President Obama suggested in his State of the Union that students should stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18. Do you think graduating should be mandatory?
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - In President Barack Obama's State of the Union address last night, he proposed that states require all students to stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18.
Excerpt from SOTU:
"Tonight, I am proposing that every state -- every state -- requires that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18," said President Obama during his state of the union address.
President Obama is echoing a law that Arkansas already has in place. Mills High School AP Art History teacher Jaime Rollans says Arkansas and the rest of the nation needs to be more competitive.
"I think it's an excellent idea. Students in other countries go to school and to college when they're 19,"
AP U.S. History Teacher Alex Anderson also says it's a noble goal, but he's a bit confused about the president's speech.
"He mentioned he wanted to bring back manufacturing jobs to America. Traditionally, you don't have a lot of people educated on a college level or even didn't finish high school,"
Arkansas has a graduation rate of 85 percent. Although the state's graduation rate is higher than some other states, some students are not prepared for college. 35 percent are taking remediation courses at 4-year colleges. Senator Mark Pryor says families need to offer more support.
"We have come a long way in the state and we need to be proud of the progress we've made but we need to recognize we still have a ways to go,"
Anderson and Rollans says law wouldn't add any stress on teachers, but it might require more funding or different methods.
"It may mean we have to work more with the courts. It may mean we have to work more with parents and it may mean we have to work with students individually. It doesn't necessarily mean more money," says Anderson.
Read President Barack Obama's full State of the Union address (http://on.kthv.com/ykfCAv)