Well said.
I think and have always thought that high school age students should decide their education path, with parental involvement. I know I wouldn’t allow my own kids to quit school at 14 unless there was some serious underlying reason. And when parents are really involved, we wouldn’t see too many quitting school at 14 anyway. They can always go back to school when they come to their senses or find an area they’re interested in, etc.
This is one of the reasons I support tracks/levels.
When I was 14, I had no idea what I wanted to do and hated school other than the social part of school :) When I was 15, I knew what I didn’t want to be or do, thus school/learning became important to me.
There’s tons of classes in high and college that serve me little today, other than pure enjoyment or analytical thinking skills ;) And then there are those classes, like Geometry, that I thought were useless as a 14 yr old and realize just how important they are today.
I’m all for allowing kids (and their parents) to dictate their schooling. Hey, if a 14 yr old freshmen wants to drop out, let him/her. Legally. It’s up to the parents to guide that kid not to drop out. And even if the kid did drop out, could realize the importance of an education.
Did your parents or the government know what was best for you?
If we had a completely private system of universal K-12 education, parents, teachers, and principals would be deciding these matters in a private setting.