Most college students change their major at least once while they are enrolled in a university. This is because the American educational system does not prepare us enough for our future. We learn common subjects that are important, but not enough of the skills that will help us in our professions. When it is time for Americans to enter college, very few know what career field they want to enter. It is acceptable to not have an idea and try several different options, but it would be nice to get ahead and have some ideas before we enter college. The American education system should allow the option of taking courses at a young age dedicated to the pursuit of discovering subjects that specifically encompass our interests.
In other countries, you are exposed very early on to subjects that you may be interested in. You then attend a college that is specific to that subject. They do not have general courses required for graduation at universities. This is an excellent way of allowing students to not waste any time in deciding what they want to major in. It is also a quality way of obtaining more student interest in school to decrease the dropout rate in high school.
American schools focus on engraining knowledge into students instead of allowing them to develop active skills and the motivation to succeed. These qualities are essential to becoming well-rounded human beings. Knowledge of reading, writing and arithmetic are always guaranteed subjects to learn in school, but we also need to focus more on preparing children for the world outside of school. Most freshmen going into college have no idea of what they want to study. This is occurring because there is no standard for students to even be thinking of a career.
Once we enter middle school, we should have different career skills introduced. This way, we will be able to keep those skills in mind when entering high school we could then be able to take specific courses that will enhance our knowledge on a certain skill. If we start taking certain courses in junior high and high school, we will have an understanding of our interests and not worry about the time we waste trying to decide in college. College students would then be able to pay for a more worthwhile education.
