Should school attendance be voluntary? [ENDS 03/04/2011]

[kuzkasate]

You'd be amazed at how many people that are now famous, loaded with cash, were actually quite frankly stupid in school. They failed at everything, but still managed to turn their life around.

But in my opinion, school attendance should be voluntary, but not for all. There are loads of people that, lets put it simply, cba with school. They go on, torment the teachers & pupils, waste and ruin others education time, cause trouble and do not achieve anything, these people should be given a choice whether to come in or not, so there are no excuses for acting like a complete ****.

[GommeInc]

You'd be amazed at how many people that are now famous, loaded with cash, were actually quite frankly stupid in school. They failed at everything, but still managed to turn their life around.

But in my opinion, school attendance should be voluntary, but not for all. There are loads of people that, lets put it simply, cba with school. They go on, torment the teachers & pupils, waste and ruin others education time, cause trouble and do not achieve anything, these people should be given a choice whether to come in or not, so there are no excuses for acting like a complete ****.

But not all people who hate school go on to do great things - many regret dropping out. Quite a few homeless men and women who dropped out when they were young didn't and do not amount to anything and lived in the "poor house". Saying it should be voluntary for some and not others is impossible, some children do not know what they want to be while others do. I think if a child hates school, then maybe the school can do something to tackle that - work experience at an early age, maybe?

[AgnesIO]

You'd be amazed at how many people that are now famous, loaded with cash, were actually quite frankly stupid in school. They failed at everything, but still managed to turn their life around.

But in my opinion, school attendance should be voluntary, but not for all. There are loads of people that, lets put it simply, cba with school. They go on, torment the teachers & pupils, waste and ruin others education time, cause trouble and do not achieve anything, these people should be given a choice whether to come in or not, so there are no excuses for acting like a complete ****.

You are right, two of the biggest men in the world (Alan Sugar and Richard Branson) left with no GCSEs (or O Levels), however, they are in a tiny minority. I think it was Bill Gates who said "don't bully the nerds, you will work for them some day" - or something like that. The majority of people who succeed in the world of work, are those with a decent IQ

[GommeInc]

You are right, two of the biggest men in the world (Alan Sugar and Richard Branson) left with no GCSEs (or O Levels), however, they are in a tiny minority. I think it was Bill Gates who said "don't bully the nerds, you will work for them some day" - or something like that. The majority of people who succeed in the world of work, are those with a decent IQ

Exactly. Perhaps what could work is a change in the education system to accomodate different minds? Obviously keep traditional methods, but focus on pupil potential. Some may be completely hopeless with theory and academia, but be brilliant in creative thought and practical work. Education shouldn't just be about books, it should be about discovering a young persons potential too.

[Hayleigh]

You can get a paper round at 14. You can get a special license to work if you're under 16 if you're performing or playing national sport etc.

I just think that everyone should go to school 'till the same time because tbh if you leave early not achieving anywhere near your potential eventually you will regret it. Nontheless if school was made voluntary i'd still go. Also it's much more annoying when say your in maths and your watching everyone outside running round having fun in pe. Which relates to being in school and others out having a fun time/having lie-ins/doing as they please IMO kkkkty

[Conservative,]

I just think that everyone should go to school 'till the same time because tbh if you leave early not achieving anywhere near your potential eventually you will regret it. Nontheless if school was made voluntary i'd still go. Also it's much more annoying when say your in maths and your watching everyone outside running round having fun in pe. Which relates to being in school and others out having a fun time/having lie-ins/doing as they please IMO kkkkty

Some people just don't belong in school though. Because the people in my class - most of them have the IQ of a...well lets not go there, and they hate school. All they do is disrupt it. I'd rather have peaceful classes where only those that WANT to learn, can.

[Hayleigh]

Some people just don't belong in school though. Because the people in my class - most of them have the IQ of a...well lets not go there, and they hate school. All they do is disrupt it. I'd rather have peaceful classes where only those that WANT to learn, can.

Then that's a matter of splitting up classes Im not saying I agree with me having to stay in school till im 18 (im current year 9) and I agree with you that after 16 you should be allowed to drop out but I think anytime before that it should be compulsary.

[Jordy]

You are right, two of the biggest men in the world (Alan Sugar and Richard Branson) left with no GCSEs (or O Levels), however, they are in a tiny minority. I think it was Bill Gates who said "don't bully the nerds, you will work for them some day" - or something like that. The majority of people who succeed in the world of work, are those with a decent IQ

This is true but like you point out it's a tiny majority so hardly worth pointing out. The vast majority who drop-out don't amount to much. And that quote is regularly attributed to Bill Gates incorrectly, he's never said such a thing

Some people just don't belong in school though. Because the people in my class - most of them have the IQ of a...well lets not go there, and they hate school. All they do is disrupt it. I'd rather have peaceful classes where only those that WANT to learn, can.

