Students must be given a right to choose disciplines they consider important
Formal education expects you to study certain disciplines as you progress further into grad school. Interestingly, most students have little to no say on the disciplines they study at school. This is due to the idea that all students should pick a list of compulsory subjects even if they don’t love them. A lot needs to change since students should be given full permission to choose disciplines that interest them the most. Here is why:
Motivation
Schools always want to force students into following the most productive career paths. It is for this reason that they put a lot of pressure on students to choose certain subjects. However, researchers find little to no correlation between earned salary and job satisfaction. What this means is that earning a six-figure salary doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be a happy person. In other words, motivation doesn’t come from money.
Engagement
There is a common saying that you can only give what you have. People also engage in things that they deem meaningful. It is at such moments that their intrinsic motivation is transferred into every aspect of their lives that interest them. They will work harder and live happier lives knowing that they have to do what they love the most every day. This is a type of engagement that comes out naturally since it is never forced on them.
Health
People become depressed and sickly when things don’t go their way. Research shows that happiness indeed affects a person’s overall health. Happiness wakes all your senses and ensures that you are always attentive when handling whatever you love. Sadly, most students forced into doing what they don’t love end up being unhappy. To them, life loses meaning since they know they might never achieve their desired end goal. They are likely to remain gloomy and sickly for the rest of their studies unless they develop some interest in these subjects forced on them.
Higher GPA
Students are highly likely to get good grades if they are allowed to study the subjects they love the most. This is because they will drop off all those hard subjects that give them sleepless nights and choose those they deem simple. This will see them study with ease and avoid the pressure of having sleepless nights trying to study a subject that might really not have any meaning to them. As you might know, having a higher GPA often increases one’s chances of joining a good grad school. It also raises a student’s chances of being employed in a good company.
College major
Very few students have jobs related to their college major. Interestingly, a larger majority have jobs that don’t compliment their chosen career path. Others are even in jobs that don’t require a college degree. In the end, a degree certificate seems to be just a paper that might never give you that type of job that was forced on you. You might still end up doing what you wanted from the very beginning. So why can’t schools allow students to choose disciplines that interest?