Claim: When planning courses, educators should take into account the interests and suggestions of their students.Reason: Students are more motivated to learn when they are interested in what they are studying.Write a response in which you discuss the exte

Worldwide the education is considered as moral and intellectual upliftment for a student, but due to its rigidity about their courses and schedule it often prevents the exploitation of full potential of a student. Therefore, experts opine that education should be left to students to decide what to study and the role of teachers should be limited to guide their actions in the positive direction. While there are few reservations that students should be encouraged to study what their teachers decide rather than focusing on what is preferable to students, still there are reasons to believe that designing the course as per the inclination of students provides them the opportunity to pursue what they want as per their desire. By focusing on what motivates them to study would provide the opportunity to students to better contribute to the society in terms of higher level of research and working effectively after completion of a school.

However true it may be the case that designing the courses in consultation with students has merits, it often does not result what was expected since some students do not have comprehensive understanding of their interests and skills. Moreover, some students are explorer by nature or undecided about their future that they do not contribute in the consultation process diligently. For example, the study conducted by Education Society of India in 2002 studies 240 schools in India that had implemented courses after considering the interests of students. The study concluded that it worked initially since students were enjoying the atypical course but after a gap of six months the enthusiasm of students faded way since most of them were not aware accurately of their interests. Therefore, consultations with students for designing the courses can lead to undesirable consequences.

Contrary to the above paragraph, one argument that supports the idea of consulting with the students prior to the designing of course is costs and time involved in the standard course. The mature students are often aware about their inherent skills and interests and the long term advantages of pursuing their interests. The consultation in such a situation provides them the opportunity to choose or design the courses which they inclined to study and learn that it would reduce the time and costs that involve in studying the standard courses which include unwarranted courses and often require longer time period to complete because of many courses. For instance, the study conducted by Private Education Fund in 2010 concluded that schools that have implemented courses as per the needs of their students were able to provide education at low rates and with less duration. Hence, consultation with students for designing of the courses lead to reduction in costs and time involved in education journey of a student.

Further, the final argument that buttresses the narrative of designing the courses only with students’ consultation is financial gain realised from education. Students have diverse interests and often like to study what motivates them for the job market. It is also widely accepted that education puts significant burden on students and their families in terms of financial implications. Students often inclined to help their families to defray this financial burden and are inclined to study that help them to find jobs after school. A good example of this is doctorate degree. In the doctorate degree the course is designed as per the research interests of a student which in turn influenced by his/her aim after completing the job which is either academic or corporate depending upon his/her inclination towards financial incentives. Thus, designing the course in consultation with students help them to reduce financial burden and look after their career after school.

As can be seen from the above paragraphs that though customization of courses as per the needs of students leads to debacle and undesirable consequences due to the incomplete understanding of interests and skills, the customization help them to tackle their financial obligation and focus more on courses that help them to secure jobs. Therefore, students who are well aware of their interests and skills must be afforded the opportunity to design courses.