Kids will often host a mandatory-ness contest between the two programs they’re in.
What happens is they have a conflict. Two events happening at the same time on the same day.
They go to one adult in charge and see how mandatory their event is.
They go to the other, to see how mandatory their event is.
The goal is to find out which is more mandatory, so you don’t have to decide. You are left choiceless and forced to go to the most mandatory of the programs.
Dual School always loses the mandatory-ness contest because the best learning opportunities are never the most mandatory.
We want to condition young people to make their own choices, not to rely on an authority figure to set their priorities.
Young people should not pick the activities they participate in based on which is more mandatory. It’s a completely arbitrary and impersonal heuristic. They should pick with activities they most WANT to go to!
Rather than let an adult decide which is most important, reflect on what you believe matters to you and go where you choose.