19. Should school attendance be mandatory? In your answer, be sure to explore what the function of education is, and what our nation would look like if the masses were less educated.

No, school attendance shouldn't be mandatory. Many of the skills taught in school are not life skills and are most likely not going to be used again unless you're pursuing a career within that field. School should teach life skills that will be used in our life as an adult. For example, marketing and business management should be essential classes that should be taught to students in order for them to have a successful career and be able to make money, since we have grown to be so dependent on it. Without classes like these, why should school attendance be mandatory. The point of school should be to prepare us live a successful life, however classes that are being taught today do not guide us towards that. Everybody has a conscious and should know whether attending school is the right thing to do. If you want to be educated and be able to know a variety of subjects, then attending school would be a priority. For people want to start a business, attending school wouldn't be a priority since they wouldn't be taught the skills needed to accomplish that. Since school attendance is mandatory, some people might be wasting their time there, when they could be focused on achieving their goals that don't require school education. Those students who want to attend school and actually pay attention during class will attend school whether or not school attendance is mandatory. On the other hand, those students that have all F's in their classes and don't pay attention shouldn't waste their time in class.