Why is it Necessary for Students to Focus on All School Subjects?
Most parents, especially in Indian society fail to recognize the importance of all school subjects in their children’s curriculum. It is a common misconception that children can only succeed in life if they pursue science as they are the most “difficult” subjects and often provide more stable income and jobs.
However, a famous quote from Einstein himself, tells a different story- “if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid”. Every child is as unique as a fingerprint. No two subjects are comparable and one cannot say that one school subject is more important than the other. In fact, a child’s education and career choices should suit their interests and strengths instead of forcing children to pay attention to select subjects.
Apart from a child’s aptitude, there are several reasons that students should focus on all school subjects equally. Eventually, children pick their streams and study only some of the subjects that are mandated in schools. However, each subject is added to the curriculum to ensure different parts of their intellectual and emotional growth.
There’s a famous saying that goes- “no knowledge goes to waste” and here are the top reasons why your children should focus on all school subjects equally-
- Careers
Let’s begin by talking about what is seemingly the most important result of education. All parents only want what’s best for their children and Indian parents tend to believe only engineers and doctors have stable or well-paying jobs. This is the farthest from the truth.
With an increasing number of engineering and medical colleges, there is an abundance of graduates in these fields. This is one of the reasons why inflation rates are much higher than the increase in base salary from engineers in the past decade. Doctors also face issues when looking for internships and jobs.
The truth is, as long as you are good at something, it is easy to make money in any career. Right from CA students who study commerce, to lawyers and even geologists employed by the Indian government, there are several well-paying roles in different fields.
Allowing your children to favor subjects other than science and maths is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it might be more beneficial.
- Emotional Quotient
Apart from professional growth, education has a part to play in the overall development of a child. We all agree that education makes better citizens. But ever wondered why? Arts unequivocally help children and adults express their emotions. Understanding art and literature makes them more receptive to emotions and gives them a new perspective to look at things. It gives them empathy and adds to their emotional quotient .
Other subjects such as history also add to this process. Understanding atrocities such as wars and instances of ethnic cleansing help children understand mistakes of the past and why they should be avoided.
- Important Life Lessons
General knowledge is always useful. Whether it’s knowing the currency of a country you are traveling to or knowing their language. Education helps make more global citizens and helps children understand different values and cultures.
It improves their social interactions. Not only this, it helps shape their beliefs in other aspects of their lives as well. Subjects like environmental studies help them understand the impact of humans on the planet and their social responsibility to address it. Political science can help them understand democracy, the election process, and their rights as well.
- Fitness and well-being
Many Indian schools stress the importance of physical activity, yoga, and arts. All of these are seen as less important subjects and parents hardly pay attention to them. They’re seen as leisurely activities or even worse, something that hinders academic progress.
But physical activities and art play an important role in the emotional and physical well-being of children, without which they would not be able to reach their true potential. It gives them other soft skills such as teamwork, sportsmanship, how to handle rejection, and how to express yourself and communicate with others. These are important life skills for both professional as well as personal growth.
With these reasons in mind, parents should encourage their children to concentrate on all subjects equally and grasp what they can from each of them. They should also encourage children to follow their interests and choose careers of their liking!