Should 14 Year Olds
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Join Date: 2003-06-23 Member: 17640Members
Join Date: 2003-06-23 Member: 17640Members
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<div class="IPBDescription">be able to choose their future?</div> Hi everyone, this is my first attempt at making a thread in the discussion forum.
I shall give you some background story that made me create this topic.
I live in The Netherlands and I'm in the third year of secondary school(High school for the Americans here) and we've been confronted with the choice of our subject profile for the next 3 years, we can choose 4 of them, varying from cultural(and art), technical, medical and a somewhat linguistic one.
Now, the choice of one of those profiles will have a great influence on our future, or at least our upcoming studies.
For example, we can hardly get back on the choice if we don't like the profile we're in and you most likely have to choose a job or a following study on what the profile is based on.
Now, this was bothering me for some time now, should 14 year olds be able to choose their future?
My own opinion is that it's a bit too early for that, because I know a huge amount of pupils in our school who don't have a clue about what they want to be doing in the future, I can't say I'm different than them, I think about joining the navy, like my brother, but I disgress...
What do you all think?
(and if you think this thread is not worthy of taking up space in this particular forum, then I am truly sorry)
I shall give you some background story that made me create this topic.
I live in The Netherlands and I'm in the third year of secondary school(High school for the Americans here) and we've been confronted with the choice of our subject profile for the next 3 years, we can choose 4 of them, varying from cultural(and art), technical, medical and a somewhat linguistic one.
Now, the choice of one of those profiles will have a great influence on our future, or at least our upcoming studies.
For example, we can hardly get back on the choice if we don't like the profile we're in and you most likely have to choose a job or a following study on what the profile is based on.
Now, this was bothering me for some time now, should 14 year olds be able to choose their future?
My own opinion is that it's a bit too early for that, because I know a huge amount of pupils in our school who don't have a clue about what they want to be doing in the future, I can't say I'm different than them, I think about joining the navy, like my brother, but I disgress...
What do you all think?
(and if you think this thread is not worthy of taking up space in this particular forum, then I am truly sorry)
Comments
The question however is that are 14 year olds capable to making the choices which may end up affecting the rest of their lives? Some may be able to of course, but most will not have the maturity to understand the implications.
The other point is that under such a stringent system, of little choice and little chance to change your choice once it has been taken, many 14 year olds will have to make a choice they may not like, simply because they HAVE to make some sort of choice.
Here in England, we also have to choose at 14, 2 subjects we'll study for the next 2 years. The number of choice we have may be smaller then the example in the Netherlands, but we get a fairly wide range. Also, these 2 choices in no way limit your future education or career. Hell, I could go all the way to a Biology degree, and still end up getting a job in an office or bank.
While educational choices at young ages do determine your short term focus, it is entirely possible to change direction, especially when you get a bit more independant in your education at a later age.
I think a liberal arts education is better at that age. Give a sampling of everything, force them to explore certain fields and interests. Late HS/College is used for determing what to do with the rest of your life.
When you're 54 years old, should you be able to make decisions which affect the rest of your life? Absolutely.
So at what point is it your birthday and suddenly you are capable of making decisions? There isn't a single day when this occurs. It is a gradual process. The thinking of a 3 year old doesn't extent far beyond candy and nap time. There comes a point when you begin to think like an adult. At this point, responsibilities should slowly be put on you to make decisions so that hopefully when you're an adult, you are able to make the right decisions.
I can't say 14 is the age when you should or shouldn't make decisions. It is different for everyone, though I don't believe that is exactly the moment which they should have the burden to decide things for the rest of their life. At best, they should only be asked "what do you like to do?" and then point them in that direction for later studies.
In ICT, i've already passed, and i haven't even taken the second exam yet (each piece of work has a score, those scores are added up, and i've already crossed the "pass" mark, which apparantly is the same as 4 C grade GCSEs). But there are some people who are still working on their first piece of work. And i mean, their <b>first</b>. We're talking, work from over a year ago here. Why? Because they were messing around on the internet all the time. Their primary reason for picking IT was just so they could mess around on the computers.
