You are right, of course. The same idea was expressed pretty well in 1530:
"Learning inflicted upon weak minds does not improve them, and is frequently ruinous" (Guicciardini).
Agreed. Let them get out of prison and work, start earning money, and start getting a taste of reality.
I agree. And Kerry, if elected... (shudder)... will just make the next illogical step and allow everyone to go to college for "free".
In 20 years we'll see a report about college "drop out factories" and the crisis of an uneducated adult population over the age of 23.
Education only matters if you want it to. If it doesn't matter to you, then you need to stop wasting your time and get into the workforce.
In Sweden, you can go to school till you are sick of school thanks to the massive welfare state built around higher institutions of learning.
I disagree that drop outs are a good idea. How do we know if kids are dropping out because they can't learn or because of other issues?
As a teacher you are so right. Here in North Carolina, vocational schools do not exist because they believe that every child can learn and go to college. The problem is that in order to graduate students have to pass Algebra and many students take it 4 - 6 times before they can pass. Curriculum is watered down in order to promote the weak students. I know of special program students who can't read (a teacher reads their tests to them)who go on to college and receive special programs there. We need more vocational schools for those students who are good with their hands and not their minds. The mind comes later to many of them as they mature.
The world needs ditch diggers, too.