Secondary Schools Aim To Provide A General Education Across A Range Of Subjects IELTS Writing Task 2

On the one hand, with the current technological advancement of the world, some career choices open far greater avenues for a student. In other words, studying some disciplines leads to better employment prospects than studying others. For example, in a world teeming with the growth of artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies, a student specializing in this field from a very early age can open doors for innovation in the later stages of their career. However, if the same student were exposed to various subjects, there would have been high chances of wasting precious time that the student may have used to enhance their abilities in the most sought-after technologies of the 21st century. Thus, focusing on a particular discipline is very crucial for students from secondary schools.

On the other hand, we can see a range of problem-solving and analytical skills is required in the modern-day workforce. This means that students must amalgamate many skills and knowledge, which only comes with multidisciplinary training. As an example, modern-day workplaces value critical thinking skills, which one may learn from studying social sciences and vast theoretical premises. These students can use those same skills to solve problems while at the same time specializing in a particular field. Therefore, a multidisciplinary curriculum opens doors for skill development for pupils.

In conclusion, the secondary school education system across various countries is divided between focusing on career-centric subjects and dominance of a broad range of subjects. While studying general disciplines is a recipe for multiple transferable skills, a student will ultimately be entering a particular career field. If they are specialized in a specific area, then employment prospects are much better for them, and they can pick up the transferable skills as and when required. Thus, I believe countries that are providing students career choice centric subjects are much better off.

Students who get the chance to study many general subjects in their secondary schooling years learn the value and the need of different disciplines. It means getting exposed to different areas and polish their basic skills in several areas. For example, a student who wants to study mathematics also has to study subjects like general knowledge, history, or geography. Thus, even if they study mathematics, they also have a sound understanding of other disciplines. Having knowledge only in a specialized field does not produce humans, rather machines.

Nevertheless, specializing in a narrow range of disciplines offers a particular student much more time to be an expert in a specific field. In other words, instead of seeking a little knowledge out of everything, the student can start their journey of specialization from a very early age. As a result, many students presently are child scientists or global leaders in various fields like climate change and sustainability. Thus, these students can choose a particular subject of their liking from the very start and build on it to drive innovation and impact.

In conclusion, many students get the chance to study a wide variety of subjects with no specific career-oriented goal. In contrast, others get to choose a few subjects at their secondary school based on their future career goals. While the latter option certainly has benefits like starting from a very young age, the former has much more flexibility and celebrates humanness. It rejects a goal-oriented mindset and makes the student able to explore and change their understanding at any point of their academic journey during their secondary school years. Therefore, I believe that having a wide array of general subjects is really good for secondary school children in the long run.

Firstly, one thing is evident that schools are not places for career-building but are institutions of nurturing child growth and psychology. In other words, schools should allow their pupils to explore various things and not make them career-centric as it will be bad for their mental health. Multiple subjects and varied activities are the perfect examples of a fun curriculum that gives the ultimate liberty that is very much needed in a student’s formative years. Thus, having varied subjects at secondary schools helps the students to explore themselves and their life goals.

However, at the same time, one must also acknowledge that too much freedom can make the child studying disoriented. In such a situation, the student without any goal can lose their motivation to learn. For example, many students with no specific interest and goals end up doing college majors with zero passion and inspiration. Ultimately at the end of the academic life, the student may feel frustrated because of their no well-defined success in a particular field. Therefore, the focus on a wide variety of general subjects can undermine the student’s ambition-forming capability and make them more disoriented in the near future.

To conclude, schools nurturing their secondary school students in an open environment often focus on various general disciplines. This makes the students choose and eliminate those interests which they don’t like. On the other hand, schools with limited subject availability often instill the value of ambitions and the importance of goals from a very early age. However, keeping in mind, the pressure students are under to make a successful career often drags away the good school life experiences and need to be cherished. One best way to do that is to have a list of general subjects so that students get the experience of every discipline and have the freedom to choose the best.