Skipping 12th grade might be an educational advantage for some teens

I've recently been asking myself a very important question: what would my life be like if I had missed my senior year of high school?

I've been perusing this topic for the past week (despite the fact that it's not happening any time soon) and am amazed at how many people feel that giving teenagers the option of finishing early and skipping their senior year of high school is taking away from their educational experience.

You know what my senior year classmates did during that oh so critical 12th hour? They partied. And partied and partied and partied. Most of them took sluff classes because their credits were complete, and I would guess that a solid 75% of my classmates regularly showed up to school drunk, high or hung over.

Boy, what a great investment for our taxpayers.

On the other hand, most of the kids who were actually interested in education (it seems this group was rather limited) took advantage of the early-release college credit programs, ditched high school altogether, and spent the majority of their senior year on the local college campus taking credits that counted--paid for by the high school they weren't attending.

Here's the way I see it. Education is critical and that's a no-brainer. But equally important is teaching kids the value of education. So why would it be so bad to let the kids who were driven and anxious take off for college or trade school a little early?

We're not talking about taking away someone's education, if anything it sounds to me like this bill is about encouraging ambitious kids to vacate the cesspool of substance abusing idiots plugging up our public schools so they can move on with their lives. I would have wept tears of joy if I'd been given such an option.

I think sometimes we forget that high school isn't what it used to be, and neither is college. Not only is college more accessible now, but greater numbers of kids subconsciously know it's the pathway to a Decent Life. More and more students are breaking out of the stereotypical high school experience and escaping to their local college campuses or trade schools, anxious to be around a more mature audience and even more anxious to make their educational experience count.

I was recently talking to one of my babysitters. She's only thirteen, but has already mapped out her high school experience so she can make the most of government funded college courses and graduate early with an Associate's Degree. At thirteen? That's crazy. These are the kind of kids who will take advantage of this bill, the kids who want to get away from the overwhelming influence of peer pressure found in our high school's -- that can't be a bad thing.

I know there are kids who dream about the far distant Senior Year of Fame, athletes and students committed to the awesome programs offered by their schools. These kids should get their chance, they should be allowed to shine and make the most of their high school experience.

But not everyone fits nicely into these groups. Too many kids find themselves on the fringe of social life, never comfortable trying to fit in and never comfortable watching from the sidelines. That's a tough place to be, especially when college offers them the chance to be an individual.

I think we're missing the issue here. I understand that everything comes down to dollar sign, that's the nature of the beast. And I absolutely don't think anyone should make this decision based on budget cuts and savings. We're grooming the future leaders of our local and national governments here, the parents of the next generation, the rainmakers of tomorrow. These aren't hooligans and we should put their quality of education over dollar signs, regardless.

But I think we're underestimating the maturity that's coming out of some of these kids. I have teenagers in my home all the time, and I continue to be amazed at how much older this generation seems. These aren't naive cheerleaders who spend their days thinking about the next pep rally, these are girls and guys who have opinions on local politics and some crazy street smarts. They're looking ahead: we should be too.

We'd be making a mistake to underestimate their ability to choose the right path. It's our job to give them options that fit their futures.