Independence is one of those privileges (or should we say freedoms) that middle and high school students long for as they grow older. As cocky and arrogant as teens are in those years, they are not truly ready to be on their own for good.
Some of us college students still aren't.
It's one of the reasons that Indiana legislators are looking at a bill that would require high school students to remain in school until they are 18, or else face other crippling privilege restrictions. Among those, work permit and driver's license denials. Under current law, students must stay in school until age 18, but they can leave as early as 16 with approval from parents and the school principal.
Merits behind this bill are certainly well-intentioned, but it may just be beating around the bush when it comes to solving Indiana's drop-out problem. Instead of trying to force teens into school, why is the state not trying to figure out why the students want out of the school?
Why has someone not asked, "What are we doing wrong?"
Indiana seems to have a dilemma of solving problems backwards. Perhaps that explains why the state was just awarded, or depending how you look at it, discredited, with an overall C-plus letter grade ranking for, go figure, a lack of planning ahead.
Critics of the bill argue that the estimated $20 million it will take to keep the extra students in school could not come at a fiscally worse time for Indiana. With that in mind, this may not be the smartest move for the state to make right now.
As Gov. Mitch Daniels argued in his state of the state address, "We have doubled the amount of money spent per child with scant improvement in the only thing that matters, the readiness of those children."
That readiness is indeed where we are failing.
Working to solve Indiana's budget crisis, Gov. Daniels stated that K-12 and post-secondary schools would have to manage with current levels of funding for the time being. "No less, but no more," he said.
Regardless of whether or not this bill passes, and the money it will take to help fund it, it is still necessary for the state to step back and review its education system from K through 12, and even beyond. Money should not prevent this from happening, if it really is the issue to begin with.
In the words of Gov. Daniels, "If money were the answer, this would no longer be a problem. "
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
