Posted on 12/04/2016 7:36:12 AM PST by wintertime
Proposal:
Award any child ( regardless of age) an official high school diploma from his local high school if they score above a certain level on the SAT, ACT, or GED exams.
Why?
1) If the purpose of compulsory education laws is to produce literate and numerate citizens then scoring above a certain level on the SAT, ACT, or GED is proof of that.
2) Fewer students in school will reduce the number of teachers needed. This means fewer salaries, pensions, and benefits that must be paid by the taxpayers. It may even mean closing down and selling some schools and property.
3) It reduces the amount of time the student spends being influenced and indoctrinated by Marxist trained teachers.
4) The young person can start post-high school training and/or college and begin his career years sooner. Increasing the years working can literally mean hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars more earned over a lifetime. The state certainly will benefit from the tax dollars collected and the young person can benefit from a better standard of living and a more secure retirement.
4)) There are advantages to having an official high school diploma when applying for college loans and scholarships, or when applying to enlist in the military.
5) The more time a person spends working in the real world of a free economy the more likely his is to understand and appreciate conservative principles.
I agree. I'd also lower the child labor age limit to 16.
Why 15? And how could they have a body of work other than taking the SAT ACT etc?
And that opening the testing opportunity to children of 13-14 will be extremely expensive. These tests have to be produced, administered, and scored. That costs money. Tax payer money.
We had a similar good experiences.
” Finding a company with the right fit and those future opportunities that also has the will and flexibility to advance people on merit alone will be the key.”
I still hire based on the theory of I am not looking for the best person, I am looking for the right person. That alone eliminates 99% of the ivy league grads who want to work for my company. The majority of them can read a book, but the minute you ask them to form an opinion of it their little brains explode.
In other words, “hard core kiddie prison
High school is merely soft kiddie prison.
But I recommend 15 because (and I have said this three times already on this thread, but I'm guessing you don't read what I actually write) people paying for college classes don't want to be in a classroom with too many 13-14 year olds. It changes the tenor, it changes what the teachers can teach... it would lead to problems.
I’m curious - did they take any of their college classes online?
BTW, I commend both your idea and your commitment.
However....Since they have graduated the youngest has taken several courses online. She is now applying for graduate school for an online masters in information data analysis ( whatever that is?)
It is so satisfying to have morally upright children who are contributing to their families and communities. It is one of life's greatest blessings.
Actually this is another case of the pot calling the kettle black. I read and responded to most of your posts when you generalized about the behavior of 13-14 year olds. You are outside your area of competence when you make blanket statements about all 13-14 year olds and about the documentation available for homeschoolers.
Thank you. I know you can appreciate both the effort involved and the joy that your children are able to make their way in life with honor and humility since your posts suggest you took similar pains with your children.
My 3 sons told me “Mom, no one else talks about honor, not the kids, the teachers, no one”. I told them, “but without honor nothing else matters.”
I don’t recall saying that I value having my child in a government school. That is a leap from what I said.
I DO value the socialization involved in High school, including classroom, athletics and band. I also value the concept of the social experience in college - and I don’t mean being a drunk.
That doesn’t suggest in any way that I disagree or disapprove of what your children did. Everyone does what is best for their children.
For an example of what you wrote, read the 5th or 6th-grade McGuffey’s Eclectic Reader. The vocabulary and content would be considered at least high-school level by today’s standards and most high schoolers would have trouble reading them let alone answer the questions following each lesson.
$35 to take the ACT and they are given at many sites. This is an option that would not be undertaken by many children without the support of their families. As Wintertime said these kids need to be transported to & from college. If they are not motivated they will not succeed. For those that are there are many steps to time the ACT/SAT test and arrange for the acceptance to colleges. We had to go and speak with the college’s admissions officer, Kelsey’s courses had to be registered through that counselor each semester until she was 17 and she was considered probationary. It would be very easy to weed out children who were not ready for the environment.
As in many cases things need to be decided on locally not by hard and fast rules that pretend that maturity is age dependent in any but the most general sense.
The normal curve of maturity confirms what we know from life, some 13 year olds are rock steady and some 23 year olds need a minder. No one was suggesting a mass exodus merely that kids who are ready have a path. Personally I think skipping high school entirely is the formula for success for any motivated & intellectually curious kid but it is a lot of work for the family & child and they have to be comfortable stretching the envelope.
“Current U.S. registration fees for SAT Subject tests are $26 per test date plus $18 for each test scheduled. (SAT Subject Language tests with listening are $26 for each test scheduled.) Current U.S. late fees are $28 for the SAT and $25 for the ACT. Standby testing is available for the ACT for an additional fee of $49.”
They go to a local testing center or test online. Parents pay, not the school district. What am I missing?
Others would prefer to move on. If they can prove they are literate and numerate then award them an official high school diploma so they can pursue post high school training, and/or college, apprenticeships, or safe forms of work that are appropriate for a youth.
Not a concentration camp. Not at all. Just a place where they can live out their ideas without bothering the rest of us.
I am able to generalize about the behavior of 13-14 year olds because I have dealt with over 2,000 of them. You think that your generalizations are more valid than mine because you have kids. I think not. Parents only see what their kids are like when they are around. Teachers see what they are like when you aren’t there.
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