Throughout many students’ high school journey, they find themselves questioning, “when am I going to use this in real life?” There are numerous classes that are required by high schools which have kids studying subjects in which they have no interest.

Although students are given the option of taking two electives a year, this doesn’t mean they can use them to choose whatever they want. Usually students aren’t given the chance to even take the classes in which they have interest until they are upper classmen. Lowerclassman must use elective slots to achieve their language and social studies credits.

Unlike the education system in the United States, France has implemented a system where classes are catered to what each individual student wants to pursue. According to www.britannica.com education in France is organized in a way where, “many subdivisions exist specialized sections and a variety of options that students can choose.” These advances allow the students’ knowledge of the work field they are steering towards to grow and provides them the necessary tools for success.

To revitalize America’s system, the first eight years of traditional schooling should stay the same to build a foundation of gen-eds. This would teach kids the basics and would progress in difficulty as the students age, similarly to how the system works today. Once a student enters high school however, they would be given the opportunity to choose what they want with no required restrictions.

The main issue many would bring up about this program is that many students don’t know what career field they want to pursue. At the age of 14 many kids have no clue what do for their future. Therefore, the system would be inefficient and pointless. However, a simple solution for these students is to test the water and disperse their schedule with classes that might interest them, not in a future job perspective.

Students who are choosing to go on to pursue college education could still choose classes towards what colleges they are interested in have required.

Basically, students should want to come to school, not dread it. By having more choice in classes, students’ attitude toward school can change. The benefits of a child’s satisfaction and happiness from participating in classes under their interests is indescribable.

You’re sitting in your 5^th period algebra classroom. The hot air makes it hard to focus and you start to think “why am I even here” and “when am I ever going to use what I learn in here”. The truth is you won’t, but you are learning foundational skills that will help later.

For example, if you don’t know a word, you’re taught to look it up. In school we are taught that there is always an answer, and we learn many ways to find the right source to answer those questions.

The curriculum schools teach lead into each next year, they build on the knowledge students have already, and without the insight, future education might be difficult or useless.

But should high schools be taking greater steps to set students up for their future career paths?

Meaning should they be having kids choosing their future careers in high school, when they are not even legal adults, and have all their classes directed towards the occupation they have chosen, like going to university, as a 15-year-old.

According to the National Center for Education, about 80 percent of college students in the United States end up changing their majors at least once while they are in school. If someone who is considered an adult can’t always decide what they want to do for the rest of the time they are in the workforce, why would schools allow young teenagers to do the same.

Rather than forcing students into starting their career path at such a young age, schools allow those students who want to get a head start to attend WILCO, where students can take a course that will teach them the basics of their desired employment.

It would not be beneficial to schools to change their curriculum focus when they already have a program in place that works and gives everyone a fair choice.