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The Benefits Of Choosing Your Own Education

The percentage of dropouts have declined over the years in Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Schools but the majority of High Schools still have a high percentage of dropouts which is

between 20-45% of students who drop out each year because difficulties with courses provided

by the school. When I was choosing my electives I was able to get one that I wanted which was

business and it came to be very beneficial to me which was not just a class for me but an

advantage for my career. Studies show that kids who are able to choose their own education have

an advantage later on in life that others don’t even get the opportunity to get because every year

their parents or the school chooses what they think is best for the student instead of thinking

about what is a benefit for that particular individual. I was sitting in class failing my courses

unable to understand the curriculum I was learning because the classes were difficult and

uninteresting. The school system says they are built for every individual's priorities, but then

forces students to take classes they don’t need for their careers. I was that very humble, happy

student and became very uncaring about what I was learning because I wanted classes that they

did not give me or provided so I was stuck with just random classes that I felt weren’t beneficial

to me now or later. Students have should have the input regarding what and how they learn,

coupled with individual opportunities to demonstrate their own skills. The power of choice gives

students the power to make great decisions for themselves, empowering themselves to control

what they learn and growing as an individual. Giving students total freedom in finding examples

of applications of derivatives, which are interesting to them results in increased student

ownership of learning as well as accessing previously untapped creative outlets. “Students

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boredom and mental disengagement are the exceptions rather than the rule in America’s

classrooms, but decades of firsthand observation, student surveys, research on attention span,

statistics on truancy and dropouts, and the near-universal problem of classroom discipline tells

me they’re not(Strauss 2013).” Schools are so used to the same fundamental system of learning

and not innovating new ideas into the teaching perspective, giving the same curriculum as the

years that past that new classes of students get uninterested more and more as newer generation

come into high school. Schools that don’t have a class should design or offer that course for

certain students that find themselves in that career path they are taking. Self-directed learning is

the establishment of a growth mindset, which leads to faster growth in skills early on that other

people may learn later on or not at all. Students learn and develop a higher sense of responsibility

since they are more in charge of what they learn and how much information they consume in a

time span. This helps not staying inside the four walls, but tend to go further and beyond that

goal. This gives students a better concept and a more realistic perspective of the world. ​High

school students should choose their own classes/career path because it gives them an early

advantage in learning certain skills they will need in the future, they will be able to make

decisions consistently without getting frustrated, and it will higher their chances of finding

the right profession for them.

In America, most traditional schools choose most of the classes for students and don’t

provide enough courses that support a lot of students future careers. The negative feedback the

class gets from the student is the outcome of not being interested in that class, for example,

sleeping or not participating with any work assigned to the student. “The psychological benefits
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of control are, if anything, even more, pronounced. All else being equal, an emotional adjustment

is better over time for people who experience a sense of self-determination; by contrast, few

things lead more reliably to depression and other forms of psychological distress than a feeling

of helplessness”(Kohn 1993). Letting students choose their own education gives them some

control over their lives at a young age, which leads to an increase in creativity. Students are more

engaged in the class and what's going on around them, which affects their decision making

which has an outcome to be more positive and thoroughly thought out. “Giving students options

to use what they’ve learned to problem-solve and create something develops their ability to think

outside of the box, find creative solutions and formulate their own ideas and opinions”(Wyman

2017). It’s phenomenal how students active role in school increase when they are interested in a

class that benefits them for the future and they intend to do better in their everyday personal lives

also. The higher sense of responsibility that comes from students is greater than a student who

has a class they don’t like and they become unorganized with the course and get lost with the

curriculum being taught in the class. “Students who direct their own learning, they collaborate

more, and this contributes towards developing their teamwork and communication skills. Our

role as educators, mentors, parents, is to present them with ideas and opportunities and allow

them to go beyond those thoughts. This empowerment is vital for their self- esteem and self-

confidence”(Oza 2018). Students are able to choose their own classes to help students reduce

complaining about class activities and are more motivated to do the work in their courses.

Students being passionate about their subject are important because it empowers students to take

over their own learning and demonstrate their understanding in focused, high-quality, and unique
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ways. All these advantages will help students head in the right direction with their chosen

careers.

For centuries schools have only taught students to care about test scores and grades.

The focus has never been on the students' future after high school, but only to go to college and

learn about their career courses furthermore when they get there. Students leave high school lost

and going into their major not satisfied with what they thought was a good career to take.

“Provide opportunities to make simple decisions. Asking students to explain the reasons for their

choices helps them develop skills of evaluation(Kids Matter 2012).”

It doesn’t matter how smart teens are or how well they scored on the SAT or ACT. Good

judgment isn’t something they can excel in, at least not yet. “The rational part of a teen’s brain

isn’t fully developed and won’t be until age 25 or so(Sather 2018 ).” Letting students choose

their own education path gives them an early start in good decision making, which they will be

able to carry this out for the rest of their lives and develop a good sense of decision making.

Students being able to pick and choose their classes grows the mind and better develops them for

situations they may come by in the future. “Teaching and reinforcing the steps of

decision-making helps to support children to develop independence and condence in their own

judgment(Kids Matter 2012).”

Letting students make decisions in high school that may or may not be good for them

may “keep their enthusiasm alive while empowering the students to take over their own learning

and demonstrate their understanding in focused, high-quality, unique ways(Wyman 2017).”

Educators feel that students will take the power of choosing their own path for granted and they
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don’t want the student to take advantage of choosing just any class because of the level of

hardness it is but again that's a mistake that should be made early on in school so students can

learn from it and be better prepared for other situations. Students who are more confident in the

classes they choose are more prone to interact better in these classes which leads to success in a

lot of students. Some schools feel that only higher test average students should be able to choose

their classes, but if you allow the student to choose their own classes and give them the privilege

to do so they may have better and higher test growth averages.

