Should children be required to attend school past the age of sixteen?

Of course the obvious answer is "Yes".   Staying in school opens many doors to the future of their education which will open up many other doors to their future possibilities.  At sixteen you are still learning, developing your personality to be a competent individual in society.  

Unfortunately, there are so many children that do not have the same opportunities as other children do.   From poverty to lack of parental guidance, there are children who at times has to fend for themselves.

1.   Parent(s)/caregiver may not have the ability to care for a teen. 

2.   Troubled teen (drugs, gangs, prostitution, criminal activities)

3.   Disabilities

4.   Pregnancy

5.   Teen has to take care of themselves (and/or siblings)

6.   There may not be any good role models to share the importance  

      of education

7.   Bullying

8.   Sexual orientation (not accepted by parents/school)

9.   And many more....



Where do I go from here?



How can we keep teens in school?     Parents need to communicate with their teens.   Parents need to show how concerned they are to their teen and their future development.   There are many great support groups for teens and their parents (school, community centers, churches etc.).  Parents & schools should be communicating on a regular basis instead of the parents waiting for the teens report card when it may be too late. If a teen has no support at home or is homeless, then society needs to reach out to the teen by having visible resources that are confidential so the teen feels comfortable in receiving help.   So as you can see, many teens have so much to deal with environmentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally that we need to find funding to promote proper education.

http://www.parentingteens.com/index/Troubled+Teens