A nation should require all of its students to study the same national curriculum until they enter college.Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain your reasoning for the position

All over the world, national curricula enable students to specialize in some specific areas and completely forsake others. Examples are numerous: IB, A levels, French Baccalaureate. Is this the right thing to do? Should a nation require all of its students to study the same national curriculum until they enter college? I believe that students should be allowed to choose some fields of specialization. This will make their studies more interesting and vocational, as well as prepare them better for advanced university courses. However, one important prerogative for this recommendation is that, whatever the curriculum they opt for, students must have acquired a strong background in some crucial subjects such as mathematics, history, and litterature, prior to engaging on their specialized paths.

Why do I need to study physics at high school if I intend to become an economist? A young student asks. Indeed, many students hate school because they find many subjects irrelevant to their future careers. For instance, an aspirant economist might simply not understand why he has to learn how light travels across space or how electrons rotate. Enabling students to specialize will definitely make their studies more captivating. Interest implies motivation, which itself increases the probability of success.

Some may argue that at this early stage of their lives, students do not know yet their future career paths. However, students definitely know what their weaknesses and abilities are. Therefore, they can choose their predilected subjects and fathom them. Instead of acquiring superficial knowledge in everything, they will dive deeper into some specific areas. As they hone their skills, they will be better groomed to succeed at university.

Of course, this recommendation is predicated upon students having achieved a certain level of knowledge in some fundamental subjects. For instance, history is very important. If the young person does not know some basic dates and fact about World War II for example, he or she won't become a good citizen. Furthermore, his/her knowledge being extremely limited, he/she may be considered an ignorant among his/her friends. Mathematics builds up logic and is used by most people in their everyday lives. Ergo, some subjects such as mathematics and history should be taught in all curricula, probably at different levels of difficulty though.

I think enabling students to specialize at an early stage of their careers is good. Those who still do not know what they want to do in life will simply choose the subjects they excel in. Those who do know, will be extremely happy to gain more elaborated knowledge in their favourite majors. Both types of students will be more motivated, and motivation is the key to success!