Plus, i don't want to sound rude, but they know naff all about how to use a computer. Now, i'm no wizz kid (i can't program anything, hell, macros give me a headache sometimes), but i can create a new folder without having to have it explained to me twice. I acknowledge that they are there to learn, but they lack the most basic of all skills. It's like showing up to English without a pen, book, or clothes.
Anyway, my point? Some people should be allowed to, and others not. Unfortunatly, there's no way to tell who knows what they want, and who doesn't.
Regardless of age, I believe anytime is a good time as long as they're given flexibility.
In year 8, I had to do RE, Art, Graphics, History and Geography (one subject all rolled into one), as well as my core subjects. Along with this was "Science".
I had no choice in the matter.
Previous experience back then told my I'd dislike RE, do badly in Art, suck at Graphics, and that I would be bored brainless in HaG. And thats exactly what happened. I cant draw very well, I struggle to draw a straight line, so thats Art and Graphics out. In HaG we did nothing but Australian History, which is boring as hell. RE was not all that good. I'd do the work, but never liked it. We'd get bible bashing substitutes and an extremely uptight ordinary teacher. I eventually decided that RE isnt the subject for me, at least how it was taught back then (they changed it the next year to include some sociology or something).
Anyway, If I'd had the choice whether to do a more advanced maths course or some more specialised science courses, such as Physics, Chemistry or Biology, then I would have been quite happy indeed.
The earlier you start the more difficult subjects the easier they will become with time. In Year 10 Calculus was like "OMG WTH?!". 2 years down the road "Calculus? Pffft. Anti-differentiation of circular logaritmic functions?! AHHHHH!!!".
I've done well in physics because I like the subject, I've done alright in Chemistry because I'm interested in the interaction of molecules. I couldnt do biology because I HAD to do RE (yay catholic colleges). I very much enjoyed Psychology and not once did I go below %80 on my outcomes.
Fact of the matter is, I knew what I was good at back then, and I knew what I was not good at. I liked the science courses then, and I still like them now. I'm moving on to tertiary education, theres a university around here that offers a general science course that covers just about everything I could think of that goes under science from Astronomy to Zoology.
All you have to ask yourself is this. At 14, did you know your likes and dislikes pertaining to subjects? Did you know your strengths and weaknesses? Did you take school seriously?
And you will have answered the question that has been asked.
14 years olds should be given choice over their elective subjects. But the core subjects, the Maths, the English and any other Mandatory subjects should be set in stone. Whether you want to do science or arts, however, is up to you, and not some teacher sitting in a dusty office randomly consigning students to some subject or other.
The average college student changes their major 3-4 times (at least thats what I heard, and I can't remmber where I heard that from) before they graduate, this is because once you get to college, you have a much broader view of what there is to learn, unlike the constraits of "general knowledge (i.e. stuff that you never use) " that the public school system has to off.
So, yes you should be able to choose, but should you always stick to that choice, no, always keep your eyes open for something else that might be out there.
Best of luck
In the US it is true that most people will change fields a few times in their life (be it their college major or their job)
I would like to hear from an adult in one of these areas that has a system like the one you described.
Does it REALY infulence your choices that much?
Forinstance my dad has a PhD is Psychology, he is a Comp Sci Prof now.
I started out as a CS major, droped out after 2 years (this would have been my third year) and starting next semester I will be training for EMT (Emergency Medical Tech) and then to become a firefighter.
So, MY answer is:
I don't think a 14 year old (or anyone realy) should have to make a desision that basicaly dictates their life choices.
I Think it is nifty that you have a choice as to where to focus your studies.
I didn't realy have a choice in studies till my junior year in High School (I was able to drop my foreign language and take another class, I took Electronics. Then my Senior year I focused on Psychology in 2 classes, the rest was sorta general stuff <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->)
Anyhoo...
