High school should NOT be mandatory

Rebuttal 1:"Mandatory high school education is extremely important for young adults. It is true that most kids don't like school, but this is likely because they don't realize the importance of school."I disagree. Kids do not detest school due to failing to acknowledge the importance of education; rather, they detest school because of the manner by which said education is administered. The following text was extracted from an article entitled "Why Kids Hate School", which is accessible via the following link: http://www.parenting.com... "'Every time I get a new package of test booklets, I feel like burning them up,' says Amy Gutowski, a third-grade teacher in Milwaukee. Her students take a week long state exam in November, as well as four quarterly assessment tests. The testing itself doesn't bother Gutowski, who says, "Testing is fine, if it's done well." Instead, it's the way that it forces her to run her classroom that drives her crazy. Take this recent example: Gutowski's class was deep into Charlotte's Web, but they had to cut the lesson short. "The kids were dying to know what was going to happen, but we had to start prepping for an assessment and memorize lists of vocabulary words, such as 'crop rotation,' just because they were on the test," says Gutowski. "When we were reading Charlotte, their heads were in the book, they were talking about their feelings and the words they love. It was electric. As soon as we pulled out the test workbook, they shut down. The way we have to teach is anti-kid, anti-learning, and just plain boring."Rebuttal 2:"If high school was made optional, there would be consequences. Those students who didn't attend school or have a job of some sort would have a large amount of free time on their hands without adult supervision. Teenagers with too much free time has been linked to an increase in crime among teens."It should be noted that Con's source (http://www.thenational.ae...) is utterly irrelevant to this debate as it refers exclusively to children in the United Arab Emirates, not the United States. As I stated in Round 1:"I would like to begin by stating that, by accepting the "con" position, you are arguing in favor of mandatory secondary education in the United States."Please remain on-topic, Con.Rebuttal 3:"If teens were to go without high school, they would be limiting their career options. Most careers require a minimum of a high school diploma. The best careers require much college education. A high school diploma(and much more) is needed to get into the best colleges."The following page provides a list of 10 careers which provide sustainable incomes and do not require high school diplomas: http://jobs.aol.com... Additionally, individuals who did not receive a formal high school diploma are legally permitted to take the General Equivalency Diploma examination (frequently referred to as the GED), which, if passed, provides said individual with documentation equivalent to a high school diploma. Graduation of high school is not a prerequisite for this exam. Regarding individuals possessing GEDs who wish to attend college: "About 95 percent of U.S. colleges and universities accept GED graduates in the same manner as high school graduates. GED graduates are also eligible for most federal financial aid if they meet the program’s other criteria. After earning your GED credential, sign up to take the ACT and/or the SAT. The colleges to which you apply may also require you to take placement or achievement tests so that they can determine whether you need additional coursework." (https://www.tuhsd.k12.az.us...)Rebuttal 4:"There is also a social aspect as well. From high school teens learn how to interact with people of different races, religions, etc. They learn who to associate with and who not to associate with. They learn how to make the right choices through their mistakes. Ultimately, school promotes the learning of social skills."There is no conclusive evidence stating that attending high school is socially beneficial. As any mathematics teacher will inform you, it only requires one counter-example to disprove a postulate, and my counter-example lies in the following article regarding home-schooled children: "Home schooling is a parenting choice often hotly debated by adults, but when it comes to asking the children themselves what they think, whether they'll miss prom is likely to be high on the list of concerns. The home-schooled students of Northern Texas, however, need have no fear of missing out on this essential rite of passage. Every year,1,000 boys and girls aged between 16 and 18 who spend their semesters at home rather than in school, flock to their 'home-school prom' dressed in their best dresses and newly purchased tuxedos."(http://www.dailymail.co.uk...)I implore the votes to consider my opponent's utter lack of conclusive evidence for his/her case and formulate a decision accordingly.