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nder the immense pressure of conformity within society today, the foundation for education has continued to change. Students learn the basic skills of literature, mathematics, historical periods, and sciences. Children go through thirteen years of schooling to learn the necessities, and then they are pushed to choose a career path for the remainder of their lives. By late high school, teens are expected to know what they desire to pursue for, ultimately, the rest of their lives. High school should provide students with practical skills that will guide them into making decisions towards their future career path. “I feel like I’ve put all this work into a future I know nothing about,” Julia Kelley, a North Royalton High school student said. How could this be changed? The simple way is to have mandatory classes that require students to actually apply the things they learn for their futures. For the majority of the time, in the core classes students are required to take, they are not learning anything of directly-applicable importance. Learning about five different ways to do a single math problem is not going to High school Student Kate Lankford working i prepare them for their future careers. neering class, furthering her progress in her fu In economic classes, students learn about taxes and how to do them, but these classes still do not teach a student everything they need to know. Most of the class is spent doing book work, and then taxes at the end with additional classes students can take to follow up with more information. Schools should offer classes that teach students exactly what they need to know, instead of making them learn about things just to satisfy the curriculum. Due to the lack of learning practical skills, students are left clueless on how to go about their futures. When high school students graduate, they are expected to go to college and choose a major based on their career. This can be a difficult decision because there has been little preparation previously. The student’s job was to get good grades and learn; but what exactly did they learn? According to a study by the National Center for Education Statistics, 80% of students in the United States change their major at least once. Can this be avoided? Once again, the simple answer: yes. If more classes were offered in high school to prepare teenagers
OPINION: DOES HIGH SCHOOL ACTUALLY PREPARE FOR LIFE? SCHOOLS NEED A PUSH IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION BY SAVEA BRINEGAR
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