Currently, High School students at Bellevue East are required to take 4 years of English classes, 3 years of math, 3 years of science, and 3 years of history. We believe that it is not necessary for high school students to be required to learn about every subject if it is not useful for their future. In 1984, a Nebraska Legislative Bill, LB 994, highlights the required subjects for students and why they should be required to take them. It states that each student should develop competence in the basic skills of communication, computations, and the knowledge of basic facts about the environment, society, and history. Mathematics and sciences are required in order to develop higher order thinking and problem solving. Lastly and most importantly, the bill states that it should instill in each student the ability and desire to continue learning in their life; education should offer opportunity for career exploration and awareness. As the bill says it is very true that math helps with problem solving and that we should be aware of basic skills about society. The issue is that we already spend all of elementary and middle school learning about these concepts. By the time we reach High School, we already have a basic understanding of all subjects. As the bill also says, each student should have the ability and desire to continue learning throughout their life. Learning is great for the mind but having a successful future doesn’t necessarily mean you need to keep learning and expanding on all different subjects. As High School students, we should be taking classes that focus on the specific career we want to follow. Learning about all different subjects won’t be helpful for us if we want certain jobs that don’t involve all the aspects. In our society, money is what essentially keeps us running. Being required to learn about all different subjects won’t make us more money if we aren’t going to use that knowledge for our future jobs. The 4 years we spend in High School should be preparing us for our life when we graduate, it shouldn’t be focusing on us learning topics we don’t necessarily need. Once reaching high school, students should be able to pick their classes based on their chosen career path. Schools should be preparing young adults for their future.

High school is not properly informing and preparing students about their future career plans. According to a survey released by YouScience, 57% of high school graduates said they had five or less conversations with their teachers or counselors about their plans after high school. We need to have our students meet with their counselors about what careers interest them for the future, and then base their subjects off of that. It doesn’t benefit students to learn about subjects that will be useless to them in the future. A high school newspaper article from the Hawk Eye also states that if students had the ability to stray away from certain subjects, they would view school in a more positive way and give them more attention to focus on life after high school. This gives another opinion as to why students think that not every subject should be required.

If a student is enjoying what they are learning in class, they will want to stay engaged and do well in school. Tahoe Expedition Academy expresses that the American education system originated in the 1800s. For about 200 years, students have been taught the same basic subjects. Our world and occupations have changed rapidly but our education system has not changed. We need to make changes so students can succeed in their jobs. School is very important and the education system doesn’t need to be abolished, it just needs improvements so students can be set up to reach their full potential. 

If we continue to keep our education system the same there will be no room for growth in students. Our academic rates will say the same and nothing will be done about it. If a student wants to go into the stem field, they should not be wasting their time away in English or history classes that they will never need in the future. They should be focusing on technology, math, and science classes in order to benefit themselves. Yes, studying multiple subjects a day can be very helpful for information retention. But, students don’t have to go into great detail with subjects that are otherwise obsolete to them outside of the classroom.

Being aware and learning multiple subjects is important. To keep students aware of at least the basic information about math, science, history, and English, there’s a solution. New subject requirements should start once a student reaches high school. In their freshman year they should be required to take math, science, history, and English classes. Going into their sophomore year, counselors should be speaking with students about what future aspirations that spark their interest. Even if a student isn’t completely aware of what job they want, they can continue to explore subjects that interest them the most. Once high schoolers have met with their counselors, they can start assigning them to subjects that are needed for future jobs. Students need to take at least 2 different subjects each year but 4 subject classes in total. An example would be that a student takes 2 English classes and 2 history classes. This new structure will make sure that students are fully prepared for their occupations. They will no longer be stuck learning classes that have no useful purpose to them.