This topic will catch the attention of college going students in a jiffy because there isn’t be a single student who hasn’t cursed the authors of the textbooks they use. This is because they are simply forced to learn stuff that is practically of no use to them. Every time I’m studying my brain out, I wonder if the topics I study will be of any use to me in future. And most of the time the answer would be NO. Wouldn’t it be better if we had the option to choose the topics that we want to learn so that it would be beneficial for us in future? I thought I was done with learning all the unnecessary stuff with school but boy I was wrong.
At university, there’s still a lot of byhearting (learning things by heart /memorizing) which are of zero use once the exams are done with. Law subjects are mandatory for us undergraduates in the commerce stream and chances are that they won’t be applicable if we are going to work in a sector which isn’t related to law. Same goes for so many other subjects as well. If we can’t choose the subjects we learn, then we end up studying the subjects that are unsuitable for us. Basically, we end up mugging things which in turn overloads our brain. But that isn’t all, we even end up in careers that are unsuitable for us simply because we have merely studied the subject and not something we have a genuine interest in. This could turn our lives miserable beyond words.
My friend told me the other day that she still wakes up in cold sweat after having nightmares about trigonometry, integration, differentiation and what not. Although she may have exaggerated it a wee bit, the story isn’t completely made up either. All those horrible mathematics stuff we learned at school would never come to any use for the majority of us. If I start to point out the useless things we learned from school I would have to go well beyond the word limit but hey there’s a positive side to it as well. Boring subjects like social science which we loathed with all our heart helped us to boost our knowledge of history and politics and even on the geography of our country. Although we may feel that we do not remember much of it, parts of it are imprinted in our brains. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I was able to answer quite a few of the general knowledge questions in an exam and I found these answers popping out of nowhere. Later I realised that my social studies textbook and my social studies teacher were the masters behind the trick!
In school, we didn’t know what our options were, so it was necessary to give us a wide coverage on all topics. But in college, it’s way different. We have actually decided on the path we want to pursue, and so I believe that we should be given a say in deciding the syllabus as well. If students are made to learn random topics on random subjects, they would be learning in an exam-oriented manner, but if students are given the option to choose the subjects and the topics, they would be much more willing to dedicate their time and effort for the same. Plus, it would be useful for the students in future as well.
I want students’ voices to be heard while the syllabus is being prepared. What I propose is that their demands and propositions should be considered in the syllabus-making process and should be adapted into the system only if they are found viable. That way the students wouldn’t be burdened with subjects that are of no relevance to them and can learn the subjects that intrigue them, thus making their lives a whole lot easier.
So, readers, let me leave you with a question to think of.
Would you rather have a voice and be part of your education system and make it yours to claim, or would you let experts decide the system and stick with it and find your path of success?