The issue of which course and how high school should teach its students is a continuing controversy in our society. Of them, the question over whether high school should allow students to study what they want is especially difficult to be answered. In my essay, I will argue that high school should not allow, at least now, students to study what they want for the following reasons.
To begin with, from the realistic perspective, allowing students to study what they want will not result in them to select what they really want, because of it would be more likely than not students select the courses not based on their real interests but the advantage for the university entrance exam. In fact, that students have the right to study what they want does not mean that they will choose the courses that they have real interest in. For example, in Korea, all high school students do not free from the pressure of university entrance exam, a test that is comprised of few selective courses such as Korean language, math, English, etc. and whose score is the most significant factor for the admission. Given this, freeing the students to study whatever they want can actually lead them focus on those few necessary courses for the exam, a reverse effect that narrowed the scope of courses.
Another possible negative effect of allowing the students to choose the course they want to study is that they can not learn something basic curriculum which are important to be a well around citizen, such as philosophy, history, literary courses. High school education is actually the last educational institution that students learn the both various and fundamental subjects. This is because, after graduating from the high school, students in general will be required to choose specific majors in a university and study them deeply. Thus, if they only study what they want, it would cause them to have restricted knowledge and difficulty to understand their interest in broad academic field.
In conclusion, for those reasons I mentioned above, I think it is not a good idea for student to be allowed to choose the courses what they want to study. Admittedly, studying what students want to study can bring them several benefits in the idealistic sense. Without considering the broad educational institution environment and potential side-effects, however, the right to choose the courses will not bring the expected positive effect to them. |