Good idea to let kids graduate with a 10th grade eduMAcation?

New Hampshire officials' plan to allow kids to graduate after completing 10th grade.

I was thinking about this and wondered what other's thoughts were.

MY daughter's in middle school, in advanced/gifted classes and gets tested twice a year (school year)... she's 11 years old and in 6th grade, however, she tests into a 9th grade level. 

At first I thought it was a good idea, but after some thought I wondered how she'd REALLY cope with something like that.  She may be ABLE to handle the course work, but I don't know if she would handle adult life as a college student at age 16 if she graduated highschool after 10th grade because kids that age are still VERY VERY immature. 

1)  Do you think allowing kids to graduate at age 16(ish)/after 10th grade is a good idea?

2)  Do you think they'd cope 'ok' in the adult world/real world if they graduated high school at 16(ish)?

I knew a kid who quit high school at 16, took his GED, and went to college and he isn't all messed up from it.  He lived at home, not on campus, and still had rules that a normal 16 year old would have.

I think it depends on the kid.  I can see where something like that could turn sour very quickly.

I've known several people that quit school early in order to get a head start on college.  The two that I can think of off the top of my head have been very successful (one well on his way to a PHD, and the other with a Masters degree working for a large international electronics company.)

Both continued to live at home through college, so basically it was no different than high school.  I don't think it is a good idea to send them away to a "dorm" situation at that age.  I was barely responsible enough at 18.  ;)

I think it is fine to graduate early.  There isn't really anything you're going to learn in those last couple years that you'll need if you're going into a trade.  If you're going on further in academia, you'll be retaught that stuff anyway as part of your Gen Ed.  If kids know what they want to do with their lives, I see no reason in holding them in teenage jail until a certain age.

I don't like it.  It's one thing to drop out and go back later for a GED.  It's another thing to actually let them graduate with a diploma after only 2 years of High School.  I'm gonna say nope.  Unless they are one of those gifted people who tested out of every class...you know, one of those Doogie Howser types.

People, we as a country already suck at education.  do we really want to go down that slippery slope of allowing them even less education than they are already getting?

I agree with peaches (*gasp*) on this one. 

The US is ranked 18th (by a UN study) for education. 

The top 5: South Korea, Japan, Finland, Canada, Australia.

The S.Korean system is intense. The kids go to school Mon-Sat. (only til noon on Sat.) and go to "academies" after public school (for extra English, math and science classes and music lessons). I see high school students dragging themselves home between 11p-12a. If they don't get a high enough scores on an English test, they can't go to university or can't go anywhere good. And here, going to one of the top 3 universities is a huge deal. The education system is extremely rigorous with a lot of nationwide testing (my 4th graders were complaining because last Saturday they had this huge Chinese test that is nationally administered--- Yes, my students under the age of 12 speak 3-4 languages already... though not fluently yet). 

That said... stress levels in Korea appear to be sky high- much worse than anything I've seen in the US. 

Original Post by alibsam:

I agree with peaches (*gasp*) on this one. 

 Holy rusted metal! 

Ali knows alot about education...bein' an edumacator and all, so I will take that as a compliment.

And yes, Ali.  we absolutely need to teach our children more languages.  It's silly that they don't even get offered the chance to do this (in most schools) untill middle or Junior high.

Disgraceful, I say!!

I think it's a great idea- it makes me want to move to New Hampshire!

I'm only a freshman right now, but all my classes (except gym) are either junior or senior level honors classes. I'm not looking forward to the next two years (I'm going to graduate early) because I know I'll be dead bored. This is my first and last year taking French in HS, because I'm already in the highest class.

In my opinion, this is a great step in letting kids who need a bigger challenge (or any challenge whatsoever) do what they need to do to find it.

I wish I could go to college NOW- I know where I want to go, I've visited the campus, know (basically) what I want to do with my life. I feel like I could handle it- it wouldnt be easy, sure, but I could deal.

Original Post by peaches0405:

Original Post by alibsam:

I agree with peaches (*gasp*) on this one. 

 Holy rusted metal! 

Ali knows alot about education...bein' an edumacator and all, so I will take that as a compliment.

And yes, Ali.  we absolutely need to teach our children more languages.  It's silly that they don't even get offered the chance to do this (in most schools) untill middle or Junior high.

