Education is mandated through the 12th year of high school, it should be mandated through the next 4 years of college, because at a minimum most of the population graduate high school, this is part of the reason the economy, and our government is in the financial mess that the united states are in, if the education level would be increased to at least 4 years after high school, it would help decrease the poverty level, increase the national averages of wages that Americans make.
In the 17th century the first American school was opened. This was within the thirteen original colonies. The Boston Latin School was both the first and the oldest public school in the United States opening there doors in 1635. It did not take long before the Massachusetts Bay colony made proper education compulsory, with other New England colonies to follow suit:
… K-12 education represents the compulsory education required of all children in the US. Though a K-12 education can be attained from either publicly or privately funded institutions, children who have reached compulsory school age (ranging from age six to eight, depending on the state) are required by law to attend school. Compulsory education in the United States began over 150 years ago when Horace Mann established a statewide system of education in Massachusetts, which became the first state to pass school attendance laws in 1852. By 1918, children were required by law to receive an education in all states. (Beam, 2012)
Looking at the years that have passed between then and now, comparing the criteria of the education then versus now, they are not that much different. Yet evolution has taken hold of the economy. Evolution has taken hold and almost nothing is the same as it was over 150 years ago. Except the education level has not increased that much. The same basic Math and English that students needed to know then is almost the same as what the 12th grader needs to know to be able to graduate now.
“In 1980, Congress established the Department of Education as a Cabinet level agency. Today, ED operates programs that touch on every area and level of education. The Department’s elementary and secondary programs annually serve nearly 14,000 school districts and some 56 million students attending roughly 99,000 public schools and 34,000 private schools. Department programs also provide grant, loan, and work-study assistance to more than 15 million postsecondary students” (U.S. Department of Education, 2012).
This is a lot of students graduating at an undereducated level to have the proper survival skills to survive, and or thrive well in todays economy and or society. Higher education is the only answer. Mandating at least four more years of education after secondary education is the answer. Students start getting pressured during their secondary education levels, about what they want to do with there life, what do you want to become? Students at this age, get overwhelmed by this thought, postponing this decision and allowing the student to be a student, who is interested in sports, and other extra curricular activities will give the student time to later in life to focus on the over all scheme of life. This will also help give students more time to figure out exactly how they want to proceed with a career, instead of just having a job right out of high school. Most students make there way through the education system, graduate high school. Then they have no idea what they want to do in life. If the student continues to educated themselves they will thrive better. “Over their working lives, typical college graduates earn about 73% more than typical high school graduates, and those with advanced degrees earn two to three times as much as high school graduates” (Payea, 2005).
The reason America has such a high poverty level is due partly because of the education system. Once a student graduates high school, this is usually where the education stops. This puts the individual at a less