The lack of courses actually needed in high schools gives a student a lesser advantage

in deciding a profession that fits them. Deciding what career classes that are actually necessary

for students should be made up of requests courses from the students themselves this school are

not just making courses they think is right for the student but giving students their own decision

made courses. Letting students have their own courses give them a push in the right direction to

what they want to do. Some students don’t have the advantages or connections to go find the

right people like others may have to do internships for or find what they may be interested in. So

why not bring opportunities to them in school? Because it may be a waste of time because the

student might not like the class. Ok, but knowing that a student may not settle in one career

should be understandable to teachers and other school staff. “Settling on just one occupation in

high school isn’t necessary. But looking into the types of careers you might like can help set you

up for success. “My feeling is that high school students don’t have to know the exact career they

want,” says Danaher, “but they should know how to explore careers and put time into

investigating them and learning about their skills and interests(Torpey 2015).” Having patience
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with students and giving the time they need to find what they may want to get into as a career

should be on the student's hands. It shouldn’t be pushed on the student to look for one career but

to give them the support system to help them realize that it’s ok to pick and choose through

different professions because some are not what you think once you get into it. The advantages

of letting a student choose and request a class in one step closer in showing people that they are

serious about this subject and what to try it out. “Build goal-setting and decision-making steps

into assigned learning tasks by making them an explicit component of task instructions. This

builds their capacity for self-regulated learning, which has been shown to enhance academic

performance(Kids Matter 2012).”Letting students know that it’s ok to make changes gives them

the mindset to trust the process. Students shouldn’t just learn in school or just learn outlines of

their career but have courses that go into detail so that students can really decide if this is a

career they want to get into. Students choosing their own courses give them the benefit to be

versatile, which could land them a career faster in the world after high school. Take time to

explore various careers. You may be surprised to find career descriptions that you didn’t even

know existed! CareerOneStop also offers career exploration profiles with over 900 career paths.

You can learn about the professional background, job growth, and wage information for these

careers. You can also learn about the training you will need to succeed in these various career

fields(Seacoast 2016).” Learning these essentials will put students on the right path of having

knowledge about a career that would be right for you Before even graduating high school. This

benefit is not only for the students but for the school system also because this will boost the
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student's motivation and confidence of going to school and staying, which means lower dropout

rates all over the U.S.

High Schoolers should choose their own classes/career path because it will provide

students with an early start to develop skills they will need for their future profession, they will

be able to make clear decisions about what they want in the future and not overthink situations, it

will give students a better advantage of choosing a profession they would like to pursue. Students

go every day not really knowing exactly what profession route they want to take and schools

should help with that by giving students more career-based classes than classes like history and

science. Students become uninterested and don’t do what they’re supposed to do in these classes

and even go as far as dropping out because they feel they won’t use these courses in the future.

School should be beneficial for everyone, that way no one feels like education is pointless and

not do it. Students should not leave high school and feel lost, depressed and confused about a

career they consider taking. By the time students leave, they should at least have three

occupations they would love to pursue and either dive into it right after high school or study that

major with positive energy when they get into college. My topic should matter because it is

something society needs to change so that our economy can grow stronger and become better.

This topic is really important because a high percentage of students leave high school working a

regular 9-5 jobs or go to a college building up debt that will take forever to pay off. The major

you take might not even be the profession a person will end up doing which force them to look

for occupation later in their life bringing them steps back. This is that way Society should be
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concerned because this cycle just repeats itself and we need to change to produce more

entrepreneurs and not workers.

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Work Cited

“​Beginning College Students Who Change Their Majors Within 3 Years of Enrollment.”

Data Point,​ 2017,

https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018434.pdf

Draeger, Carl, and Daniel Wilson. “How to Give Students More Control Over Their

Learning.” ​Teacher Teacher​, 27 June 2018,

www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2016/03/08/give-students-more-control-over-their-learning.ht

ml​.

Kohn, Alfie. “Choices for Children: Why and How to Let Students Decide (*).” ​Alfie Kohn​,

26 Nov. 2014, ​www.alfiekohn.org/article/choices-children/​.

“Making Decisions: Suggestions for Schools and Early Childhood Services.” ​KidsMatter​,

2012,

www.kidsmatter.edu.au/mental-health-matters/social-and-emotional-learning/making-deci

sions/suggestions-schools-and-early​.

Oza, Bijal. “What Happens When Students Control Their Own Education?” ​SP Jain

School of Global Management,​ 11 Jan. 2018,

blog.spjain.org/admissions/students-control-education.
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Seacoast Career Schools. “Choosing a Career after High School.” ​Seacoast Career Schools​,

27 July 2016,

www.seacoastcareerschools.edu/choosing-a-career-path-after-high-school/#.W83QnWhKjr

d​.

Shelat, Amti, and Rita Sather. “Understanding the Teen Brain .” ​Understanding the Teen

Brain - Health Encyclopedia - University of Rochester Medical Center​, 2018,

www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&ContentID=3051​.

Strauss, Valerie. “Why All High School Courses Should Be Elective.” ​The Washington Post,​

WP Company, 22 Jan. 2013,

www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/01/22/why-all-high-school-courses-s

hould-be-elective/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3b7e18c1e034​.

Torpey, Elka. “Career Planning for High Schoolers : Career Outlook.” ​U.S. Bureau of

Labor Statistics,​ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015,

www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2015/article/career-planning-for-high-schoolers.htm​.

Wyman, Kara. “How Alternative Assessments Benefit Students & Increase Proficiency.”

Concordia University-Portland​, 16 Aug. 2018,

education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/students-choose-assessments-creativit

y/.
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