Louis Cimmino, Lauren Bajo-Smith, Bella Estrada

Mrs. Storer

English III Honors

October 17, 2019

Should Schools Gear Their Education Paths to the Interests of the Individual?

The American education system has truly failed us all. It is no longer acceptable that

students be funneled in large part down the paths of science or law. Students of today’s world

need more opportunity to discover where their passions lie. They deserve more exposure to the

vast variety of careers available to them in the modern world which were unavailable to those

who came before them. We believe that all students should have the opportunities to discover

their passions and follow them. Every person has the right to an education that prepares them for

their life beyond the four walls of a classroom. If these standards are not being met by the public

and private education system in America it is the responsibility of the students and those above

them to repair a broken system.

With the development of technology in the 21st century, many students are exposed to

more career opportunities than were available to their parents. Looking at the education system’s

record, it is clear that there have been far too many students whose potential for greatness has

been overlooked or underappreciated because they chose not to conform. Whereas in decades

prior, students were encouraged to follow the career path of their parents, today’s children are

finding their unique passions. The school system that educates them, however, isn’t doing

them justice. Schools have repeatedly stressed the necessity to pursue basic careers. This has led

to mass production of carbon copy students who believe that the only way to be successful is to

become a doctor or lawyer. In other words, the value of success is placed on the amount of
money a person can earn, rather than on the happiness of an individual. With these specific goals

in mind for their students, there is a minuscule amount of class options. In a recent study

performed by the company Code.org, it was seen that the subjects that students find most

interesting were Art and Design, Performing Arts, and Computer Science and Engineering as

opposed to English, History, and Math (Partovi). We are tired of sitting in classrooms learning

the same exact things taught fifty years ago, when we could be learning about space travel, the

future of artificial intelligence, the influence of social media on Fortune 500 companies, how to

solve global humanitarian crises, or how the modern age’s impact on cultures throughout the

world.

We demand not only local and state officials, but also the United States Department of

Education to do your job by creating more opportunities for children from a young age to explore

the various careers offered to them in the 21st century. Provide more school field trips,

personalized learning, guest presentations from successful men and women, and allow more

class options for students to find what they are passionate about. We don’t ask for a change to

come soon but for a change to come now. This is a warning to those in charge of the education of

the future generation: if you do not change what is broken, we will.

 Works Cited

Partovi, Hadi. “Why Schools Should Teach the Curriculum of the Future, Not the Past.” World

Economic Forum, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/09/why-schools-should-teach-

the-curriculum-of-the-future-not-the-past/.