At the end of this school year, all students in the state will complete year 10 for the first time.
Early last year former premier Nathan Rees raised the school leaving age to 17. If a student wants to leave before then, they have to be in vocational training, an apprenticeship or paid employment for more than 25 hours per week.
But are they ready for the big bad world at that age? I don’t think so.
When I was at school, I had moments where I hated the academic side of life. I was all for sport, social clubs, extracurricular projects, and at least one subject: drama. If I had it my way in year 10, I would have loved to have left behind the lurking pressure of exams, boring maths classes I saw no point in, and conforming to rules I didn’t like. But I didn’t have it my way. In my family, not completing year 12 just wasn’t an option. And thank God for that. I ended up going on to university, where I learnt that I actually loved learning, and finally saw the point in sitting for exams, and appreciated the self-discipline I developed. And now, I am working hard in a career that I love. A career I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to fall into had I not have completed year 12.
A friend of mine is a manager for a plumbing business. He sees young apprentices coming through, desperate to get away from boring and constricting school classrooms and into a career they think is all about digging holes, laying pipes and hanging out with the boys.
Yesterday he told me he interviewed a 17-year-old for an apprenticeship position. The boy, eager as a beaver, enthusiastically beamed while he told his potential boss that he is passionate, keen, a fast learner, and all the other things his career advisor told him to say.
“Why do you want to leave school?” my friend asked. “Because I can’t handle the exams,” the boy said. Ba-baam. Wrong answer, mate.
“Why do you want to be a plumber?”.
“Because I like digging holes.” Strike two.
The interview only went, pardon the pun, further down the drain from there on, as the boy asked if he would actually have to touch poo. Ahem.
My friend has a rule that, although the positions do not require completion of year 12, he will only hire apprentices who have.
He reasoned that even if the blokes don’t do too well academically, they learn life skills like self-discipline, team work, handling the stress of having to do things you don’t want to do, and just getting on with the job. If they leave school before then, they’re showing that they’re quitters. And no one wants to employ a quitter.
I think this line of thought rings particularly true with boys. As we all know, they develop emotionally a bit later than girls. So would this rule apply for girls who, say, want to start a hairdressing apprenticeship at the age of 16? Are they more prepared for the ‘real world’ at a young age than boys? It probably depends on the individual. But I for one certainly think that all kids should stick it out until the end of year 12.
Do you think it should be compulsory for all students to complete year 12?
Did you leave school early? Was it a good move? Or do you regret it?
Leave your comments below, I’d love to hear from you.
Rebecca.richardson@fair faxmedia.com.au
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