0818 “A nation should require all its students to study the same national curriculum until they enter college rather than allow schools in different parts of the nation to determine which academic courses to offer.”

In my country, there is an education system so-called “12-Year Basic National Education”.  Every student studies the same curriculum before entering university. However, is it really necessary for every student? Are the contents of the curriculum consequential to every student?

Indeed, most subjects such as English, math, science, etc., provide indispensable knowledge of our living. People turn this knowledge into practice every day without noticing. For instance, people do simple math for paying money when purchasing daily groceries; people use science making water clotted and transform it into ice to use for various needs. Though the illustrations above might be simple, they sure show how important the basic knowledge that has been given through the national curriculum.

However, in our system, those subjects may be too advanced for most students. For example, it might be unnecessary for a student who is going to become a hairstylist after graduating from high school to learn calculus.  Students may have no idea about what they’re learning if those subjects become too advanced and the knowledge is dispensable after graduation. Furthermore, it might end up with students having no interest to go to school.

Since every student has their own talent and has different dreams, if there is only one curriculum, some talents might be dimmed. If Kobe Bryant was forced to play soccer only when he was a kid in Italy, there would be a loss to the basketball field. If there are no acting schools or art schools, the art field might be doomed. Hence, there should be different curriculums for all kinds of students.

To sum up, I suggest that the national curriculum is still necessary, but the contents should be more familiar to all kinds of students. The curriculum should only contain subjects with the knowledge that is necessary for being a human being, and students should have their own decision on selecting other subjects.