What’s really out there?

By Amy Lands

Florida may soon become the first state to make students choose a career in high school. The Florida House passed a bill that would require freshman in high school to declare a major in subjects as “humanities, English, communication, math, science or vocational skills. The Florida bill is trying to address increasing high school dropout rates and lack of preparedness for the future.

Gov. Jeb Bush backed the bill, calling it “a really smart way to make high school more relevant and prepare young people for what college will hold.”

This bill will put too much pressure on young adults that are already stressed out about trying to get in college. By forcing students to choose a career path before they have entered high school, Florida will have the students making one of the biggest decisions in life at the early age of 13 years old. Focusing on professional education at such an early age will deprive children of their “high school” experiences.

Your first two years of college, are mostly focused on general courses to give you the opportunity to get a feel for the different majors that the college has to offer. High schools should expand more on classes that would let the students become aware of the different educational fields that could be studied throughout their college years.

Requiring students to choose a major their freshman year gives them only the option what they have learned so far. High school is the stepping stone to go on to college. Young adults need to be made aware of options that are out there for them. There is no way students who have just graduated from middle school have had the opportunity to study psychology, chemistry or graphics. This bill reduces the future opportunities of young Floridians.

What about the kids who choose not to go to college or do not attend liberal arts colleges? It will make those kids rely on their high school for their wider education. The liberal arts education is a fundamental part of forming educated citizens. Diverse learning experience allow students to become “articulate and acquire intellectual breadth and versatile, critical judgment, moral sensitivity, consciousness of the diversity of human culture and experience, and a working understanding of the processes by which they can continue to acquire and use knowledge.”

The best way that Florida can prepare their young adults for the future is to give them a broad background of the careers available to them. This entices their students to make wise professional decisions for themselves and take pride in everything they work on in life. I think that if we learn more about today, we will become better prepared for tomorrow.