Free Republic

A genius New York teen was denied the opportunity to graduate high school early and earn his diploma to attend his dream college due to his age — despite being a full-time community college student. Michael Sweeney, a 14-year-old homeschooler, is on the verge of applying to Arizona State University to study mechanical engineering, but his dreams were dashed when Bethlehem Central School District denied his request to enter his senior year, the Times Union reported. The teen, who turns 15 in December, tried multiple times to get approval to graduate early but school officials claimed his homeschool plan didn’t...

1) Mandate high school graduation or equivalency as compulsory for everyone below the age of 21. Just as we established compulsory attendance to the age of 16 or 17 in the beginning of the 20th century, it is appropriate and critical to eradicate the idea of "dropping out" before achieving a diploma. To compete in the 21st century, all of our citizens, at minimum, need a high school education. 2) Establish high school graduation centers for students 19-21 years old to provide specialized instruction and counseling to all students in this older age group who would be more effectively addressed...

In 1837, Horace Mann became the first secretary of the State Board of Education for Massachusetts. According to most accounts, this event marks the beginning of the common school era.[1] Mann led the fight to institute common schools, and his influence extended from New England to America as a whole. There were several reasons reformers such as Mann wished to inculcate American youth in tuition-free public schools. One reason was to create a unique American culture and character that could be used to mold the large number of recent immigrants to our country in the reformer’s image. This would include...