Debra Humphreys, a spokeswoman for the Association of American Colleges and Universities, called high-school majors “a colossally bad idea,” saying youngsters should instead concentrate on developing a broad range of critical thinking and communication skills.
“Today’s economy requires people to be constantly learning and changing,” Ms. Humphreys said. “A lot of jobs that high school students are likely to have 10 years from now don’t yet exist, so preparing too narrowly will not serve them well.”
Despite such naysayers, a number of school districts around the country are experimenting with high school majors, an outgrowth of the popular “career academies” that have become commonplace nationally, and in New York City, over the past decade. But while many career academies simply add a few courses to a broad core curriculum, majors require individual students to make a more serious commitment to a particular educational path.
Where do you really go with this one? On one hand ...
Yes, this is a pretty good idea because a lot of high schoolers could use some focus and this might help them get ahead when it comes to the area they're going to study in college. Plus, it allows them to schedule their classes in order to play to their strengths so they're not lost for four years with throwaway electives or hard AP math classes (when they want to major in philosophy).
But come on, majors? In high school? Let's break down how ridiculous this idea is.
1. Even college makes you take general classes. They're called cores. Now, some colleges make you take more core courses that others. I, for instance, attended a Jesuit college and had to take a philosophy and theology course. Since I majored in writing and political science, this wasn't a big deal but I can see how a chemistry major might be less than thrilled to take theology. But high school really is for your general education, not to specialize so you can graduate with a particular degree.
2. As the lede says, who knows what they're doing in the ninth grade? I spent high school going from wanting to be president to wanting to be a lawyer to wanting to direct films to wanting to be a lawyer to wanting to be a writer. I thought I was going to go pre-law in college then wanted to be a journalist, then just a writer. I spent six years of my career in marketing before becoming a teacher. Bottom line? People change their minds and change their majors. So, when a student in high school doesn't want to major in engineering sciences anymore and wants to major in literature, are you going to make him take prerequisite literature courses so he has enough credits to graduate as a literature major?
3. School is not job training. This might be me complaining about how people ask "What are you going to do with that?" if you major in anything that's not an applied science or business, but it really isn't. I know quite a few people with liberal arts-related degrees who are in a wide variety of fields. It's called versatility. I'd say look it up but they probably don't teach vocabulary in schools like that.
4. Maybe schools should shore up the curriculum first? Or make sure the students can handle this? I don't know about you, but I've seen a LOT of ninth graders who shouldn't have passed the eighth grade. High school is general ed for a REASON, and if you're going to make things specific, you have to have grade prerequisites and maybe make majoring only for certain achieving students and have the kids who are more behind take classes to catch themselves up.
Wait, that's tracking. Never mind. What was I thinking?
Okay, honestly? I do like the idea (that I believe is practiced in other countries. Canada and France, maybe? Wait, that also makes me a moron because this is "Amuraca" and after all, the French surrendered to the Germans, so why would we want to follow any of their examples. ANYWAY ...) of having students choose a track for high school between a vocational/service-oriented education and a college-prep/academic education. It's this same concept of majoring but on a much broader scale. Everyone still takes their cores (math, science, English, history) but those students that are not going to go to college (and hey, let's be honest, some don't and don't need to) find a trade or some sort of field and those who are work on academic performance.
But again, that flies in the face of liberty and justice for all, so it'll never happen.
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Yup, the French do it so we never could.
Seriously, though, there are some issues with kids getting tracked and being stuck when they could've done the academic track. It ends up having some negative classist overtones if its not 100% the kids choice (and is it ever?). In France, anyway, if you don't to the academic route in high school you're pretty much out SOL if you ever want to go to higher education.
That said, I don't see why we couldn't find a way to do it that
(wish you could edit comments, didn't mean to hit enter then.)
...avoided some of those issues. Encouraging people to seriously consider broad life choices like "do I really need to go to college?" in high school is a good idea. I know it's the norm not to have a clue until college, change your major a bunch of times, and then switch careers several times in your twenties, but I can't help but watch all my friends that are in the middle of that mess and wish they'd been encouraged to think about these things earlier.
Anyway, I'm all about the liberal arts college ideal of everybody takes core classes in everything whatever your major is, and it should certainly be copied if high schools do the major thing.
Yeah, I think my first point about core classes was probably the strongest part of it. And I do agree with the idea that this gives students focus and a sense of what they're actually going to do with their education. Such a focus might also help to help them make an actual connection between the classes they're taking. You know, that they can actually use their English-class writing skills in science class.
I don't know if enough schools would take a complicated approach like this to see if it's effective or not, though.
Wait, you mean what we learn in one class is supposed to apply in other ones? Life doesn't exist in little discipline based blocks?
*head explodes*
The problem with anything like this is that in most schools it'll end up like every other educational fad: imposed top-down on a school culture that isn't ready for it, with tons of resistance from teachers and students alike, and overall making no real impression on anything.
(Am I too young to be this cynical?)
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