Not finishing school

or not finishing year 12 or something else?
This morning there is a piece in the state newspaper claiming that only 60% of school students "complete" their secondary school education - or get the piece of paper saying that.
I am not sure what they mean by "complete" but I do know that there are students who are not happy at secondary level - too many students.
I am waiting for the Senior Cat to read the article and I know what he will say. He will say it from long experience and a still passionate interest in every form of education. 
He will say "they should never have done away with the technical high schools".  
The technical high schools in this state were not quite like the old "secondary modern" schools in England. They did attract the less academically able students but they also attracted the students who wanted to be more "hands on". They taught domestic science, dressmaking, other needlework, woodwork, metalwork, technical drawing and other subjects which no longer seem to even exist in schools. (You can do some sort of "tech studies" without picking up a tool apparently. It's computer based.) They also taught shorthand, typing, bookkeeping andoffice skills and other such subjects along with the more usual subjects. 
I know a lot of people who went on to get very good jobs from attending such schools. They have had rich and satisfying careers. One graduate of a technical high school became Governor of this state.  Another, well known to the Senior Cat through a common interest in conjuring, is a multi-millionaire through his own efforts. Three women I know have set up businesses and done well from them.
There must be many others. Going to a technical high school did not "hold them back". Those I know don't regret the choice they and their parents made.
Yes, there will be others who do regret that they didn't go to a more academic school and go on to university. I wonder though whether they would have succeeded then? 
Perhaps part of the problem now is that students are not being given the chance to choose for themselves - and the chance to take responsibility for their own choices. They are told "this is the path you must follow".  I have met too many teenagers who feel they don't know how to make a choice even when they are offered the opportunity - because choices have been made for them all their lives. It's a growing problem and the failure to "complete" school may be one of the consequences of not being able to choose and complete tasks and take responsibility for actions.
The Senior Cat has been reading Nicola Morgan's book "Positively teenage". He has pronounced it "excellent" and "something all parents and teachers should read". There is a lot in that book that makes me wonder about the choices we need to make - even as adults.  
We can choose unwisely of course. We can also learn from our mistakes.