Disgraceful, I say!!

I wouldn't say I know a lot... I'm just a lowly ESL teacher (with a psychology degree no less). 

It's even more than teaching our kids more languages. That should start in elementary school. But obviously the school system is too easy. We're so far behind in math and science. I just think the US education needs to be a bit more rigorous. Allowing kids to stop at grade 10 isn't going to help. It's obvious they need MORE education... not less. 

We need better teachers as well. Improve the education system by making classes harder (cover more material), making it HARDER to become a teacher. I'm sorry... these are the people responsible for 'educating the future' and I've encountered LOADS of lousy teachers just in my city... so I'm sure there are more across the US. There are so many people who become teachers because they 'think it's easy' and suck at teaching. 

As a Canadian, I'm a bit surprised that we're in the top 5. I think the way that schools teach second language here is a joke- either do it properly or stop screwing around. I've yet to meet anyone in public school who speaks French well without taking immersion (my school doesn't have it) or having a relative/friend who is fluent.

Oh, regarding 16 year olds...I agree that it definitely depends on the person.

Original Post by peaches0405:

People, we as a country already suck at education.  do we really want to go down that slippery slope of allowing them even less education than they are already getting?

Im totally with peaches.

Original Post by lovegrowsontrees:

As a Canadian, I'm a bit surprised that we're in the top 5. I think the way that schools teach second language here is a joke- either do it properly or stop screwing around. I've yet to meet anyone in public school who speaks French well without taking immersion (my school doesn't have it) or having a relative/friend who is fluent.

Oh, regarding 16 year olds...I agree that it definitely depends on the person.

I remember everyone hating French class...I only did well because my mom is French. It's hard to make kids learn something they hate. And then you get to high school where you only need one French credit, most likely they aren't going to take anymore classes of it after that.

I don't think they should take anymore years off of high school (they already got rid of OAC here, I'm not sure if there is/was an equivalent of that in the USA).

i'm in grade 12, and i'm still not ready to graduate and go to college. i don't even want to imagine myself in college after 10th grade.

i think that some kids could turn out alright education-wise, but there's no way any 15-16 year old kid should be in college or out in the real world. college is a big responsibility, and to be honest, those grade 10 kids would most likely be more interested in getting into college parties and "getting" college girls and guys than getting high marks and a good education. there's no way they're mature enough yet.

I let my daughters quit school as soon as they asked adn the state of az allowed (16) my eldest didn't quit til her senior year got her GED in a month - my youngest dropped out on her 16th birthday got her GED in a month as well and went to community college off and on.  She's 19 now and works full time.

Until the great depression of the 30's high school was only to 10th grade  (mostly just 8th) - the idea to add the extra years was to keep the unemployment rate lower and take the youngsters out of the job market so that men with families could possibly have a better chance to earn a living.

I think the stipulation is they have to attend a community college and get their general ed classes out of the way in the JR college and then be better prepared for a university - plus with the gen ed classes out of the way they will be ale to get a degree much quicker.  I personally love the idea.  Just think how much $$ can be saved in school districts if we aren't paying for the 2 years of basically wasted education time and put more of the responsibility on the kids and parents to  "learn" and not just socialize. 

I just did a search of high school on wikipedia and it appears most nations known for their educational superiority to the US consider "high school" optional and more "jr college" and university level prep also options in vocational or scholar type educations.

I think it depends on what the student wants to do with their life.  If they want to learn/apprentice a trade, it makes total sense to me to start doing that at 16.  But, really, that's a form of continuing education. 

For the bright students who simply aren't challenged, it would be better to offer *actual* advanced classes (rather the the so-called "advanced placement" classes which may be advanced relative to the regular stream but aren't advanced relative to what other countries teach) to keep them challenged.  Very very few 16 year olds are truly mature enough to handle university, no matter how smart they are.  (I say this knowing how poorly a few very-young geniuses were able to handle university life.  It's no fun for the rest of the class when the 12-year-old genius is acting up - and it's just plain dangerous having them in a chemistry lab.  Now, obviously, 16 year olds are generally more mature than 12 year olds - but there's a big jump from 16 to 18, and many 18-year olds find university to be a *big* adjustment.)

