Everyone should stay at school until 18. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
It is said that all children should continue schooling until the age of eighteen. While this policy may prove to be beneficial to a certain extent, I hold the view that it is not fit for all.
To begin with, there are a number of apparent reasons for keeping school leaving age to eighteen. First, it is of paramount importance to equip youngsters with fundamental life skills and knowledge so that they can enter the workforce as highly-qualified candidates. Working at an early age, albeit providing valuable hands-on experience, is likely to deter kids from pursuing higher education. In fact, without the proper education and training, rarely could children under eighteen make right career decisions as well as possess appropriate skill sets to negotiate higher base salary. Moreover, teenage years are theoretical milestones of adolescents’ development in shaping their personality traits. Thus, only by staying in education under the guidance and orientation of adults could young people grasp moral behaviours and become law-abiding citizens.
On the other hand, I strongly believe that not all children are obliged to attend a school until eighteen. A notable exception is for those with poor academic performance. There are multiple cases of successful entrepreneurs who drop out of school, yet managed to establish a thriving business without any formal education background. In other words, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning. Some individuals would learn best through direct contacts with real life circumstances. In addition, gifted kids with special talents should be noticed and nurtured in a different training course to boost their innate ability to the fullest. For example, a girl bestowed with a great voice should spend time on practicing singing skills so that her talent can prosper instead of learning subjects which are not her forte.
In short, compulsory education until the age of eighteen is acceptable since children in teenage years still lack intellectual and emotional maturity. However, the essence of education is to tap into the potential in learners. Therefore, kids should be given the freedom to follow the most suitable learning path based on their individual style and inborn talents.
