Advantages and Disadvantages of Compulsory Education and Its Importanc

Advantages and Disadvantages of Compulsory Education and Its Importanc Advantages and Disadvantages of Compulsory Education and Its Importance National University Sociology 100 Professor Jessica Skropranic March 3, 2013 Advantages and Disadvantages of Compulsory Education As of today, Compulsory education has become a huge impact to society in countless numbers of ways. People take what education has to offer, for granted, but even though people do, they should not take it for granted, but take advantage of this law given. With the help of compulsory education, there can be many helpful successes we can encounter such as well-organized people and a society that has improved and not only changed, for the better. Compulsory Education affects the lives of adults and children, but it will have its own advantages and disadvantages like the many things that we come across in life. There is a reason why compulsory education is still an ongoing development in our country today. Keeping the law will also create a better education that is fine tuned for children as the time goes by. But it will still have its own disadvantages as well. Before knowing the differences between the advantages and disadvantages, we first need to know and understand what Compulsory Education is and how it plays an enormous factor today in the United States. Compulsory Education was discovered back in 1852, by a man named Horace Mann. Horace took his time and persuaded the state of Massachusetts to create a system of education that required children in the country to attend school and become educated, whether it be home, public, or private school. In 1918, after 66 years after it has been established, every state in the country embraced the Compulsory Education law, and from then on, it still continues to have an influence in todays society as we speak. This law expresses the age for beginning school and how long a child is required to stay educated, within the confinements of school grounds. The National Conference of State Legislatures express the definition of Compulsory Education in Every state and territory requires children to enroll in public or private education or to be home-schooled. More than half32 statesrequire students to begin their education by age 6. Some states set their age requirements as low as age 5 and as high as age 8. All children are required to continue their education into their high school years, with 26 states setting the cutoff age at 16. (NCSL) Photo 1: Retrieved from chartsbin.com/view/xo6 Compulsory Education plays a tremendously important factor. It has become very effective when it comes to schooling. For example, an article on the Internet states, One additional year of compulsory schooling leads to 8% higher annual wages, and a 6% lower likelihood of not being employed in any given year. (CentrePiece) It serves as breakthrough to education in society and provides a greater learning experience for children in school. It also leads to many increased accomplishments for many childrens futures as of today. We dont necessarily need compulsory education, but without it, our society would be extremely different. Our nation wouldnt be as educated as we are today simply because Compulsory Education is particularly important for the matter of how we live our lives. Compulsory Education is one of the reasons why society is how it seems today. Photo 2: Retrieved from compulsoryeducation.wordpress.com Compulsory Education not only has its own disadvantages, but the stronger and more positive effect it has, are the advantages that this law offers. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Compulsory Education decreases, juvenile crime, teen pregnancy, and also the dropout rates for teenagers in high school nowadays. They mention this effect in To encourage more students to attend institutions of higher education and to decrease dropout rates, juvenile crime and teen pregnancy, some state legislatures have increased the school attendance requirement to age 17 or 18. (NCSL). Compulsory education supports this because teenagers and children across the country have these troubles and even though it decreases them, at some point it will not always have a good outcome to it. It depends on the schools and teachers. But this law still has an effect, and its effect is mostly keeping teenagers off of the streets from harm and to have them focus in school better. The reason why