I don't think they should open up graduation at 16 or 10th grade to the general student population, but I see nothing wrong with gifted students moving on to college at that age. Very few public schools have the ability to educate the advanced students. There's nothing worse than sitting in a class full of people who are academically far behind you.

I think allowing it is a good idea (and it is already done here in Florida, by the way, at least for homeschoolers) but I really think it should be up to the child to decide, and not the guardian's. 

My mother wanted me to start college in January (I'm 15), and I starting taking a couple classes "off the record" at the local college, and it really was just too much.  If my mother had her way, I'd still be starting in January, but I can't imagine being happy in that environment.  I know I could do it, successfully, and probably without too much stress, but I don't think I would be happy.

Of course, I've been homeschooled my whole life, and I'm naturally pretty anti-social.  Even when I was younger met regularly with others in our homeschool group, I would still withdraw and refuse to see anyone for days at a time if there was too much interaction crammed together.  I get along alright at work and when I'm volunteering (which I do pretty regularly), and I do have time with my friends, but everyone who knows me will tell you that after a certain point, I need to be alone.  I think this may have been why college was such a struggle for me, because I really felt it was unnecessary, and therefore saw no reason to "suffer through the people".

On the whole, though, I really do believe this 8-hours-a-day five-days-a-week homework geared rat race crap (mini rant, lol) needs to stop, and if it can be ended at 16, all the better.  It's not like they're going to magically stop learning things once they're not locked in a classroom.

I have a friend who's 16 year old is attending college. I think if a child can test out of high school, they should attend college until they are 18 mandatory. After that it can be their choice. Why turn your child over to the sucky world of the work-force without better than a high school education? Or at the very least, they should attend a vocational school to prepare themselves for a better paying job than Mc Donald's or a checker at the supermarket.

Original Post by lynnlette:

I think allowing it is a good idea (and it is already done here in Florida, by the way, at least for homeschoolers) but I really think it should be up to the child to decide, and not the guardian's. 

My mother wanted me to start college in January (I'm 15), and I starting taking a couple classes "off the record" at the local college, and it really was just too much.  If my mother had her way, I'd still be starting in January, but I can't imagine being happy in that environment.  I know I could do it, successfully, and probably without too much stress, but I don't think I would be happy.

Of course, I've been homeschooled my whole life, and I'm naturally pretty anti-social.  Even when I was younger met regularly with others in our homeschool group, I would still withdraw and refuse to see anyone for days at a time if there was too much interaction crammed together.  I get along alright at work and when I'm volunteering (which I do pretty regularly), and I do have time with my friends, but everyone who knows me will tell you that after a certain point, I need to be alone.  I think this may have been why college was such a struggle for me, because I really felt it was unnecessary, and therefore saw no reason to "suffer through the people".

On the whole, though, I really do believe this 8-hours-a-day five-days-a-week homework geared rat race crap (mini rant, lol) needs to stop, and if it can be ended at 16, all the better.  It's not like they're going to magically stop learning things once they're not locked in a classroom.

 No, you wouldn't stop learning things..but you would possibly be learning things that you had no use for. Like, how to salt the fries just right,and that even after working somewhere for ages, and knowing the company inside out, someone with a college degree who has no real-world experience is going to be YOUR supervisor. And make more money.

That is the way the real world works.

I believe other countried are already set up like this and do fine. UK is the first one I can think of tho.

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/custo ms/questions/education.html

Tho reading this link they are trying to phase in making kids stay till 18.

My son took college classes at 16 as a part of his high school requirements. Junior and seniors can apply to take college classes to fulfill part of their high school requirements. They must be at least a B student. They can take up to 2 college classes per quarter.

My son's birthday is in late August and he was one of the youngest in his class. He graduated at the age of 17, with his 18th bday 3 months away. He had no trouble with the academics of the classes. He was/is far more mature than most kids his age and had no trouble fitting in. His professors knew he was part of the high school program, but didn't know his actual age until he told them. They all expressed awe in his ability to discuss the subjects with the much older college students.

I believe this program is something that should be available to all students across the US and I think that all schools should allow a student with proven academic abilities and the desire to graduate at 16, if they are going on to higher education. I think the higher education could also be a trade school if the student is so inclined.