School Attendance Should be Mandatory

   The news rumbled  -- not loudly, but it rumbled -- across the U.S. a week or so ago when one of Utah's most respected state legislators suggested we do away with compulsory education.
   Shock and awe. Would a state seriously consider doing this? Actually, I don't think Aaron Osmond could get it to pass, but even that he should suggest it is surprising. I remain with the majority in favoring mandatory education, for at least five reasons.
   One, If we have a non-compulsory system, I assume it means the parents will be doing the deciding for the younger children. The idea that the children will learn better if they are not compelled, then, is lost, for it is the parent who is not compelled. The child is still compelled, it is just that the parent is the one doing the compelling.
   Two, Those parents who choose to keep their children out of school will be depriving them of an education. The education benefits the child, but the parent will have the power to take that right away from them. Why punish the child for the negligence of the parent?
   Three, Some children benefit from the social worker aspects of going to school. Senator Osmond said schools often end up being social workers, and that is not what school is all about. I do not see how, thought, that is going to change just because you take the compulsory element out. Teachers and administrators will still be social workers for the children still attending.
   Four, If, though, the social worker aspect is to be lost, I believe that is a negative. Some parents are negligent. Some mistreat their children. If kept at home, the mistreatment would not as readily come to light. By sending them to school, it is more likely to be unveiled and the child cared for. That is a good thing.
   Five, Even though the have to go to school, children and youth can choose whether they will excel. It is their choice, to some degree. Rather than clipping some of them out of an education, instill in all of them a love of education. Once they are there, treat learning as a joy, and try to get them all to want to learn of their own choice. The students can be given greater leeway to choose what they will study. They can be given more choice in what courses they will pursue.