![]() ![]() ![]() At present, they are only tangentially so. If, in the long run, these institutions prove more costly, at least we would not confuse their mission with that of schools. Despite enforcement efforts, nearly 15 percent of the school-age children in our largest cities are almost permanently absent from school.Ĭommunities could use these savings to support institutions to deal with young people not in school. ![]() Sixth, the cost of enforcing compulsory education would be eliminated. Elementary teachers would no longer have to pass their failures on to junior high and high school. People would stop regarding them as way stations for adolescents and start thinking of them as institutions for educating America's youth.įifth, elementary schools would change because students would find out early they had better learn something or risk flunking out later. Parents could again read report cards and know if their children were making progress.įourth, public esteem for schools would increase. Third, grades would show what they are supposed to: how well a student is learning. Teachers could stop policing recalcitrant students and start educating. Second, students opposed to learning would not be able to pollute the educational atmosphere for those who want to learn. Young people who resist learning should stay away indeed, an end to compulsory schooling would require them to stay away. Schools are neither day-care centers nor indoor street corners. At the point when students could legally quit, most choose to remain since they know they are likely to be allowed to graduate whether they do acceptable work or not.Ībolition of archaic attendance laws would produce enormous dividends.įirst, it would alert everyone that school is a serious place where one goes to learn. Quite the contrary, these students know they will be passed from grade to grade until they are old enough to quit or until, as is more likely, they receive a high school diploma. Ask teachers if these students do any homework. Has not the noble experiment of a formal education for everyone failed? While we pay homage to the homily, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink," we have pretended it is not true in education.Īsk high school teachers if recalcitrant students learn anything of value. Without compulsory attendance, public schools would be freer to oust students whose academic or personal behavior undermines the educational mission of the institution. They can fail or dismiss students, knowing such students can attend public school. Unfortunately, compulsory attendance hampers the ability of public school officials to enforce legitimate educational and disciplinary policies and thereby make the education a good one. Most parents want a high school education for their children. There is no contradiction between the assertion that compulsory attendance has had little effect on the number of children attending school and the argument that repeal would be a positive step toward improving education. They found, too, that school systems have never effectively enforced such laws, usually because of the expense involved. William Landes and Lewis Solomon, economists, found little evidence that mandatory-attendance laws increased the number of children in school. Contrary to conventional belief, legislators enacted compulsory-attendance laws to legalize what already existed. ![]() The solution to this problem is simple: Abolish compulsory-attendance laws and allow only those who are committed to getting an education to attend. Such children have little desire to learn and are so antagonistic to school that neither they nor more highly motivated students receive the quality education that is the birthright of every American. One reason for the crisis is that present mandatory-attendance laws force many to attend school who have no wish to be there. So That Nobody Has To Go To School If They Don't Want ToĪ decline in standardized test scores is but the most recent indicator that American education is in trouble. “So That Nobody Has to Go to School If They Don't Want To.” The New York Times, 19 Dec. Writing Letters of Recommendation for Students. ![]()
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