Should high school be abolished?

-Should kids head for college when they're 15 or 16? Some experts think so, and some kids agree. They argue that the last two years of high school just keep students in a holding pattern.



The idea isn't as crazy as it might sound. For many young people, high school is little more than a holding pen. Teenagers mature physically earlier than they did a century ago, while cars and the Internet have given them far more independence than their predecessors.



Yet most high schools continue to treat their students like children. Segregated from the rest of society, students turn obsessively toward each other, forming cliques and agonizing over who is most popular or beautiful or cool. High school wasn't always considered a mandatory rite of passage. As recently as 1940, less than 50% of the adult population had gone beyond the eighth grade.



Those who are ready should go to college. Teenagers who don't care for university life, or want to delay it, could take apprenticeships, engage in public service, or attend vocational schools.Yes.High school is necessary, and it's definitely not mandatory for everyone to go, there are alternatives, such as home schooling and online schooling. Think about what you knew leaving grade 8 for a second, do you honestly think you can get into university/college and succeed with such a mediocre understanding of mathematics, sciences, and humanities? Kids need High school to realize where they want to go in life. It gives an accurate representation of what they should expect if they choose to pursue a career in their chosen field.
I think high school shouldn't be mandatory. If you are looking to head to college, then sure, stay in school. But, I think once kids are 16, they should have a choice. Back when I was in high school, I could have used those few years of real-world experience, rather than learning calculus.
Only for kids whose parent(s) can't pay cash in advance.



We're sick of paying to educate minorities and trailer trash. They don't need high school to flip burgers or stock shelves.
I support your right to be illiterate, uneducated and unemployable.



Enjoy the life that this will give you.
Yes. HS is a waste of time. The kids that WANT to learn will already be intelligent enough for college by 13.
I took the Calculus,Chemistry, Physics and AP History and AP English. It wasn't a waste for me.
YES, it's liberal brainwash anyway
You don't sound as if you are ready for high school yet?
Sounds like you went to the wrong high school.
It is pretty much a FWOT. Or a TFWOT.
No, Middle School on the other hand...
its good and bad i would miss high school sports leaving 2 years early
Not abolished no. But it needs to be rehashed in a big way. In my experience, yes. Junior and senior year are essentially silly. Especially senior year. BUT It doesn't need to be that way. It SHOULD NOT be that way.



In my case, I was lucky. There was an act passed in Minnesota, where I grew up, that said if you have proved that you can hack it (B average or better through 10th grade), You can go to any State university, and they would pick up the tab. I graduated high school at a full blown Sophomore plus a semester in college.



That worked for me. Like I said. I was lucky. I lived close enough to a university to make tat work, and there was program in place. What would have been far better, is if my high school had actually taught challenging "college level" courses which, as you say, a lot of us could have handled just fine.



This is part of the reason the US is lagging behind in brain power. We don;t challenge our students, and we have an irrational fear of labeling people. We SHOULD figure out who the brains are, and focus on developing them further, earlier. We are very focused on making sure that slower learning kids can keep up. Emotionally that feels right. Indeed it is right to focus on those kids. But practically, it means that the smart kids are bored to tears, unchallenged, and essentially left to their own devices.



We should be graduating high school seniors with the basic skills needed to function in modern society. We are not. You can't make it on a public high school education alone, and you are not guaranteed the funds to continue.. That's sad, and it is self destructive.
Alright, but your argument is lacking in a few points:



1. There are no apprenticeships anymore. You're advocating an employment model that disappeared 90 years ago.



2. Public service doesn't pay anything. They'd still be unemployed and living in their parents homes. Furthermore, opportunities for public service -the "corps" groups- are rapidly being defunded by Tea Party Republicans who hate the idea of anyone doing public service.



3. Many vocational schools cost just as much as a state university. Furthermore, the complex machine tools used in many of today's vocational settings require a level of reading, math and analytical skill that exceeds what someone with a 6th grade education would be able to handle. My business requires that people be able to read and match specs on computer components and even though it sounds easy you'd be shocked how difficult that is for your average worker.