Hmm well I think this is where "sets" should come in and possibly bringing back the good ol' grammar schools. Classes should depend on ability from Year 7 if you ask me.

Up to a certain age or ability, yes. However I think it's stupid to keep people on (as the previous Government decided) until they're 18, when some people clearly HATE school.

Education is obviously a necessity and people in some countries would DIE for education. However, it is not worth the money or time or effort if someone is being forced to go there and just disrupt it.

My view is, school should be compulsory up to a certain standard - ie; you are tested yearly with a few exams that are the minimum standard (so you're fluent in english, can solve basic mathematics problems etc.) then you can leave - for some people that may be 12, for some that may be 18. However there should also be an age limit, ie; if you don't pass the test by age 16, you can go anyway.

To me, that seems fair. It's hardly fair to let a kid with 1 GCSE leave at 16, and a 12 year old of the same standard be forced to go to school for another 4 years.

Also, I think schools should be ability classed, not age, that way those who constantly fail "the test" could be helped while those who pass it can extend their knowledge.

My opinion is probably controversial but I hate the fact that stupid (sorry couldn't think of a better word) 16 year olds are allowed to leave when very intelligent 12/13/14 year olds aren't.

The new law about staying on until 18 doesn't mean you necessarily have to stay on at school/college. For instance you can do vocational courses at 16 (and sometimes before), and the new law allows for you to do apprenticeships and training till your 18. I'm not actually opposed to forcing people to stay in education or training till 18.

It most certainly shouldn't be voluntary. How can we be expected to compete with other nations if we have people dropping out before 16? I'd advocate more classes to be decided on ability, much heavier focus on academic subjects till 14 and then allow people to go their own way, whether they choose to do academic subjects or vocational courses, just as long as they're learning something till they're 18

It should also be noted that whilst a lot of the things you learn at school are useless in later life, it's showing whether you can understand concepts and how successful of a student you are.

[Conservative,]

This is true but like you point out it's a tiny majority so hardly worth pointing out. The vast majority who drop-out don't amount to much. And that quote is regularly attributed to Bill Gates incorrectly, he's never said such a thing

Hmm well I think this is where "sets" should come in and possibly bringing back the good ol' grammar schools. Classes should depend on ability from Year 7 if you ask me.

The new law about staying on until 18 doesn't mean you necessarily have to stay on at school/college. For instance you can do vocational courses at 16 (and sometimes before), and the new law allows for you to do apprenticeships and training till your 18. I'm not actually opposed to forcing people to stay in education or training till 18.

It most certainly shouldn't be voluntary. How can we be expected to compete with other nations if we have people dropping out before 16? I'd advocate more classes to be decided on ability, much heavier focus on academic subjects till 14 and then allow people to go their own way, whether they choose to do academic subjects or vocational courses, just as long as they're learning something till they're 18

It should also be noted that whilst a lot of the things you learn at school are useless in later life, it's showing whether you can understand concepts and how successful of a student you are.

You could possibly do what China do and Russia did (not sure if they still do) and do a series of tests on children at a very young age (3/4 years old) which then basically says what they'll be good at. It tests everything (physical ability, academic ability, creative skills etc.) and then they could be given heavier focus on what they're good at.

[Eoin247]

I think it should, but you should have to go a certain amount of days compulsory.
Some things in maths and science are just pointless for me to know, I will not need to know why x = 4 I mean cmon im going to need to go to asda and buy x amount of potatos.
School itself isn't pointless, it gives you skills you'll need for life, but only a certain amount of it should be compulsory.

First sentance is a bit contradictory there. Maths developes your mind and teaches you to think, even if most of the stuff you learn is useless the actual subject isn't

You'd be amazed at how many people that are now famous, loaded with cash, were actually quite frankly stupid in school. They failed at everything, but still managed to turn their life around.

But in my opinion, school attendance should be voluntary, but not for all. There are loads of people that, lets put it simply, cba with school. They go on, torment the teachers & pupils, waste and ruin others education time, cause trouble and do not achieve anything, these people should be given a choice whether to come in or not, so there are no excuses for acting like a complete ****.

These people usualy get expelled, so they end up not going anyway.

You could possibly do what China do and Russia did (not sure if they still do) and do a series of tests on children at a very young age (3/4 years old) which then basically says what they'll be good at. It tests everything (physical ability, academic ability, creative skills etc.) and then they could be given heavier focus on what they're good at.

It is widely known now that people change hugely in their first twenty years of life mentally. People develop and change mindsets vastly during these ages. So taking a test at 3/4 years of age is very unreliable. Sure some people who are good at maths at 3 may still be good at maths at 15. Likewise however, a guy in my class was top of the class in our early maths years. However now he's 17 and he's very average, in fact he's struggling to stay in the class he's in.