Did you know that people didn’t always have to go to school and that it wasn’t long ago that we even had Presidents who knew they could be successful without going to high school? Did you ever wonder why it seems like people from history seemed to achieve success at much earlier ages than they do today? Well it's because in the past youth were not required to go to school at all in many states in most of the 1800s. By 1918 every state required students to complete school, but in most states it was only elementary school. This meant that by the time they were teenagers adolescents had a chance to integrate into society. Some might be learning a trade, others the family business, some might follow a pursuit of writing or singing, some became entrepreneurs, some became interested in politics, and for some of the academically minded they might continue studying academics, though people like Einstein and other great minds found school too oppressive and confining.
It wasn't until the time of the Depression that the age of compulsory attendance was increased. John Taylor Gatto explains that this was due in part to keep youth out of the work force and in part to create a consumer society. However, before youth was forced to stay in school until around 16 in most states, many youth were doing just fine. Today, if you don't choose to graduate high school, you're often considered a drop out and kids are dropping out in droves. Our nation has about 1/3 of students dropping out of high schools and in large urban areas like those in which I've lived (Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas) the rates are around 50% which is also the drop out rate for Black students. Clearly something is not right. Even many of our most successful students, like this valedictorian, (and me!) weren't happy with their high school education.
Well something you may not know, is no one has to go to school and you don't have to drop out. You can opt out and head straight to an apprenticeship, career, or you can attend college without ever having to bother with high school. If you've bought all the hype about the importance of a high school diploma, it may comfort you to know that there are many successful people uninterested in conforming to the mandates imposed upon them by boring teachers and classes they often don’t have a saying in selecting. Below are just a few such people who didn't bother getting a high school diploma and moved on to better pastures (Source: Dropouts Hall of Fame).
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» Think You Need to Graduate High School to Be Successful? These People Didn't