never got a full high school education, all they are qualified for is flipping burgers and taking orders. Beggars can't be choosers. If you want to be picky, then have a good excuse. "You owe me" is not an okay answer. The world doesn't owe you ANYTHING. If you want to succeed in life, you have to work hard. This includes school as well as career. Making kids stay in until 18 could possibly bring realization with maturity so that they see what it means to strive for something. If not, at least they aren't completely illiterate when unleashed to wreak havoc upon society.
The Alabama Legislature should decide to change the mandatory attendance age to 18; it has great potential for the student graduation percentage to increase dramatically. It could allow students to push themselves a little further than what they previously dealt with for the two more years in school they would not be forced to attend at the current age mandatory. With two years more the students might see how knowledge is plentiful and always needed in the future. These two extra years will most definitely help the student make plans for a future greater than the one of a drop out.
ReplyDeleteStudents will still drop out with the age 18 mandatory, should it be passed, and nothing we can do will stop it completely. A helping hand such as two years further in school could make or break many of the students who might wish to drop out. To increase knowledge and to fully understand how much more difficult the real world is than the high school the students are attending is crucial. All of this can be achieved with the new age 18 mandatory in place.
A student receives much of their drive from the home life they occupy. In many cases, parent to child participation is very vital to how much a student succeeds in school; moreover, life. If a student is not pushed at home to be an ambitious young individual at home, they certainly will not aspire to do so in school. This is one of the main reasons so many students drop out. Students have no back-up reinforcements at home; therefore, they feel that they’re not wanted to do well in school. Without support, students often fail tests. This could be on purpose from the in-active actions of the parents, or it may be from the student’s first initial motive,“ I cannot do this, my parent’s do not care.” The parent is often defaulted in position in these cases as not being involved enough. Though, sometimes it is completely on the student, even when they are pushed at home to excel in school. All we can do is to engage words of hope and encouragement as fellow friends, students, and teachers to push students further than they ever thought possible, until the slightest thought of dropping out is nothing but a daisy in the desert; nonexistent.
I believe that raising the mandatory attendance age would, in theory, work; however, I know that it would not work in practice. The law makers may raise the mandatory attendance age but they can't force the kids to do the work. I believe that the proposed bill would not work.
ReplyDeleteThink about it. Most drop outs have terrible grades, and it's usually not because they're dumb. They usually have terrible grades because they don't care. If the mandatory age is raised then the kids that would have dropped out when they were 16 will have to stay in school for 1-2 more years. Taxpayers money would be wasted on these people. They would be paying for a teen to receive an education that they don't even want. If the student doesn't want to be in school then they're just going to flunk out. Another thing is that most students drop out because their family makes them. In the more rural areas some students have to quit school and help out with the family business. Also, some students drop out because their family is going through a rough time and they have to help support it. I don't believe that this proposed bill is a good idea.
I believe that the proposed bill will not work. Even if the kids were forced to go to school longer, they couldn't be made to participate. The bill should not be passed.