School Attendance Should Be Voluntary

Schools can and must do more to tackle issues like bullying, and students with learning difficulties. But the children affected by these issues are the ones who need more help, not less. In many cases just one good teacher or subject can change the way a student feels about school and learning. If we let children walk away at the first problems, many students who could have been happy at school will never get the chance.

The views of children do matter, but in many cases society is right to leave the decisions to others. Parents and teachers have a lot of experience of life after school, and they are far better placed to make decisions about the future. Many children simply can’t understand all of the consequences of their actions. This is exactly why we don’t punish them as severely as adults when they make mistakes. Children also change their minds and may make decisions they regret later.

Schools don’t just teach ‘information’, but try to give students a basic understanding of the world around them. How can students decide what subjects interest them if they don’t understand them? And even if students can find jobs when they are older, it is still important that they understand basic ideas about how society works, about their history or about basic science. Schooling creates well-rounded young people who understand their place in the society and the world. This won’t happen if students only learn what they need to get by.

It is easy to focus on famous people who left school early, because we have all heard of them. We never hear about the majority of people who quit school and then struggle for the rest of their lives. This is a far more likely outcome though. Also, in the modern world it is far harder to learn one skill and stay with that choice for a lifetime. People today change careers an average of four times in their lives. Children who learn a wider range of skills will have a better chance of moving between jobs when they are older than someone with just basic knowledge in one or a few areas.

Some people may live happily without schooling, but the Government also has to take care of those who cannot find jobs, or need help with things like housing or financial support. These services are expensive, and force everyone in society to pay more taxes. Therefore it is fair for the Government to try and avoid these costs by making schooling compulsory. Governments may force children to study at first, but in the long run they increase the choices of people – by giving them more skills and options for their lives.

Governments would find it impossible to decide how much to spend on schools each year if they didn’t know how many students would be attending. This could lead to more wasted money, or shortages if too few or too many students chose to go to school. Also, children cannot just be allowed to roam the streets by themselves all day. This means that some parents would have to leave their jobs in order to be with the children (which would harm them and the economy). Maybe the children would be forced to go to some other place for supervision. If this happens then they might as well be at school.