Yeah, 14 is a bit early. Maybe 16 or 17 would be more appropriate. The concept doesn't seem that bad to me, though. If I could just take technological classes and not have to do Spanish and History, I would be in heaven. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
I shall give you some background story that made me create this topic.
I live in The Netherlands and I'm in the third year of secondary school(High school for the Americans here) and we've been confronted with the choice of our subject profile for the next 3 years, we can choose 4 of them, varying from cultural(and art), technical, medical and a somewhat linguistic one.
Now, the choice of one of those profiles will have a great influence on our future, or at least our upcoming studies.
For example, we can hardly get back on the choice if we don't like the profile we're in and you most likely have to choose a job or a following study on what the profile is based on.
Now, this was bothering me for some time now, should 14 year olds be able to choose their future?
My own opinion is that it's a bit too early for that, because I know a huge amount of pupils in our school who don't have a clue about what they want to be doing in the future, I can't say I'm different than them, I think about joining the navy, like my brother, but I disgress...
What do you all think?
(and if you think this thread is not worthy of taking up space in this particular forum, then I am truly sorry) <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Of course it will never change though. Kids who flop out of those jobs will be happily greeted with labor jobs.
No, 14 year olds have no idea what they want. Im 18 and I just figured it out myself.
No, 14 year olds have no idea what they want. Im 18 and I just figured it out myself. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Lucky. I'm 20 going on 21 in a couple months and I'm still baffled. Decided I could teach a bit of history in the mean time. <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
Now, the choice of one of those profiles will have a great influence on our future, or at least our upcoming studies. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
eh
You'll realise after you get out of school that the choices you make at ^that stage really don't mean diddly squat. All of those courses will be so low level that they mean very little with regards to your future career. All you need to worry about at your age is that you get decent <b>overall</b> grades, regardless of the subjects you've taken, and that you have solid grades in the fundamental areas. Maths/English (Well, netherlandish, whatever you call your basic language and grammar skills course). There's a reason those are mandatory, because those are the only specific grades from your school years that are likely to checked.
If you're going on to further education, the college will want to see good overall marks, and possibly specific grades in the fundamental subjects. If you're going straight into employment, the only grades from your school years that are likely to be checked on will be the madatory Maths/Language grades.
I don't know what you call this level of qualification in your country, but the equivalent in England would be the GCSE, taken when you are 16. A GCSE in a specialised subject is practically meaningless, because it is of such a low level as to be worthless. Which is why only overall grades, and the GCSE grades for Maths and English are ever likely to matter. As an example, i have a GCSE in french - a B mark which is a decent grade. Now i would not rate myself as being able to speak or understand French at all. At the time i took the GCSE paper, i wouldn't have been able to understand the most basic of phrases spoken by a frenchman, but i have the qualification anyway. That was 6 years ago, now i don't recall a single vocabulary list.
The point being, my GCSE in french is a completely meaningless qualification, because it is of such a low level. The only thing my French grade actually counted for was another "C and Above" on my overall list of GCSE's, that added up to give a college enough evidence that i was capable of studying and had a brain in my head. The actual subjects that those grades were in mattered very little to them. Because, for example, if i suddenly decided tommorow that i wanted to learn french seriously to a decent standard, i really wouldn't be in any better a starting position than if i had never taken GCSE french in the first place.
Don't worry about which subjects you choose to take at that age. The system doesn't give you enough rope to hang yourself, because it is well aware you're only 14. Just choose subjects you enjoy, and that you think you can get decent grades in.
So should a 14yr old pick their major? My advice is, put that question on hold and ask deeper questions. What do you think about a system that places you in that position? Do you think that life should be that linear, where you make a decision at 14 and spend 60 years following that line? Try to find adults who represent what you want to be, and work backwards to see how they got there. You might be surprised how many interesting people got where they are by NOT following a linear progression.
Best of luck to you.
i think you shouldnt make huge choices like that until at LEAST 16 imo...